RAN teams dominate in Darwin

The RAN has secured a fourth win against the United States Marine Corps (USMC) in the annual Forces Football July 4 match in Darwin.

Taking on the USMC this year, the RAN Football Federation Australia (RAN FFA) men’s and women’s teams had the added pressure of representing not only their service but also Australia, chasing a win after the Socceroos loss to the United States in the FIFA World Cup.

That pressure drew elite performances, and the record-breaking crowd of more than 1000 patrons cheered loudly as the RAN FFA women’s team secured an 11-0 victory.

Among the crowd were the Administrator of the Northern Territory David Connolly, senior officers of the RAN and USMC, and local members of Parliament.

The RAN FFA men’s team followed their sister team’s lead with a 9-0 win against the visiting Marines.

RAN ABMUSN Nikayla Taskinen-Smith and USMC First Lieutenant Katheryn Conway sang their respective anthems.

Darwin-based Navy Gap Year sailor MIDN Zara Yee played midfielder in the women’s match and praised the team dynamics.

“It’s fantastic to have such a great, high-quality team behind us who are passionate. The cohesion brought between both the men and the women is astounding and it makes for a better environment to play in,” MIDN Yee said.

“We’ve got players and coaches from all over coming together. It’s starting to feel like a perfect symphony.

“That’s the beauty of football; everybody coming together to play a game, and at the end of the day, while there’s a bit of competitiveness against the Marines, we’re all here to have a good time.”

LCPL Manriquez Anthony, a USMC motor transport technician who played striker on his team, echoed MIDN Yee’s sentiments.

“In the moment of the match, there’s definitely a lot of turmoil and conflict, but at the end of the day, events like this help us build our strong bonds and continue our relationships,” he said.

USMC CO of 5th Marine Regiment and Marine Rotational Force – Darwin (MRF-D) 26 COL George Flynn thanked the crowd and the teams who made the night happen on the 250th anniversary of American independence.

“These players are deployed Marines who work alongside the ADF to keep the world safe, and so there’s been no season and no practice for them,” he said.

“I can’t be more proud of the effort they put in and how they are representing our Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force.

“It doesn’t matter what happens on the pitch, we’re friends and we’re partners.”