Western United claimed their first A-League title, in their third season in the competition – beating Crosstown rivals Melbourne City 2-0 in the grand final.
Nuno Reis’s own goal opened the scoring two minutes later under pressure from Alexander Prizovic, before an unexpected bounce at the half-hour mark before Serbia’s own goal.
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Just two minutes after the City restart Curtis hit the crossbar with Good’s header and there was a more aggressive team after the break, but Jamie Young and a solid defense in front of him held on tight.
“It’s hard to say now,” Young said.
“We will take a week and see what happens. I am very proud to be at this club and to play with these players.
“I love the training ground, I love this club. One of the best days of my life.”
A healthy crowd of 22,495 people was on hand to watch the All-Melbourne affair, with defending champions City trying to be the first team since Sydney FC.
Instead, it was John Aloisie’s Band of Starts who achieved glory.
“They’ve been very good through the finals,” Andy Harper said as time passed in stoppage time.
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The eyebrows were raised when the governing body was selected to add a third Melbourne team to the competition instead of expanding to a new area, and whatever the reason for their influence off the field, they succeeded in finishing fifth in their opening season. Before a sophomore recession led this brilliant campaign.
“Today, the final was very clear for us,” Prizovich later said.
“When I came [to Australia] At first, John told me that the Australian final was the most important.
“From the start, we were pretty sure we were going to win the final.”
Aloisie was brought to the club after seven consecutive defeats last season, replacing Mark Rudan – a gamble that has now paid off well and in a real sense.
After being a subper with City and Brisbane Roar, Aloisie now has her first title as coach, matching a shiny playing career.
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