Wollongong Wolves secure National Premier Leagues crown with thrilling extra-time victory

Bul Juach was the hero for the Wolves, the substitute handing his team the lead in the 109^th minute.

Thomas James added his second seven minutes later to put Wollongong up 4-2, before a Joe Duckworth penalty cut the scores to 4-3 and ensured a tense finish.

The Wolves held their nerve, however, with Luke Wilkshire's side erupting into jubilant celebrations upon the blowing of the final whistle.

Wilkshire praised Juach for making an impact when his team needed it most.

"I told him to go and give us fresh legs, go and win us the game," Wilkshire said. "They were a man down and I just said to use your energy and win us the game.

"We've had players all year who have made an impact late, Stefan Dimoski has done it, now Bul's done it. There's a time and place for everyone."

The victory capped a successful season for the Wolves, with the club breaking a 31-year premiership drought on the way to Saturday's National Premier Leagues title.

The final 15 minutes were reflective of an action packed match, with both sides trading the lead throughout the 90 minutes of regulation.

The Lions entered the match hoping to avenge for a 2-1 defeat to South Australia's Campbelltown City in the 2018 national final and they jumped out to a fast start.

It took just 13 minutes for the Lions to open the scoring, Shaun Carlos connecting with a corner to silence the crowd at Albert Butler Park.

Wollongong had plenty of chances to level the scores in the first half, however the Lions did a good job retreating in defence to prevent the Wolves attackers from connecting with their shots.

After withstanding a Lions onslaught throughout the opening exchanges of the second half, the Wolves worked hard to gain the ascendancy.

With their opponents tiring, space started to open up for Wollongong's forwards to run, with John Kosmina Medal winner Harry Callahan making a number of searching runs.

Eventually one of those efforts brought a reward, the refereeing pointing to the spot after Callahan was brought down inside the box. James made no mistake with the penalty, the Englishman levelling the scores in the 52^nd minute.

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The Wolves quickly worked to build on the momentum, Callahan denied by a desperate Luke Borean save just minutes later.

Lachlan Scott thought he had the go-ahead goal midway through the second half, the former Western Sydney Wanderer finding the back of the net only to be denied by the offside flag.

The Lions defended valiantly, however they could only hold firm for so long and it was Takeru Okada who put the Wolves in front for the first time in the match in the 80^th minute.

That goal looked set to hand Wollongong their first NPL national title, however the game had a number of further twists in store.

With the Lions throwing everything forward in attack, it didn't take long for the visitors to hit back, substitute Marek Madle firing the equaliser past Wolves goalkeeper Justin Pasfield in the 84^th minute.

The Lions chances of pulling off the victory were dealt a significant blow in the second minute of injury time, when Mitch Hore was handed his second yellow card after taking down James in open space.

The Wolves pushed hard to end the match in regulation, however it was not to be, and an additional 30 minutes were required to determine the national champion.

Once extra time begun, it was Wilkshire's side who immediately took control. With the man advantage, Wollongong worked the ball around the field to create a number of attacking chances throughout the opening 15 minutes.

The Lions held firm, however, with the visitors attempting to slow the match down to limit the Wolves chances.

Buach was introduced into the match in the 95^th minute and it ultimately proved a Wilkshire masterstroke.

Probing forward down the right flank early in the second period of extra time, Taylor McDonald delivered a perfect cross into the box, where Juach leapt above his rivals to put his team in front.

While there were ultimately two more goals in the match, Juach's was the decisive strike, his header handing the Wolves their first national title since their 2001 National Soccer League championship.

With the Wolves pushed all the way by a quality opponent, Wilkshire said the win was the culmination of 12 months of hard work.

"Ending the season on a victory is what the boys deserve," Wilkshire said.

"The guys worked unbelievably hard all year, they were fantastic again on Saturday. I can't ask anything more of them."

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