Campbelltown City coach Joe Mullen thrilled for club as it adds another Premier League crown with 1-0 win over Adelaide City
CAMPBELLTOWN City coach Joe Mullen says his side’s 1-0 win over Adelaide City in the men’s Premier League soccer grand final at Hindmarsh Stadium on Saturday night is reward for all involved at the club.
CAMPBELLTOWN City coach Joe Mullen says his side’s 1-0 win over Adelaide City in the men’s Premier League soccer grand final at Hindmarsh Stadium on Saturday night is reward for all involved at the club.
The Red Devils became the first team to be crowned premiers and champions in the same season since West Adelaide achieved the rare feat in 2015.
Mullen said he was proud to have helped the club claim a second championship in three years.
“Very pleased and happy for the club, the sponsors, the supporters and of course most importantly the players,” Mullen said.
Yohei Matsumoto, who claimed man-of-the-match honours, scored the only goal of the game minutes into the second stanza after meeting Lui Ditroia’s perfectly weighted cross.
But that was not before City had the best opportunity to draw first blood when Joel Allwright’s penalty smacked the crossbar just before half-time.
Mullen was happy with the team’s performance and how his players managed the game.
“It was an excellent final, I thought that we did start extremely well,” he said.
“They did get a little bit of momentum but you expect that when you’re playing good quality opposition.
“But I always felt we were in control of the game and we were getting into positions to win the game as well.”
Campbelltown takes on Canberra FC in the nation’s capital in the National Premier League Finals series in a fortnight.
It was Adelaide City’s third straight grand final loss after being defeated by Campbelltown in 2016 and Croydon last year.
City coach Damian Mori lamented a missed penalty and felt it was a turning point in the game.
“I think the changing point was we had the opportunity to score,” Mori said.
“We didn’t take the penalty chance and Campbelltown came out second-half and scored early and we were chasing.”
Mori said Campbelltown was a deserving winner, having been the best team all year.
“Campbelltown were the better team, they won the minor premiership and they won the play-offs,” he said.
“We haven’t been able to do that for a few years.”