Killarney 3 – 4 Terrigal
Terrigal regained their title of reigning Premiers with a dominant second-half display, fighting back from a halftime deficit of 3-1 to solidify back-to-back BPL First Grade Grand Final wins over Killarney.
Both teams struggled to find their rhythm in the first fifteen minutes with possession being turned over by both sides, but it was Terrigal who struck first when a set piece corner found O’lads captain Jai McNamara at the front post and his header struck the bar and landed over the line to give Terrigal the lead. Half chances fell to both sides with Craig James saving well with his feet to deny Killarney’s Andy Klijn and at the other end, Mahkye Brownlie’s header was saved well by Terriers keeper Declan Drake. The game turned on its head with a dramatic 7 minutes of football prior to halftime. First Adam Woodbine was deemed to be fouled by Terrigal keeper James and up stepped Adam Smith to level matters at 1-1. Moments later Woodbine turned goal scorer after slipping through the Terrigal rear-guard to rifle home at the near post as the 2022 BPL Golden Boot Winner put his side ahead 2-1. Then only minutes later Woodbine went over in. the box after a push by Captain Jai McNamara and up stepped Smith again to convert from the penalty spot to make it 3-1 at the break.
Terrigal needed to strike early in the second half to get back into the game and they did that with some style. Ben Flakus was found at the far post to strike home after only two minutes of the restart and then 10 minutes later Daniel Bird went down in the area to give Terrigal a lifeline and up stepped Stuart Adams to bring the scores level from the penalty spot. With Terrigal firing on all cylinders, it was the impressive Ben Flakus who found himself with time and space inside the Killarney penalty area and he made no mistake to give Terrigal the lead and send the supporters into wild celebrations. Killarney threw everything at Terrigal to try and get back into the game but the defence of Pierce, Hunt, Allen and led by captain Jai McNamara kept the lead intact. The final scare for Martyn and his team came when Matt Hall would hit the post from the header and cleared by goalkeeper James and with 8 minutes of injury time Terrigal held on to become back-to-back premiers.
Despite not finishing the whole season undefeated, Killarney’s Chris Ackerley had high praise for his team when reflecting on all they have accomplished in this season and also the past six years. “A disappointing finish to an amazing season. Credit to Terrigal who never threw in the towel and came back from 3-1. Frustrating that our worse game of the year came in the final one, but to put everything into perspective we have now won six league titles in a row, which proves our consistency and performance can never ever be questioned.”
Martyn Griffiths had high applause of the opposition and the history they made this year “Firstly, congratulations to Ackers and his squad in what has been a record-breaking season for them, to win 19 on the bounce is an incredible achievement.” Griffiths also spoke about his squad and how it all came together for them at the right time of the year. “But what a game of football worthy of any Grand Final. We started very slowly and think the occasion got hold of us for the first 15-20 minutes and we were a bit sloppy with our passing. I always thought if we scored first, we would go on and win the game but not in that way! I thought it might have gotten away from us with conceding 3 goals in 7 minutes but like I have said previously when we click, we click, and we certainly did that in the second period and dominated the second half. So proud of this group of players. We had a small squad this year and each and every one of them has played a part in this victory. We peaked at the right time of the season in finals football and knew if we beat Southern in that first finals game we would go on and win it. A big shout out to Dan Murace. He has played a huge role not only in these last few weeks but for the 5-year period I have been at this club. He moves to Port Macquarie this week and wish him and his family good luck with their move there.”
MATCH OFFICIAL – Trent Dickeson
DIVISION 1
Grand Final Results –
