Second NPL Grand Final Win For Sydney United 58 FC
A Glen Trifiro hat-trick has helped make Sydney United 58 FC to become the first club to win the National Premier League Grand Final twice.
Having last won the title back in 2013, they took the Championship title from NSW team Blacktown City on Sunday at Edensor Park, after a 4-1 win over Edgeworth.
The Edgeworth Eagles who had come on the back of impressive wins over Bentleigh Greens and Perth SC to reach the decider, started brightly but it was the hosts who opened the scoring midway through the first half.
Former North Queensland Fury A-League midfielder Pani Nikas, added his sixth goal of the 2016 NPL Finals, blasting his free-kick into the wall and it deflected inside the right post of Jim Fogarty’s goal.
The unlucky Eagles thought they had equalised just before the half-hour mark but their goal was disallowed after the referee decided it was handball against McBreen. Then on the 29th minute mark Trifiro scored the first of his hat-trick.
After going into the break 2 goals down, the Eagles were back in the contest with 20 minutes left on the clock, after Japanese star Keigo Moriyasu scored, from a penalty.
But Trifiro scored with 15 minutes to go when he ran through on goal after Dylan Holz had given the ball away on the halfway line and 11 minutes later the former Central Coast Mariners midfielder struck from Robbie Mileski’s cut-back.
Speaking after the match Edgeworth coach Damian Zane said: “It is what it is. They’ve got a budget four times or more ours. Should we have played 4-3-3 and opened up? We’re not quite there yet. We’re building each year.
“First half I thought Keanu and Keigo caused them a lot of problems. I think Bren Hammel was in behind them twice and couldn’t get his touch.
“They’re a good team, but for our boys to respond the way they did in the second half. I thought we were the better team in the first 25 minutes of the half. Our end product, crossing and finishing, was just a bit off.”