After a strong season in a number of competitions, Surfers Paradise Apollo SC has capped it all off by winning the Gold Coast Premier League Grand Final last Saturday night, with a thrilling 3-2 win over Murwillumbah Football Club at Nikiforides Park.
Last season under coach David Benigno, Apollo narrowly missed out on a grand final spot after finishing third and bowing out on penalties to Broadbeach in the preliminary final. However, Benigno’s team wasn’t to be denied this season, after finishing second on the ladder at the end of the home and away season.
In Saturday’s grand final against Murwillumbah, centre back Acim Tomic scored Apollo’s first goal and man of the match Simone Mangiante followed up with a brace to secure the grand final win and the Gold Coast Champions trophy.
Apollo’s championship win follows on from its strong run in the FFA Cup, when it became the first ever Gold Coast Premier League team to qualify for the FFA Rd of 32, before bowing out eventually to Canberra Olympic.
After Saturday night’s win, Surfers Paradise Apollo SC club president Telly Karadimos said: “Not even in a lifetime many players can have the pleasure to be part of such a group, where everyone in the changing room can look after and lift each other like we do. This victory is a result of hard work, dedication and first of all respect for each other. Many thanks also have to go to The Coffee Club, who have been our major sponsor for a number of years now and has contributed to the club’s success in 2016.”
The secretary, Vera Georgiou, says that the many nationalities represented in the club make the culture at SPASC seem like one big family. The ‘United Nations’ of clubs.
After the match, Apollo player Simone Mangiante was awarded the inaugural Bob Jeffrey medal for the best player in the grand final.