Spirit FC crowned Division One Champions in thriller against Dulwich Hill
Sunday afternoon sprung up a typical September grand final day ? brilliant sunshine, a little breeze, and a flat and somewhat worn out surface at Melita Stadium, a great venue for the culmination of season 2008.
Both Spirit FC and Dulwich Hill had a strong presence in the crowd, with balloons and streamers decorating the grandstand, and many juniors of both clubs spread around the stadium wearing their club?s colours.
Spirit FC started the match better than their opponents, showing a little more ascendancy with the ball, holding possession, spraying passes across the park, but with little to show in the final third.
Their first chance arrived on 12 minutes when Littlebury headed harmlessly over after a corner was headed across goal by Kethel.
Dulwich Hill seemed to be content to sit back and soak up the pressure in numbers, hoping to do what they do best ? counter attack. Biviano was the lone man up front, with Tome forced to sit back in front of the midfield hoping to pick up a clearance and set the attacking wheels in motion.
After the opening half hour of typical grand final sparring, the game exploded into life with numerous goal scoring opportunities, including a couple of goals before the break.
On 29 minutes, young Paradisis missed a great chance to open the scoring for Dulwich Hill, albeit against the run the play, when he raced into the box at the far post to meet a teasing free kick by Tome, but headed wide with the goal at his mercy.
A couple of minutes later and Peatey (A) collected a return pass after a one-two with Papanicolaou, taking aim from an acute angle before Dully?s central defender Rao put in a timely challenge to clear the danger.
The game needed a goal and Spirit FC took advantage of their dominance early when they took the lead on 35 minutes.
As the Dulwich Hill backline moved up towards the half way following a clearance, Spirit returned serve with a long high ball, which was seized upon by De Kelly on the left side of Dully?s half.
As the defence began retreating, De Kelly didn?t waste any time and smartly played a quick square pass just inside the edge of the penalty area. Spirit striker Simpson met the pass with assertiveness and firmly cracked his shot low and underneath the body of Dully keeper Frost to send the Spirit fans into delirium.
Three minutes later and Dulwich Hill had a great chance to equalize, when in a case of dejavu, Paradisis once again got on the end of a Tome cross from a free kick, his header yet again going wide of the mark.
The experienced Tome, who has been scoring goals as a profession over the years all over the country, took matters into his own hands on 42 minutes.
A free kick punted long downfield reached Tome just inside the box, and he pounced on the opportunity like a deadly cobra, swiveling and smacking a low shot past the helpless Spirit keeper, Nelson, to restore parity for Dulwich Hill.
Mr.Yaghi was keeping an eye on proceedings as the man in the middle, and blew his half time whistle right on time, sending the players in for a well earned rest, and giving the fans a break from cheering.
Dulwich Hill coach, Mark Strachan, sent on the experienced Bove at half time, and the well travelled holding midfielder almost got on the scoresheet on 59 minutes, his long range swerving free kick eluding everyone, Spirit defenders and Dulwich strikers alike, as it bounced past the far upright.
A minute later and, as Spirit moved upfield, Dulwich Hill gathered possession and hit them with a swift counter attack. Paradisis hit a great pass over the Spirit defence for Tome to run onto, and, despite his years, the experienced striker reached the ball just before the onrushing Spirit keeper, Nelson, and hit a fantastic lob from 30 yards that cleared the crossbar by a matter of centimetres.
Not to be outdone, Spirit?s 20 goal striker, Papanicolaou, who was having a quiet game by his standards, hit a ripper of a free kick on 63 minutes from the edge of the box that was brilliantly tipped over the bar by the Dully keeper, Frost.
Two minutes before the end of the match, and Dully?s triple strikeforce combined to almost grab the winner, with a Biviano cross being flicked on by Paradisis for Tome, who?s touch was blocked by Spirit?s defender,Cunningham, with the ball being cleared from danger.
Spirit then decided they didn?t want to play extra time, and should?ve had not one, but two goals in the final minutes.
