Keilor Park has secured back-to-back promotions with victory in the final round of the FV state league 1 north-west season getting the job done.
The Eagles had been the team to beat for the most of the season before a late season slip up left the race for the championship to the final round.
Keilor Park had a 2-1 win against Corio on Saturday to make sure it didn’t have to rely on other results.
Eagles coach Sergio Sabbadini said it was a pretty amazing feeling to go back-to-back after winning the state league 2 north-west title last year.
“It was a massive ride,” he said. “To be honest, going back-to-back is one of the hardest things I have done.
“We led for so long and then had a slump for four or five weeks and we allowed everyone to catch up to us and we had our backs against the wall.
“We won every game from then on.
“The players were fantastic and the club was fantastic.”
Sabbadini said coming out of the mid-season slump was a test of character for the group.
He said everyone passed that with flying colours.
While the Eagles’ own fate remained in their own hands, Sabbadini said it was still a challenge.
“We were stressed to the max,” he said. “Corio had been flirting with relegation, so it was a live game for both sides.
“We kept our feet on the ground and scored a goal when we had to and then defended.”
The Eagles opened the scoring in the 11th minute through Sam Litchfield before Banyule got one back six minutes later.
Ren Furuyama scored what would be the winner in the 70th minute.
Sabbadini said they then looked to shut the game down.
“We thought that was enough,” he said. “The ground was rock hard and the ball was spending a lot of time in the air.
“We put an extra midfielder back and we would be the one looking to hit them on the break.”
The Eagles finished two points clear of Banyule City and Sydenham Park.
Banyule will face the second side from the state league 1 south-west competition for the third promotion spot.
Sabbadini said they had added two or three players this season but the core group had been together for the past two years making the feat more remarkable.
The Eagles will now play in the Victorian Premier League 2 competition next season.
He said he didn’t think they had played at that level before.
“We’re having meetings this week to sort a few things out and then it’s a bit of a break,” he said.
The championship caps off a big year for the Eagles.
The club’s top women’s side has earned promotion into the National Premier League Women’s competition for next season.
The club has been issued an NPL boys licence to go with the girls one they already hold.
“It’s massive,” Sabbadini said. “We want to be a destination club in the area.”
