Thrills and spills as league leaders go out in Albany Junior Soccer Association cup upset

The quarterfinals of the Albany Junior Soccer Association knockout cup competition produced some tight matches and shock results, most notably in the under-13 and under-16 competitions last Saturday.

Polonia Red had gone through the season undefeated and are top of the league.

They met Grammar for a place in the semifinals and the game was a tight affair.

Polonia Red had their chances but were unable to capitalise and it was Grammar who got their noses in front with Stanley Cooper scoring.

The ladder leaders were a little out of sorts in front of goal and Grammar were able to deal with any threats they did offer on their goal.

Grammar won 1-0 and will face Stirling Rangers in the semifinals after they overcame a resilient Denmark White team, 4-3, on penalties.

The other semifinal will be between Albany Bayswater and Denmark Black after they both had comfortable wins.

Albany Bayswater beat John Calvin, 4-0, while Denmark Black downed Polonia White, 4-1.

In the under-16s, Grammar Blue faced the younger Grammar Red side and Albany Bayswater were also playing their younger sister team in the knockout stages.

Grammar Blue are physically a much bigger side and use their speed to play very direct with balls over the top for their strikers to run on to.

It was effective and they took the lead through Harrison Smith but Liam Pretorius equalised for Grammar Red late in the game.

They couldn’t be separated in extra time and penalties were needed to decide the winner as Grammar Blue prevailed 4-3.

Goalkeeper Renior Nash was the younger Bayswater team’s saviour, producing a stellar performance in front of goals to keep the opposition at bay.

The older side were becoming more frustrated the further the game went on and started to snatch at the shots shooting wildly.

Neither side could find the back of the net and it went to extra time with penalties appearing to be the inevitable conclusion.

Gilligan Neunuebel scored in the final moments to give his side a memorable win over their older sister team.

Grammar Blue will play John Calvin in the semifinals while Albany Bayswater will play Polonia after they comfortably defeated Stirling Rangers, 7-1.