THREE Colours’ unbeaten S-League season came to a perfect conclusion late Sunday afternoon as they clinched the senior men’s league title by a point.
The Colours boys needed a win against Nichols Point to go to 30 points for the season and leapfrog title-holders Mildura City.
With a decisive 7-0 result that was achieved.
Of the seven goals, Three Colours’ sixth just before half-time – a miraculous bicycle kick by Endri Prifti – was the highlight.
Three Colours finished with nine wins and three draws from their 12 season games, while City finished with nine wins, two draws and one loss to register 29 points – having a final round bye to leave their fate agonisingly out of their hands.
Three Colours coach Paulo Souza spoke highly of his team, who claimed their first title since 2015.
“I’m just a guide, I just put out the best and they do the job,” he said.
“All credit to the boys, I’ve played this game for more than 40 years and I have my own ideas, I told them in the beginning, I said you’ve got to have discipline and respect and enjoy the game.
“It was easy for them but they had to work hard, so congratulations to them.”
It was a remarkable turnaround for Three Colours, who claimed the wooden spoon in a five-team competition in 2017 before finishing third out of four teams in 2018 and now top the league in a once again a five-team competition.
“The team performed so well this year, we transformed this club,” Souza said.
“Last year they were low in self-confidence, this year we did a perfect job, basically.”
Mildura City had already claimed the senior women’s title with a perfect 12-0 season, also having a bye on Sunday.
The S-League season concludes with the league presentation on Friday night before the separate finals series starts.
