PORTLAND’S under-17 soccer team has wrapped up its place in the upcoming South West Victoria Football Association finals series, after a dominant performance against Stawell saw them claim victory 8-1.

The Panthers were in control of the game from the outset, with coach Mikey Meaola saying they produced the result in spite of being significantly undermanned.

“We had four 13-year-olds step up from the under-14s,” Meaola said.

“The whole team played phenomenal… the leaders of the side really set the standard and we came away with a huge win.

“Noah McKinnon finished up with four goals for the game, including a screamer from about 25 yards out, and Eleazar (Meaola) finished with five assists for the day.

“But it was more about the team chemistry that they were able to build, heading into finals we really want to be peaking.”

Meaola said he was extremely pleased with the performances he saw from the younger crop of players who stepped in to help out, saying that they overcame their concerns about playing in a higher age bracket.

“You could see in their faces there was a bit of fear… but when they came in at half time, they said it had gone a lot better than what they expected,” he said.

“The older kids did a great job of involving them in the game and also giving them instructions on positioning and everything.

“The test now for us is to try and get our full-strength team on the park… if we can do that in the week before finals it would help us with our line-up and formation.”

Meaola is also in charge of Portland’s under-14 side, whose 2-1 loss to the Pioneers put them out of finals contention, which he said is a disappointing conclusion to an otherwise successful back end of the season.

“It was really a tale of two halves this season, but it’s been fantastic… earlier in the season we were missing two or three players consistently from the top age group but even across the entire season we’ve needed under-12s to fill-in.

“Since June the younger kids have settled into their roles, and we’ve been able to find a permanent keeper and we’ve had some players return to the fold who hadn’t been playing until recently.

“It’s unfortunate (that we left our run too late) because I know we could have pushed all the way to the grand final… and I know all the kids are taking it personally, especially our captain Jasmine (Siemon).

“It’s a chance to learn and strive to get better for next season that’s for sure.”

Portland’s under-12 side ultimately came up short against Stawell, losing 2-1.

They are also now out of finals contention with five points separating them from the Pioneers in fourth place.

Senior grades forfeit

Both of Portland’s fixtures in the senior grades saw forfeits, with the Panthers’ division one side forfeiting to Stawell, while division two earned a forfeit victory over Corangamite.

For division one, this means they’ll need to come out and claim a big win over bottom-placed Hamilton and have Stawell lose to Warrnambool Wolves comfortably if they want to make finals.

The Panthers currently sit in fifth place and trail the Pioneers by one game and nine goals, with a top four finish required to make finals.