Myrtleford continued its dominant reign in the AWFA senior men’s competition by claiming a third straight cup title with a 3-1 victory against Boomers in Sunday’s final at Jelbart Park.
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After being blown away early by Melrose in last week’s semi-final, the Savoys were up for the contest from the first whistle and it was co-coach Matt Park that opened the scoring with a well-placed effort in the 25th minute to give his side the upper hand.
Senior men’s Star Player Tom Youngs was quick to stamp his authority on the contest and was well set up by Park to make it 2-0 to the reigning champions two minutes later.
Myrtleford had the upper hand for the remainder of the half and took a handy lead into the break.
Just as the contest appeared to be slipping from Boomers’ grasp, coach Andrew Grove stepped up to deliver a stunning free kick from the edge of the 18-yard box to keep his side in it on the hour mark.
Boomers pressed hard for an equaliser, but five minutes later they were caught on the counter as Park weaved his way past a number of opposition defenders to slot his second and make life difficult for the underdogs.
Adam Griffith came close to finding an answer for Boomers inside the final 15 minutes, but his shot drifted just wide of the left upright after he found himself one-on-one with the keeper.
Savoys’ co-coach Jayden Vescio produced an incredible reflex save with less than five to play after a shot deflected off one of his defenders, before denying attempts from Griffith and Noah Spiteri in stoppage time.
Vescio admitted it was a special performance.
“We were beaten in the first 20 minutes last week and we needed to make amends of that,” he said.
“I thought our first half-an-hour was brilliant and that’s what ‘Parksy’ (Park) and I get from this group.
“A lot of people thought if they could nullify Tom Youngs they could get the job done, but it shows today with players like Angus Kelly starring, his first 60 minutes was unbelievable, along with Jesse Stephens.
“Our big boys stood up down back and we were potent in front of goal.”
Myrtleford became the first senior men’s team to win three straight cup titles since Albury United’s dominant run in finals from 2004 through to 2007.
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