Gambier Centrals held off a late charging Blue Lake on Sunday at McLaughlin Park with the Lions claiming a thrilling win to book their spot in the grand final.
Centrals controlled the game in the first half as they did well to hold the ball in their attacking half.
The Lions’ hard work paid off in the back end of the half as Jake Blackwell scored the opening goal to give Centrals the lead, with they took into the half time break.
It did not take long in the new stanza for Centrals to build off the momentum they had in the first half.
Centrals struck again when Sam Shoemark scored the second goal of the game to give his side a two goal lead.
The Lions continued to keep the pressure on Blue Lake despite the Rangers’ desperate efforts to get back into the game.
As Centrals continued to keep their foot on the pedal they struck gold again as James Davey found the back of the net to put his side up by three.
Despite being up against it, Blue Lake refused to drop their heads as they continued to create chances.
They got their first chance in the back end of the half when they were awarded a penalty, with Shar Nay Than stepping up to get his side on the board with the penalty kick.
That goal prompted the momentum to shift in favour of Blue Lake as they found new life, coming up big when they were awarded a second penalty kick not long after the first, and again Than took the kick, converting to bring the game back to one score.
As the Rangers’ energy shifted they continued to put the pressure on Centrals in a bid to claw back the one goal deficit.
That determination paid off as Than found the back of the net again, tying the game up in the span of five minutes.
With the game now tied Centrals’ urgency lifted as they looked for a match-winning goal, and while they had changes but struggled to convert.
With the game in stoppage time Centrals set themselves up with one last shot to claim the victory with a corner kick.
As the clock ticked down Shoemark came up big for Centrals, striking the ball off the corner and finding the back of the net to score the winning goal in the 93rd minute.
After the game Centrals coach Brodey Koop spoke to The SE Voice about how he felt on making it to the grand final after the thrilling game.
“I’m relieved, it’s what any team sets out to do so to be able to be there and giving ourselves a chance next weekend is a relief,” he said.
“But we know the job’s not done and we have got one week to go so we will prepare as best as possible for it.”
After watching his side’s three goal lead evaporate late in the game Koop said he definitely had plenty of nerves in the final minutes of play.
“I think my heart rate is still flying around at the moment, credit to Blue Lake at three nil we probably took the foot of the pedal a little bit and they took advantage of that and came back in it,” he said.
“But this group will not die and they will fight to the end and it showed with the last kick of the game and we managed to score.”
Koop was full of praise for his players, with several standing out in the win.
“I thought it took a whole team performance but Matt Porter down back had a great game for us, he kept Shar Nay pretty quiet, the guy got two goals but they were both pens so I thought he did great,” he said.
“Christian Fleetwood in the middle of the park was solid and Sam (Shoemark) stood out when he needed to with his two goals but anyone who stepped out there today I was really happy with.”
Centrals defeated Blue Lake 4-3.
Gambier Centrals will now face International this Sunday at Casadio Park in the grand final.
