Hellenic AC triumph over Mindil Aces for second year in a row
Hellenic AC has retained its title as the Territory’s premier club, following two blockbuster grand finals against rivals Mindil Aces. Read our recaps here.
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For the second year in a row, Hellenic AC and Mindil Aces FC battled it out in both the MPL and WPL grand finals, delivering two blockbuster matches that went the distance.
MPL
From a hat-trick hero and dual penalties, goalies receiving yellows and a coach getting carded, to heartache and utter elation, the granny was an absolute blockbuster.
Kicking off in the still humid heat at 8.10pm Sunday night the storylines were set.
Mindil were set out to exact revenge for last season’s 1-0 grand final loss.
Hellenic were in the hunt for the elusive triple crown – premiership, Australia Cup and Greek Cup.
The opening 10 minutes of the game set the tone. Full throttle and full of venom, both sides were in for the fight.
Hellenic got out to an early lead after Simon Bell tapped in a brilliant ball from Matthew McNab at the top of the six yard box, after the winger’s courageous run down the left.
The game then went into a bit of a holding pattern until Uche Okwara scored Mindil’s opener in the 34th minute, scoring off the back of Jake Wright’s run down the left, in a similar fashion to McNab moments earlier.
Then, flipping the game on its head, Okwara snagged his second goal of the game, a spot kick following hands in the back in the 43rd.
The second half got even crazier.
It was once again a stand-off for the opening 15 minutes until Mindil’s goalie kung-fu kicked a charging Robert Kilmartin in the box, gifting the blue and white a penalty.
Cult hero Bell stepped up to the mark and slotted the ball into the bottom left to level the score at 2-2.
Then, just three minutes later, another connection from McNab and Bell saw Hellenic re-take the lead.
If you can believe it, Mindil responded a mere 90 seconds later.
A beauty from outside the 18 yard, Wright channelled his inner Beckham, bending the ball around the Hellenic defence into the right corner of the goal, stunning the Hellenic faithful and sending Aces supporters into hysterics.
The ensuing 20 minutes got a bit grubby.
Both sides falling foul of the occasion, throwing shoulder charges akin to Sonny Bill at Canterbury and making horrific challenges that brought flashbacks of Aaron Ramsey in 2010 to all the football tragics.
Nevertheless, the game looked destined for extra time, until it wasn’t.
Hellenic broke the hearts of Mindil as Savvas Trikoilis netted the ball in the 88th minute to retake the lead and secure the win.
“That was one hell of a game,” Hellenic’s hat-trick hero Simon Bell said post match.
“It’s always a bloody tough game whenever we play them, and we know that we need to be at our best, bring our A-game.
“That’s the fighting spirit that Mindil have got, they never ever give up, they have that ‘never say die’ attitude.”
The number nine was supremely proud of his side’s performance, saying it was tough to stay at the top game after game but he’s glad he stuck around.
“We’ve won everything this season,” he said.
“Sometimes it’s a bit hard you know to get everyone fired up and to get motivated, but we tried our hardest tonight and did just that.
“I actually nearly retired at the end of last season. I scored a goal in the grand final and I thought it couldn’t get any better than that, then I got a hat-trick tonight, so it was worth sticking around.
“And to top it all off, having Savvas (Trikoilis) score the winning goal is crazy. He’s scored like two goals in his whole life and one was to win a grand final.
“In all, it was just a great team performance.”
On the other side of the fence and understandably gutted to have been felled in such a manner, Mindil’s Jake Wright said he was proud of his team nonetheless.
“Look, it’s just one of them games,” he said.
“I’m really proud of the boys and their efforts tonight.
“They gave everything all season.
“That game could’ve gone either way. We could easily be the ones standing there (behind champions banner), we hit the bar twice.
“But to lose at the end like that is hard.”
Full-time: Hellenic AC 4 def. 3 Mindil Aces FC
HAC
Goals: Simon Bell 17’, 62’(P), 65’, Savvas Trikoilis 88’
Assists: Matthew McNab 17’, 65’, Stylianos Vrontos 88’
ACES
Goals: Uche Okwara 34’, 43’(P), Jake Wright 67’
Assists: Jake Wright 34’
WPL
Preceding the MPL match and also an absolute cracker, Hellenic and Mindil fought till the bitter end in a match overflowing with passion.
A game that saw the losing team be arguably the better of the two, it came down to individual brilliance, game-saving goalkeeping and capitalising on chances that made the difference.
In the first, the blue and white juggernaut that is Hellenic were not mucking around, getting off to a brilliant start after some individual brilliance from their number 10, Sophia Makrylos.
Receiving the ball inside her own half, Makrylos tore through the defence of Mindil, taking the ball past flailing black and yellow jerseys to the top of the box, rocketing the ball into the bottom right corner in the 15th.
Hellenic struck again in the 23rd after Fate-Anna Tom took possession 10m out from the 18 yard box, launching a pearler of a shot over the goalie outstretched hands into the top right corner.
The defending champions then added to their tally eight minutes later when Jazzmin Forwood stormed down the right wing, to the top right corner of the box, launching the ball with a ferociousness into the top right corner.
The second half saw Mindil yet again play the better football, controlling the tempo and fighting back.
Mindil finally got on the board after Cassie McWilliam kept her nerve and kicked a penalty in the 66th.
The sharpshooting left-footer then struck again with a world-class goal in the 74th, a floater from five metres out from the top left corner of the 18, that soared over the defenders and the keeper into the top right corner of the net.
The Aces then went hell for leather, raining down the shots and corners in the final 10 minutes but didn’t have the magic touch to crack the Hellenic defence.
“That was one of the best finals we’ve had in a while, it was so competitive,” Hellenic’s Jazzmin Forwood said.
“The second half was fantastic.
“We thought that we’d run away with it in the first half.”
The goal scorer put down the victory to her team’s heroics both in attacking and defending the goal.
“We made our chances in front of goal count which was the difference,” she said.
“I’m so proud of the girls, considering the age of them, and how they handled themselves.
“Our back line was so solid and so composed, especially in the final 10 minutes when it was corner after corner and conceding shots, but we stayed strong and kept our heads up especially after that second goal.”
Mindil’s heart and soul Lauren Riley was shattered after the defeat but was proud of her side’s efforts.
“The most frustrating thing about this loss is the fact that we had the majority of possession and control throughout the game,” she said.
“In the end we just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net, but that’s football.
“The girls fought hard and I’m very proud of how we came back at the end.”
Full-time: Hellenic AC 3 def. 2 Mindil Aces FC
HAC
Goals: Sophia Makrylos 15’, Fate-Anna Tom 23’, Jazzmin Forwood 31’
ACES
Goals: Cassie McWilliam (P) 66’, 74’
Assist: Teagan McWilliam 74’
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