Firstly Simpson took on Rao on the edge of the box before slipping a great pass to Papanicolaou to his left. The burly striker, in acres of space, took a touch, and as he lined up to pull the trigger, Dully keeper Frost came sprinting off his line to brilliantly block the shot.
A minute later, and Peatey (A) played a great one-two with De Kelly as he raced down the left flank, cutting inside when he reached the goal line. He cut the ball back to Simpson, but the striker took a touch too many and his snapshot was blocked by Joaquim.
With that final chance came full time, and both sets of players went to a well deserved drinks break before they entered extra time, and one last roll of the dice for 2008.
Extra time predictably produced few chances, with Spirit?s youthful substitutes, Balcomb and Morrison, both showing plenty of enthusiasm and energy as they tried valiantly to give their team the edge.
In the 100th minute, a triangle of passes between Balcomb, Papanicolaou and Simpson almost opened up the Dully defence, Rao clearing the danger as his team left him had deserted him at the back.
On 113 minutes, Biviano spurned a great opportunity for Dulwich Hill, volleying over the crossbar from inside the box when a corner had been ricocheted and dropped nicely for him.
A couple of minutes later, and Dully keeper Frost produced an amazing point blank save, saving virtually on the goal line from Papanicolaou when a far post cross had been knocked back across the face of the goal.
So the full time whistle blew, and it was the dreaded penalty shootout that was going to decide the 2008 grand final.
Now you can practice penalties all you like, as most teams do in the weeks leading up to major knockout games, but as most people know, it is the nerves that can get the better of you when it finally comes time to face the music in a shootout.
In an amazing penalty shootout, a number of very experienced players from both clubs had the courage to step up and take a spot kick, but many of them came unstuck in a remarkable finale to the match.
Biviano had had a frustrating game for Dulwich Hill, but he was first cab off the rank and sent Nelson the wrong way to put Dully one-up in the shootout.
The 40-year old ex-Socceroo, van Blerk, was up first for Spirit, and Frost saved his shot to keep Dully with the advantage.
Dulwich Hill substitute Hammond then had his shot saved by Nelson, and De Kelly restored parity for Spirit with his well taken kick.
Dully captain James then had his penalty well saved by Nelson, and Frost did likewise with Simpson?s kick for Spirit, so it was 1-1 after three kicks each.
Bove was next for Dulwich Hill, placing his penalty to his right, but Nelson read it perfectly to parry yet again. Spirit defender Cunningham then sent Frost the wrong way to give the minor premiers the edge.
Dulwich Hill?s Tome was their fifth penalty taker, with many ready to take odds for him scoring, and he needed to score to keep his team in it and force Spirit to take their final kick.
The veteran striker took a long run up, but remarkably blasted well over the crossbar to end the contest, Spirit winning the shootout by the unorthodox low score of 2-1 on penalties.
Credit where it?s due, and the two goalkeepers were brilliant in the shootout, saving five of the nine penalties with Nelson edging Frost three saves to two.
The grand final didn?t have a wealth of standouts, with the match a typically tough, tense affair, but it did have some good performers.
For Dulwich Hill, best on the day were ; keeper Frost, who looked ever alert, was quick off his line to avert danger, and made a couple of brilliant telling saves in the second half and in extra time to keep his team in the contest, furthermore saving two penalties in the shootout ; central defenders Rao and Burrows were tough and effective in the tackle, keeping the league?s top marksman, Papanicolaou, relatively quiet for the majority of the match ; veteran striker Tome, who was smart with his distribution, made some effective runs to receive possession, and got his usual goal in the biggest game of the year.
For Spirit FC, their best players were ; central defender Cunningham was fierce and timely in defence ; centre midfielder Peatey was creative with the ball at his feet, often setting up many attacks for Spirit ; striker Simpson made some great runs into gaps, held the ball up well for his support runners, and scored a clinical goal himself ; keeper Nelson had a real presence between the sticks, marshalling his defence well, strong in the air, and made three fantastic saves in the shootout to contribute to the win.
