Warners Bay have secured the first ever NPLW Northern NSW championship trophy with a 4-2 grand final victory over Newcastle Olympic at No.2 Sportsground on Sunday.
Northern NSW Football's top-flight women's competition transitioned to National Premier Leagues (NPL) status this year and the Panthers were tipped from the outset to be the team to beat.
They set the pace all year, finishing top of the table with 55 points after 21 rounds, then sealed the premiership-championship double in an entertaining match on Sunday.
But the Panthers were made to work for it with the scoreline not a true reflection of the battle that was fought.
Warners Bay made a flying start to lead 2-0 after 16 minutes. Lauren Allan struck first, in the 10th minute, when she scored with the outside of her foot from close range after Tara Andrews had volleyed on a corner kick.
Andrews made it 2-0 six minutes later with a back-post volley off another pinpoint Adriana Konjarski delivery from a corner.
Warners Bay looked to be well and truly in control of the match but Olympic, as they have done all year, slowly started building momentum and fighting back.
The breakthrough came through a penalty in the 42nd minute. It was awarded after Konjarski was deemed to have fouled Jemma House just inside the 18-yard box box after an Olympic corner.
Olympic captain Laura Hall stepped up for the spot kick and calmly fired it into the right side of the goal. A diving Panthers goalkeeper Ally Boertje got her left hand to the ball but could not deny the shot.
Olympic, who had finished fourth with 34 points and battled their way through two sudden death finals to make their second grand final after winning in 2020, came out of the sheds firing after half-time.
But a defensive error in the 52nd minute restored the two-goal advantage for Warners Bay. Cassidy Davis swooped onto a badly played back pass from Olympic's Brooke Summers and had a shot from just outside the edge of the 18-yard box.
Olympic goalkeeper Natalie Wiseman got a hand to the ball but was knocked over by her centre-back Jorjia Hogg and Davis finished into an open net.
Olympic pegged one back in the 57th when Keely Gawthrop scored from close range after Summers chipped the ball into the box.
But the result was determined in the 83rd minute when Allan, who was named player of the final, struck a shot from the left of the area that bounced awkwardly in front of Wiseman and over her head into the net.
It was just the second time Warners Bay have won a grand final, after also winning in 2016.
They lost grand finals to Merewether in 2017 and 2018 before going down 3-2 to Olympic in 2020. No finals were held last year due to COVID.
Warners Bay coach Craig Atkins described the victory as well-deserved after such a strong year.
"Credit to the girls, we knew it was a battle and they battled hard and I felt they deserved to win," Atkins said.
"It was a nice way to finish off the year - minor and major. They're a good bunch of girls. It doesn't matter which players you've got, you've got to gel and these girls have done that.
"Full credit to every single one of them because they've played a part."
Olympic joined the competition in 2020, claiming the premiership-championship double in their first season.
They finished a COVID-shortened season last year a close second on the points table but had to overcome a number of challenges this campaign to feature in another grand final.
Olympic coach Paul DeVitis was disappointed with the result but not the effort.
"Warners Bay obviously started better than us, which is a bit disappointing from our point of view because we talked about how we needed to get on top early," DeVitis said.
"But we don't back down, and we didn't back down and we got one and then we regrouped at half-time then we put them under big pressure, creating chances, hitting the posts, scrambles. It was really entertaining.
"We were ready to score that equaliser then, unfortunately, literally the bounce of the ball cost us right at the end and just deflated the last 10 minutes.
"But well done to Warners Bay. They've been the top team all year. They've scored the goals today but I'm super proud that we just battled and never gave up."
On Saturday at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility, Olympic beat Broadmeadow 3-2 in the reserve-grade grand final and were also crowned champions in 17s after defeating Adamstown 5-5 (4-2) on penalties.
Rosebud won the 13s and 15s championships. They beat Charlestown 2-1 in 13s and defeated Maitland 4-0 in 15s.
