COBRAM and Albury United couldn’t break their deadlock in regular time, but it took the Roar barely three minutes of extra time to net a golden goal and book their place in the Cup final.
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It was a sweet victory for the Roar, who have been determined to make up for their quarter-final exit in the Cup last season.
Bill Marshall was the hero for Cobram, able to loft one over the top of United keeper Marty Chambers to seal a hard-fought victory.
They’ll face Myrtleford in next weekend’s Cup final, after the Savoys defeated Melrose 2-1.
I was actually a little worried heading into extra time...luckily we started quickly and managed to get on top.
- Adam Gatcum
Cobram head coach Adam Gatcum said he had faith in his team’s offensive weapons, but was thankful they had been able to strike quickly in extra time.
“I was actually a little bit worried heading into extra time, Albury United have a very fit, physical side so I thought it might be tough for us,” he said.
“Luckily we started quickly and managed to get on top early, it was a great way to finish.”
Albury United coach Matt Campbell had tipped the contest would come down to whose defence could hold out the longest, and he certainly wasn't wrong.
The reflexes of Chambers were tested on more than one occasion during the first half, while United had their fair share of attacking plays in the second.
After having succumbed to United twice during the regular season, Gatcum said it was good to pick up the win when it counted most.
“Matt Campbell is a very good coach, he has them very well-organised and you can see that they run themselves into the ground for him,” he said.
“When you come up against a team like that they're going to be very difficult to break down, which was the case for the first 90 minutes.
“I was always confident though, with the likes of Bill Puckett and Bill Marshall, that we'd be able to nick a goal at some stage.”
There’ll be a big contingent from Cobram making the journey back to Jelbart Park next weekend, with both the Roar’s reserves and division three teams making it into their respective grand finals.
“It’s massive for our club, it shows we’ve got some really good depth in our ranks,” Gatcum said.
“It was really important to win through to the final this year.
“We came off a great season last year, but to back it up this year and make a grand final is a bit different.
“Once Myrtleford won the league we started to take a different approach and prepare ourselves, whereas last year it was just a case of winning every game as convincingly as possible.
“This year we re-evaluated, tried a few different things, maybe that’s what has helped us out a bit.”
League champions and reigning Cup champions Myrtleford were too strong for Melrose in the other semi-final, claiming a hard-fought 2-1 win to progress.
