Salisbury Inter have claimed their first ever WNPLSA championship, coming from behind to defeat West Adelaide 3-2 in a thrilling match at Mount Barker’s Summit Sport and Recreation Park.
West led twice through an early own goal and a classy Nicole Tilley strike, which sandwiched Emily Heazlewood’s equaliser, before Dragana Kljajic drew them level late on and Maria Jose Rojas found the winner three minutes from time.
The win completes a remarkable season for Simon Catanzaro’s Inter, who entered the season without a title to their name and finish with the championship, minor premiership and WNPL and WSL Cup in their cabinet.
The match roared into life just two minutes after kick-off, when Nicole Tilley broke down the left wing and delivered a searing low cross, which could only find the boot of Inter defender Mina Nishitani to turn into her own net and hand West a shock early lead.
Chilean superstar Cote Rojas was well-shackled by West’s Siena Covino, who curbed her flair and creativity throughout the opening 45 minutes, but she spurned Inter’s first real chance when her attempted dink sailed over the crossbar.
The minor premiers began to work their way back into the match after West’s dominant spell in the opening 20 minutes and it didn’t take long for them to draw level, as Emily Heazlewood got a toe on the ball through congestion in the box to restore parity on 26 minutes.
Nicole Calder almost handed them the lead on the half-hour mark when her header from a corner rattled the crossbar, following up with another effort that landed safely in the hands of West ‘keeper Erin Murphy.
Despite battling to stay in the contest in the first half, they shot out of the blocks in the second, taking just three minutes after the restart to regain their advantage as captain Tilley recovered a blocked shot to thump home at the near post and make it 2-1.
Inter had a golden chance to draw level for a second time in the 60th minute, when Rojas broke away and rounded the keeper, only to have her shot blocked by Covino to prevent a seemingly certain goal.
It took almost 20 minutes for either side to create another major chance, when Calder unleashed a thunderous dipping shot from outside the box, forcing Murphy into an acrobatic fingertip save onto the crossbar.
Inter’s persistence finally paid off in the 79th minute, when a ball into the box was dummied by Erin Hood and fell for Dragana Kljajic, who curled her shot away from the keeper into the corner from the edge of the area to equalise at 2-2.
After a period of high pressing and peppering West’s goal, they finally snatched the lead in the 87th minute when the diminutive Rojas rose highest to meet Emily Condon’s cross and nod over the ‘keeper to send the black and blue support into raptures.
Condon was named player of the match for her tireless efforts in attack for Inter throughout the Grand Final and role in their late winner.
1,726 fans came through the gates at Mount Barker throughout the day, with Football SA NTC claiming the reserves premiership with a 5-1 victory over West Adelaide and Fulham United defeating West Torrens Birkalla 1-0 in the WNPL/WSL playoff second leg (4-2 on aggregate) to cement their top-flight status for 2022.
Salisbury Inter: 3(Emily HEAZLEWOOD 26', Dragana KLJAJIC 78', Maria Jose ROJAS PINO 86')
West Adelaide: 2( 2'(OG), Nicole TILLEY 48')
Venue: Summit Sport and Recreation Park
Date: 23/10/2021 03:00
Salisbury Inter Substitutes: Erin HOOD on Emily HEAZLEWOOD off(57'), Khal ADAM KHAN on Chrissa PAVLOMANOLAKOS off(71')
West Adelaide Substitutes: Harriet BURNETT on off(71')
Salisbury Inter Yellow cards: Nil
West Adelaide Yellow cards: Siena COVINO 52'
Salisbury Inter Red cards: Nil
West Adelaide Red cards: Nil