Surfside Waves won a gripping and thrilling men’s Division 1 grand final against Surf Coast at Myers Reserve.
The Waves had to do it the hard way, suffering several season-ending injuries at the start of the season, including goalkeeper Oliver Moore (knee), Bodey Dittloff (knee) and Isaiah Mujica with a displaced right tibia and fibula.
“A testament to the strength of the squad saw us bounce back from such adversity after having lost two out of the first three games,” coach Pablo Mujica said.
The Waves came back from being a goal down to score on the stroke of half time through Adrian Bond and then scored the winner through Andrew Stevenson in the 78th minute.
Mujica then made a defensive substitution sending Luis McClelland to the bench and the Waves were able to hold on, despite six long minutes of injury time.
“One of our central defenders was on a yellow card and I took him off just after we scored because if he had to make a challenge, I didn’t want another yellow and being forced to play one short,” he said.
In front of a good crowd, the Waves won the premiership after finishing second on the ladder with Surf Coast finishing fourth.
Geelong Rangers had only lost one game all season, but were beaten by Surf Coast in a semi-final.
Surfside defeated third placed Corio 1-nil in the semi-final.
Mujica made three changes to his central midfield halfway through the opening half.
“We were getting caught too defensive and getting exposed in the midfield,” he said.
Despite conceding the first goal, Mujica said he was still confident.
“We started off a bit shaky but after the first 20 minutes we settled,” he said.
“It was just a case of backing our processes and doing what we’ve done all year to get is to the position we were in.”
Mujica said Bond’s goal on the stroke of the halftime whistle improved the mood of the players.
“We were pretty upbeat but just a little disappointed that we’d let them get a goal,” he said.
“We just had to back ourselves as we had done all year.”
Luis McClelland, goalkeeper Tyler Dittloff and Mathew Kirk played their roles perfectly all game.
Mujica said the club’s culture was a major reason behind its success this year.
“We’re a small club compared to some of the others in the region but we give everyone and opportunity and everyone says they feel welcome when they first arrive,” he said.
