They've done it - Forbes Foxes are our 2024 season Lachlan Amateur Soccer Association premiers.
"A long time coming!" were the words of captain Jack Janetzki as his side celebrated the well-contested 2-1 win over Parkes Vipers at Botanical Gardens.
Forbes has been building to this since 2019, a loss in the 2023 grand final giving them a whole new level of focus for this year's campaign.
The grand final was a tough contest, the scores locked at nil-all until well after half time.
Forbes' Karma Dechen was first to score, Vipers' goalkeeper diving to stop it but it trickled past his fingers.
Latest Stories
It wasn't long until Parkes found an opportunity and scored their own to level the scores at 1-1 with the clock ticking.
A critical penalty gave the Foxes another opportunity and Jacob Collits was sound with it.
Parkes came close, but the ball hit the post and dribbled back out of the goal mouth.
The Foxes captain paid tribute to their opponents - a very young and athletic side.
"They're a good team, they've been always good hard games against them," Janetzki said.
"(You) just take your chances. They missed a few, we missed a few, but that's it."
He couldn't have been happier with a solid team effort from the Foxes.
Dechen was named player of the match for his work throughout, but there were solid performances across the field.
"And then the crowd," Janetzki added.
"A cheer like that when you score is better than anything."
Both teams were congratulated on a well played game at the presentation.
Vipers coach Wayne Osborne credited Foxes as the benchmark of the competition.
"We've had some great tussles through the year and the grand final was no exception," he said.
"It was a fantastic game.
"Thanks to my boys, most of them very young men straight out of juniors, a few old faces.
"I've been so proud of them the way they've played this year, the way they've risen up to challenges, so congratulations and I'm sure we'll see you go round next year again."
Forbes Foxes: Ashley Milford (goalkeeper), Ethan Byrne, Luke Davis, Andrew Leslie, Alex Earney, Karma Dechen, David Hodge, Elias Bernardi, Karl Biles, Shane Percy, Harry Stewart, Jack Janetzki (captain), Jacob Collits, Ben Crowley, Jacob Molloy, Santiago Alasevicius, Brody Hodges, Danny Bilsborough, Brad Nikolic.
Parkes Vipers: Harry Kennedy (goalkeeper), Harry Budd, Oliver Neilson, Rylee Quigg, Shivas Chand, Caleb Rixon, Kai Airy, Riley McMaster, Lachlan Kupkee, Stuart Lamond, Cameron Kopp, Oliver Westcott, Josh Sutton, Charlie Jones, Calum Gillow.
