Adelaide City have won the RAA NPLSA championship for the first time in 11 years, prevailing in the Grand Final over minor premiers Adelaide Comets in a tense penalty shootout 3-2 after a goalless 120 minutes at Marden Sports Complex.
In a match of ebbs and flows in which both sides had great opportunities to find the back of the net, City showed more mettle from the spot as Lachlan Barr, Austin Ayoubi and Aladin Irabona all converted to punish Comets for three costly misses.
It was a long overdue taste of success for City, who fell at the final hurdle in each of their last three Grand Final appearances between 2016 and 2018.
For Comets, though, a third successive defeat in the decider leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, with their championship drought continuing on for at least another 12 months.
After an evenly balanced opening ten minutes, Asad Kasumovic found himself on the end of a City counterattack, shooting from a tight angle on his left to keep Julian Torresan alert, who managed to haul in his parried effort before it was seized upon.
City’s defence was particularly successful in stifling Comets’ infrequent forays forward throughout the first half, preventing them from being able to create any major goal scoring opportunities, but the minor premiers were resolute in stopping a number of City’s set-pieces.
The Black and Whites thought they’d broken through on 37 minutes when, after Kur Kur’s free kick pinballed in the 18-yard box, Kasumovic managed to poke a dribbling effort towards the far corner, which Torresan got his fingertips to turn past the post.
After a barren first half hour of the second half, though, Aladin Irabona was released in the 75th minute, bursting through the Comets defence and just about shaking off his marker, but Torresan was up to the task and rushed out to get a firm hand to his shot.
With the match destined to go to extra-time, Irabona was very nearly the hero in the 92nd minute when he darted through three Comets defenders to thump a cracking drive from outside the box, only for Torresan to produce an incredible flying save to keep him out.
Extra-time was bereft of chances for either side as fatigue began to set in, with penalties seeming inevitable from the early stages as the contest between two tired sides rolled on.
The shootout began with misses from each side as Yates’ shot cannoned into the crossbar and Joseph Costa struck the upright, before Nathan Andijanto and Barr got their respective sides back on track.
Chris Christofilos and Ayoubi both doubled their side’s tally, but Karatzas’ attempted top corner effort curled around the bar to hand the advantage back to City.
Irabona duly converted to put them 3-2 in front, before Welsh stepped up and blazed his shot over the bar to hand City the title.
Barr was named Player of the Match for his commanding presence in defence for City, combining perfectly with captain Matt Halliday to keep Comets at arm’s length from goal for most of the contest.
2,694 people turned through the gates at Marden on a perfect night for football, with little trouble from the elements to dampen proceedings or indeed City’s celebrations into the evening.