Queanbeyan City added the Capital Premier League Grand Final silverware to their League Championship crown with a 2-0 victory over a gallant Brindabella Blues at the Riverside Stadium, thanks to a goal in each half netted by midfield maestro Dejan Santrac and ace goal-poacher Nico Abot.
City were the worthy winners of the Final, played in front of a packed crowd at the home of the Monaro Panthers, the supporters still queueing to enter the venue even after the Final had kicked off and City had fired the first shot in anger as Marko Savkovic tested Rhys Flissinger in the Blues goal.
The Brindabella custodian was forced into a couple of routine stops in the opening half, mostly from distance, but could find no answer to a quite superb Queanbeyan opener just before the twenty-minute mark, the goal coming after a sustained period of pressure from the table-toppers.
Santrac started it, passing into Steven Kreskas whose shot was blocked by Ollie Witrzens, the Blues defender unable to clear further than Santrac, the midfielder lifting a precise finish over the head of Flissinger a couple of yards off his line, perfectly finding the arc to send the ball into the top corner.
That was the moment that mattered in the opening stanza, chances after that few and far between with City dominating possession and the Blues hitting hard on the break with Daniel Munoz seeking the tall targets of Jamie Ward and Curtis Schaeffer in the final third.
The goal that killed the contest was a thing of beauty. Mat Ryan began a City attack with a ball out to the right flank finding Vasko Petrovski seven minutes from time. He in turn fed substitute Hussein Fureje and his precise pass was perfectly weighted for Abot who needed no second invitation in rolling his 28th goal of the season into the far corner of the net.
The Blues launched one final assault, but Queanbeyan dealt comfortably with anything coming their way, only a Schaeffer header hitting the target and forcing Nick Middleton into a stop, whilst Witrzens headed wide from the top of the six-yard box.
RESULTS
Sunday 22 September
GRAND FINAL
Queanbeyan City 2 (Santrac 18’, Abot 83’) Brindabella Blues 0
Queanbeyan City: 1. Nick MIDDLETON, 3. Dylan COLBERTALDO, 4. Gabriel AYUEL (7. Hussein FUREJE 75’), 5. Nahuel GUERRERO, 6. Marko SAVKOVIC, 8. Dejan SANTRAC (14. Mohamed YANSANNEH 90+1’), 9. Nico ABOT, 15. Vasko PETROVSKI (34. Liam GILMORE 90+1’), 24. Steven KRESKAS (27. Daniel MUKEVSKI 75’), 29. Mat RYAN, 40. Johnny HAJDU (25. Abderrahim DELLAHI 57’)
Brindabella Blues: 1. Rhys FLISSINGER, 2. Jacob AYUEL, 5. Ollie WITRZENS, 6. Riley WILLIAMS (19. Niko BLASKOVIC 51’), 7. Henry WILKS (16. Michael NELSON 51’), 8. David GURNEY (20. Daniel MAKENY 77’), 9. Jamie WARD, 10. Daniel MUNOZ, 13. Curtis SCHAEFFER, 15. Daniel FELIZZI (23. Jack MARJORIBANKS 77’), 17. Deng ALEER-DENG
Substitutes not used: 14. Damien COREY
DISCIPLINE
Yellow Cards: 4. Gabriel AYUEL, 6. Marko SAVKOVIC, 24. Steven KRESKAS, C. Goran JOSIFOVSKI (Queanbeyan City), 10. Daniel MUNOZ, 17. Deng ALEER DENG (Brindabella Blues)
Red Cards: 3. Dylan COLBERTALDO (Queanbeyan City)
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Gareth BIGGS
Assistant Referees: Joshua EISER, Harrison CRACKNELL
Fourth Official: Christoper MESIKU
Player of the Match: 8. Dejan SANTRAC (Queanbeyan City)