Congratulations to must go to both coaches for their success and for guiding their teams into the season decider.
Dulwich Hill?s Mark Strachan had his team playing some wonderful, attacking football, keeping his experienced side focussed as they made a late season surge up the ladder into third position, and of course into the grand final.
For Spirit?s Tony Walmsley, this was the culmination of a long plan that has evolved over a number of years. He has structured the club effectively, creating a winning mentality throughout both the first grade and under 20s, and the reward is a cupboard full of trophies, with both grades winning both the minor premiership and grand final double.
But even more importantly, Spirit FC can look forward to next season in the Super League with promotion the biggest reward for their efforts.
Match Stats
DIVISION ONE
GRAND FINAL
1st Grade
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Melita Stadium
Referee ? Mr.K.Yaghi
Asst Referees ? Mr.R.Warry & Mr.M.Clisdell
Fourth Official ? Mr.A.Weir
SPIRIT FC 1 (Simpson 35?)
DULWICH HILL 1 (Tome 42?)
after extra time
Spirit won 2-1 on penalties
Penalty Sequence
Dulwich Hill Spirit FC
1) Biviano (goal) 1) Van Blerk (saved)
2) Hammond (saved) 2) De Kelly (goal)
3) James (saved) 3) Simpson (saved)
4) Bove (saved) 4) Cunningham (goal)
5) Tome (over the crossbar)
SPIRIT FC ; 1. NELSON, 4. NICOLAOU ?(17. VAN BLERK 70?), 10. PEATEY A., 9. SIMPSON, 8. KETHEL, 18. CUNNINGHAM, 20. PAPANICOLAOU, 7. PARADISIS C. (27. MORRISON 106?) , 6. PEATEY M. (25. BALCOMB 56?), 5. LITTLEBURY, 3. DE KELLY.
Subs Not Used ; 40. Jambazian, 13. Ciano.
DULWICH HILL SC ; 1. FROST, 2. CORTE (14. CELINI 93?), 3. JOAQUIM, 25. CAHINE (5. BOVE 46?), 20. RAO, 11. JAMES ?, 15. BURROWS, 17. SPRESIAN, 19. PARADISIS N.(24. HAMMOND), 8. BIVIANO, 7. TOME.
Subs Not Used ; 29. Calcagno, 21. Perestrelo.
Spirit crowned Under 20 Champions
Spirit FC got the grand final day off to a great start for the club with a 3-1 victory in the Under 20s grand final.
Spirit FC had won the minor premiership, and came into the game raging hot favourites, taking the lead through Robberts on 19 minutes.
Schofields had reached the grand final through grit and determination, and weren?t about to lie down easily, equalizing on 31 minutes through McCrea.
But Lovell put Spirit FC ahead only a minute later, and when substitute Brown scored with ten minutes remaining to make it 3-1, the match was theirs.
Congratulations must go to both teams for a great match and season ? to Schofields for winning three back to back sudden death matches to reach the grand final, and especially to Spirit FC, for managing to capture the double, minor premiership and grand final!
Match Stats
Grand Final
Under 20s
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Melita Stadium
Spirit FC 3 (Robberts 19?, Lovell 32?, Brown 80?)
Schofields Scorpions 1 (McCrea 31?)
SPIRIT FC ; 40. Jambazian, 32. Lovell, 16. Drinkwater (29.Cornwell), 33. Harte, 26. Lee (28.Woodhouse), 24. Bradley, 12. Gray (31.Brown), 21. Griffin (30.Kury), 14. Orgad (34.Simmonds), 15. Simpson, 23. Robberts.
Subs not used ; Nil
SCHOFIELDS SCORPIONS ;1. Greenway, 19. Simone, 22. Belcastro (28. Nampton), 24. Antaky, 26. McCrea (21. Shield), 27. Daglio, 29. Sharma, 30. Lonsdale (25. Ewart), 31. Charles, 33. Earp, 23. Davies (20. Quigg).
Subs not used ; Nil
-By Frank Speranza
