Oxley Vale Attunga won the 2011 New England Mutual Premier League Grand Final on Saturday defeating Demon Knights 2-1 at Gipps Street Fields in Tamworth.
A warm 28 degree day greeted the teams making for hot and tiring conditions. The first half was a close affair with neither side looking more dominate. Few opportunities presented themselves for either side and going into the half time break the score was still 0-0.
Around 5 minutes into the second half OVA scored taking the lead for the first time in the game. Fortunately for the Demon Knights they were able to equalise quickly with a goal from Declan Humphries.
This seemed to rejuvenate the Knights who looked determined to set the tempo of the rest of the game and came close to scoring off the boot of Adam Singer only missing the back of the net from a blistering save from the OVA Goal Keeper.
A thrilling game entertained the crowd for the rest of the second half with OVA managing to score and hold on to take the grand final win 2-1.
Demon Knights Captain Chris Daly was disappointed with the loss but overall couldn’t have been happier with his teams’ performance across the 2011 season.
“We talked about not conceding an early goal in this game as we had done in previous games against OVA, so our first half went well for us,” said Chris Daly.
“We responded really well in the second half after they scored early to take the lead with the equaliser from Declan.
“We had the better opportunities in the second half but unfortunately due to a great save from the OVA goal keeper we couldn’t make those opportunities stick.
“They then went the length of the field to score and take the win.
“We finished sixth last year and second this year so it has been a big improvement for us.
“We are already looking forward to next year,” said Chris Daly.
Story: Jo Harrison
