Round 14 of the Victorian Champions League was another exciting weekend – with catch-up games and the Gippsland Gala meaning many team had to play twice, leading to double the usual entertainment.

Gippsland Knights, South East Cougars, Southern Bluetongues, Northern All Stars, North West Wanderers and Rivers FC all played two matches in Mildura as part of the Gala Weekend. Matches were hosted by two wonderful clubs; Fortuna 60 and Falcons 2000.

The heavy storms over the weekend caused a wash-out of all Western v Eastern matches.

U17 Girls

The battle between second and fourth saw a very tight tussle as Wimmera South Coast came out on top with 2-1 victory over North East. While not the best result the Diamonds, they are still near the top and will look to finish off the season strongly. On the other end of the table, Southern earned a rare point as they drew 1-1 with fellow cellar dwellers Gippsland. The Knights took full advantage of their home ground tie with another three points in their 3-2 win over Rivers. Other results saw goals in a 9-1 win for Northern over North West, a 3-2 win for South East [over North West] and a 3-1 result for Rivers [over Southern]. South East ensured maximum points for the weekend when they toppled a plucky Northern 1-0.

U17 Boys

Home advantage in the Gala Weekend again proved decisive as Gippsland claimed wins over Rivers (5-2) and Southern (3-0) to continue their rise up the table. Ladder leaders Wimmera South Coast won’t be worrying though as they continued their winning ways with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over North East. We then had a spate of 3-0 results as Central, Northern and South East all defeated Gippsland, North West and North West respectively. The rest of the round saw draws with Central and Loddon Mallee (1-1), Southern and Rivers (2-2) and Northern and South East (3-3) all sharing the points.

U15 Girls

Second placed North East hoped to keep the pressure on league leaders South East this weekend and did so [momentarily] with a 3-0 win over Wimmera South Coast before the Cougars extended their lead at the top of the table with a pair of victories over a stubborn Northern (1-0) and an open North West (6-0). Gala host Gippsland experienced mixed fortunes with an encouraging 1-0 win over Rivers put beside a 5-0 smashing Southern. Other results saw Loddon Mallee defeat  Central 3-1, Northern scrape past North West 1-0 while Southern and Rivers played out a 3-3 draw.

U15 Boys

Round 14 was a disappointing round for Northern as no wins in their two matches dashed their hopes of catching up to league leaders North East this weekend (4-1 loss to South East and 1-1 with North West). North East meanwhile continued their winning ways with a 5-2 victory over Wimmera South Coast. On the opposite side of the scale Gippsland claimed a valuable point as they drew 0-0 with Rivers, while both sides lost their second fixture as Southern disposed of both of them (2-0 v Gippsland and 2-1 v Rivers). The remaining matches saw Central claim the scalp of Loddon Mallee 3-2 and North West inflict a 6-0 hiding to South East.

U14 Boys

While in other divisions the leaders kept on winning, the U14 Boys threw in mixed results for top team Northern which opens up the competition. Northern managed a 4-1 victory over South East but will be bemoaning their result against North West which saw them go down 3-1. Chasers Southern will have Northern looking over their shoulder with two wins – a 4-0 result over Gippsland and a 3-0 win over Rivers, while South East tried to keep pressure on the top three with a 3-2 win over North West. Home team Gippsland didn’t far too well with another loss (4-1 to Rivers) while North East and Wimmera South Coast played their way to a 1-1 draw.

U13 Girls

Not too much changed at the top this week, as the first three teams picked up at least one win each. Top dogs North East claimed a 4-0 win over Wimmera as third placed Rivers kept up the pressure with a 5-0 win over Gippsland and a crucial 3-0 result against second places Southern. Not to be disheartened, Southern also collected three points with a 5-0 victory over Gippsland. The scoreline of 2-1 was popular with Central, Loddon Mallee and South East all collecting wins over Eastern, Central and Northern. Remaining fixtures saw North West run out 3-2 victors before they followed that up with a 1-1 draw with South East.

U13 Boys

Two wins for top of the table Southern over Gippsland (11-0) and Rivers (2-0) saw them fend of the challenge of second placed Loddon Mallee as they thrashed Central 9-1. Third placed North East saw the title slipping away from them as they fell 2-1 to Wimmera South Coast in a tight match-up. The battle of the bottom saw neither team collect the win they were both searching for as Gippsland and Rivers played out a 0-0 stalemate. Other results saw Northern claim four points with a win over North West (2-1) and a draw with South East (1-1) while North West defeated South East 3-2.