Western United have claimed their first A-League title, in just their third season in the competition – with a 2-0 win over crosstown rivals Melbourne City in the grand final.
A Nuno Reis own goal under heavy pressure from Aleksandar Prijovic opened the scoring after two minutes, before the Serbian had a goal to call his own after a fortuitous bounce on the half-hour mark.
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City struck the crossbar with a header from Curtis Good just two minutes after the restart and were by far the more aggressive team after the interval, but Jamie Young and a stout defence in front of him held firm.
“It’s hard to put into words just now,” Young said.
“We will give it a week and see what happens. I’m so proud to be at this club and play with these players.
“I love the training ground, love this club. One of the best days of my life.”
A healthy crowd of 22,495 was on hand to watch the all-Melbourne affair, with reigning champions City trying to become the first team since Sydney FC to go back-to-back.
Instead, it was John Aloisi’s band of upstarts who took the glory.
“They’ve been too good through the finals,” Andy Harper said as time ticked away in stoppage time.
Eyebrows were raised when the governing body elected to add a third Melbourne team into the competition rather than expand to a new area, and whatever the argument about their impact off the field, on the field has been a success, finishing fifth in their inaugural season before a sophomore slump led to this brilliant campaign.
“Today, the final was very clear in our favour,” Prijovic said afterwards.
“When I came [to Australia] in the very beginning, John told me the finals were the most important thing in Australia.
“From the very beginning, we were very sure that in the final, we were going to win.”
Aloisi was brought into the club after seven consecutive losses to end last season, replacing Mark Rudan – it was a gamble that has now well and truly paid off.
After subpar stints with City and the Brisbane Roar, Aloisi now has his first title as coach, to match a glittering playing career.