IAS AWD Athletes Zac Jones and Matthew Hearne, were part of the history making Australian Under-19 Paralympic 7-a-side team, the Young Pararoos, who for the first time, competed at the IFCPF U-19 World Championships in England held as part of the CPISRA World Games that were contested in Nottingham between August 6th and 16th. The Young Pararoos finished this International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football tournament against the Netherlands on Saturday with a 5-1 lost to finish 6th after a big 10 days. The team trained for the very first time just days before opening the tournament against a strong Scotland outfit on August 11th. The Aussies fought bravely in their debut match against the powerful Scots, with captain Ryan Kinner and Matthew Hearne impressing in an 8-0 opening round defeat. Australia backed up on Wednesday against world number one side Russia and the young Aussies pushed their far more experienced opponents with a dogged display. The endeavour of the Australian team against a very well drilled Russian side was typified by the outstanding commitment shown by Zachary Jones and goalkeeper Matthew Hearne. The Russians played neat possession football and deservedly topped their group. The Russians emerged with a hard-fought 4-0 victory. Australia were forced to play their third game in three days on Thursday but it didnâ’t show as the Aussies enjoyed a deserved 6-3 victory over Japan. Mathew Hearne starred in the first half with four goals before Ryan Kinner added a fifth to give Australia a commanding advantage. Japan pulled two goals back early in the second half before Gordon Allan extended Australiaâ’s advantage to put the game beyond doubt. Young Pararoos Squad Matthew Hearne (NSW) Robert Christie (QLD) Gordon Allan (NSW) Jack Starkey (NSW) Taylor Harvey (SA) Nicholas Prescott (WA) Harrison Dowdell (NSW) Shaun McCann (NSW) Zachary Jones (NSW) Nelson Gray (VIC) Hayden Bognar (VIC) Ryan Kinner (Captain – SA) Christian Tsangas (VIC)
