To the strains of AC/DC’s rock anthem, ‘It’s A Long Way To the Top’ blaring out over the AAMI Park Stadium PA, Heidelberg United players, coaches, club officials and supporters celebrated in joyful post-match scenes, as they passed around the NPL Championship trophy, on Sunday evening, following their 2-1 Grand Final win over Avondale FC.
Ever since the NPL began in 2014, Heidelberg United has finished in the top three, including winning back to back Premier’s Plates in the last two seasons. However a Grand Final win has thus far eluded it. Until now that is. First half goals to Adrian Zahra and Andrew Cartanos, gave the Bergers a strong two goal advantage at the break, before Avondale halved the deficit through Jonathan Germanos, in the 77th minute with the Bergers withstanding a desperate late Avondale surge, to land the championship trophy.
Heidelberg went into the match on a back of a gruelling match schedule, and without the suspended strongmen Lewis Hall and Harry Noon. Into the side, returning from a long injury lay-off, came Paul O’Brien to partner Jack Petrie in midfield.
For Avondale, it was missing suspended head coach Anthony Barbieri, with his assistant Zoran Markovski taking charge from the touchline.
The Bergers started on the front foot with Adrian Zahra forcing an early save from Avondale keeper Chris Oldfield inside the first minute. Five minutes later, Zahra, who was pushing up alongside Bergers’ central striker Tom Cahill, found himself on the end of a Cahill through ball, in a one on one with keeper Oldfield, after Heidelberg’s press forced a turnover of possession in midfield. Zahra’s clever chip sent the ball over a diving Oldfield to give the Bergers the ideal start.
Both sides were playing a direct style of football, sending long balls forward from their own defence and largely by-passing the midfield. Avondale had Liam Boland leading the line with Kaine Sheppard, Joey Katebian and Elvis Kamsoba as an attacking midfield trio in behind Boland. However the Bergers’ defence coped well with Avondale’s direct style and it was the likes of Heidelberg attackers, Sean Ellis, Zahra and Cahill who looked the more composed and settled early on.
Heidelberg suffered a blow just over the half way mark with the loss of experienced central defender Steven Pace, who aggravated a shoulder injury forcing him from the field in the 32nd minute. In his place, the Bergers sent on Les Doumbalis. With half time approaching, Heidelberg’s skilful Andrew Cartanos produced a wonder goal to double his team’s lead, when he found himself in enough space to receive a pass, turn and fire a stunning 25 metre shot past Oldfield inside the far post , to well and truly give Heidelberg the upper hand at the break.
For Avondale, Kamsoba couldn’t quite show the same composure when a chance presented itself on the edge of the box. Instead he fired wide of the target.
Avondale made a double change at the break introducing speed and creativity in attack through flying winger Stefan Zinni and Jonatan Germano. For Avondale the chances did come their way in the second half, but unfortunately for them they were unable to capitalize. Both midfielder Even Christodoulou and Germano missed the target with volleys from close range with just the keeper to beat. In the final twenty minutes, Avondale threw numbers forward pushing Yitay Towns out of defence into midfield, and pushing Germano up front alongside Boland. The game had now changed into an end to end transition game and the tiring Bergers were desperately defending, relying on clearing the ball long to substitute lone striker Attila Ofli. Bergers skipper Luke Byles’s timely intervention robbed the ball off Germano’s toe, just as the Avondale player was about to pull the trigger inside the box. In the end, the Bergers somehow found the energy reserves to hang on for a famous victory.
Tireless frontman Tom Cahill was awarded the Jimmy Rooney medal for player of the match. The man he replaced at Heidelberg United this season, Melbourne Victory’s Kenny Athiu, who is now very familiar with the AAMI Park stadium, was in the rooms after the match joining in the celebration and congratulating his former team mates.
“It’s very relieving to be honest,” Heidelberg United coach George Katsakis, reflected on winning the Grand Final after the match. “I said to the boys at half time: ‘we’ve been involved in so many competitions and we’ve come off winners in most of them, but this one has eluded us. This was our main goal from the start of the year. We’re here now, so we can’t let this go. You’ve got a grip of it. You’ve got one hand on the trophy. We can’t lose it.’ To their credit, they just dug deep. They’re a phenomenal group. They just keep grafting. They keep bouncing back.”
Of the game plan, Katsakis said: “We discussed it. We said the first twenty minutes is going to be a high press, we’re taking the game to them, and hopefully get a goal out of it, possibly a second one. Two –nil created a good buffer for us. Psychologically we dropped off after half time. We invited a bit of pressure, but we withstood it very well. All credit to the boys. They shuffled well, they got behind the ball, they threw themselves at every challenge. I can’t ask for more.”
