COOTAMUNDRA’S Jenna Collingridge has achieved every soccer player’s dream - scoring a goal for their country.
Currently on tour of the United Kingdom as a member of the Australian Schoolgirls side, Jenna’s magical moment came in the second half of their third match, blasting the ball into the back of the net as the Aussie girls thumped Welsh Colleges 7-1 at the Llandarcy Academy of Sport.
The landside win continued an unbeaten start to the tour for the Australian side, coming on the back of a rugged 3-2 win over St Columbas and a 5-0 shut out of Cardiff City.
Jenna’s father Paul, who has been in regular contact with his daughter on her second tour with the Australian Schoolgirls side, said Jenna typically played down her achievement.
“She never says too much and when I asked her about the goal she simply said she was ‘in the right place at the right time’.
There was a slight change to the schedule for the Aussie girls, with their first game being against a St Columbas boys side after their initial opponents North Hertfordshire College withdrew from the match.
The girls led 2-0 before the boys’ team hit back to level at 2-2, however a 72nd minute penalty was converted by Larissa Crummer, one of the youngest girls on tour, to give the Aussies victory.
Crummer scored twice in the
5-0 win over Cardiff City and added a fourth for the tour when she booted the final goal of the
7-1 win over Welsh Colleges.
However, it was Collingridge’s strike in the 76th minute of the Welsh game that will live in her memory forever.
The Australian Schoolboys side also boasts a perfect record after three games defeating St Columbas 5-1, Welsh Schools 3-1 and Welsh Colleges 3-2.
Both teams were due to play Northern Ireland Schools in their next match, with the final five games of the tour to be played next week.