Down but never out, and led by an inspiring captain, Tolland produced the biggest win of their season on the biggest day, claiming the inaugural Football Wagga under 12-14 girls grand final on Saturday.
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The Wolves overcame the previously unbeaten Wagga United 2-1 at Gissing Oval.
"They were absolutely stoked. All the hard work they put in paid off. It was absolutely fantastic for them. They loved it," coach Luke Wilson said.
The game was going according to the script for Wagga United when Miranda Harris put away the only goal of the first half, a cracking long-range effort. But Tolland didn't panic.
"I knew it was going to be a tough game and 1-0 down wasn't what we were hoping for. But the girls at half-time still had plenty of energy," Wilson said, reminding his players to focus on having fun and enjoying themselves.
"I also told them not to give up and that it's still our game to win. We came up with a bit of a plan and they went out and executed exactly what needed to happen... they just never gave up. They never seemed to get overwhelmed by it being the grand final."
It was Chloe Anderson and Mikayla Blake who delivered the knockout blows with impressive goals, both getting through the United backline and past the goalkeeper to go from a goal down to a goal up and on their way to a memorable victory.
At least in part, the opportunities came courtesy of their skipper.
"Katie Blake, our captain, she took a leadership role and made some decisions on her own out there," Wilson said.
"She dropped back into our defensive line and allowed some girls to push up. She could see we needed to shore up the backline a little bit and when she dropped back - she can read the play like there's no tomorrow."
Wilson was full of praise for United, who set the standard all season in the new competition.
"They're a fantastic side. The closest we got to them was a draw (during the season) but the games were always fairly close. They'v got some brilliant young girls in their team. It just wasn't their day," he said.
Tolland had finished third on the ladder, with four wins, four losses and a draw but had the small competition's best defensive record, conceding only 16 goals.
They saved their best for last, beating the top two teams in their last two all-important games.
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