On the biggest day of its season, the Western Suburbs Soccer Club was perfect.
Suburbs blasted four goals past Corio and kept a clean sheet in the process to secure the state league 1 soccer championship.
The win caps off a remarkable turnaround for the club which battled its way to a mid table finish last season.
Twelve months later and Western Suburbs are in top spot on the table with 14 wins, three draws and five losses.
The club conceded just 21 goals for the season, the second least in the league.
First year Western Suburbs coach Terry Antoniadis described the win as an outstanding reward for a lot of hard work.
“It is an amazing feeling and it is really special,” he said.
“It validates all the hard work and the time and effort that you put into the job. It is a great reward for everybody involved at the club.
“These titles are not easy to win. They don’t come around too often. You’ve got to make the most of it and enjoy it when it happens and that is what we will do.”
While Western Suburbs was able to brush the 11th placed Corio aside, there was extreme pressure coming from the top end of the ladder.
Going into the final round, Suburbs were ahead of rival Sydenham Park by just goal difference while Altona Magic and Preston Lions could both still claim the title.
With all three chasing sides expected to win their final round matches, Antoniadis knew three points was the only thing that would get the job done.
Having led the league by five points with three rounds remaining, the victorious coach was full of praise for the way his players fought through the tough finish.
“It is not that we took our focus off anything, we just had to make sure we stayed grounded and understood that there was still work to be done and I think the boys did that,” he said.
“To Sydenham and Altona Magic’s credit, they were right on our tails just waiting for us to slip up and we did. We sort of left it ajar for them a little bit.
“For the boys to respond the way they did and put on the performances that we did, it does speak volumes about this group.”
With no promotion into the NPL this season for the state league 1 title winner, Western Suburbs will have the chance to defend their championship victory next season.
Antoniadis said anything was possible for the club if it could keep its list together.
He expected a number of quality sides to be keeping close tabs of his highly skilled group.
“We think we have got some really special players at our club,” he said.
“Every player should aim to compete at a higher level and we think we have players capable of doing that.
“If we can keep the group together there is no reason why we can’t challenge again next year. It is an extremely competitive league and there will be lots of sides that will want that promotion next year.”
