From the highs of a league championship to the lows of being knocked out of the finals series in straight sets. Football really is a cruel game.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
That was the grim reality for Albion Park White Eagles after they were upset in their preliminary final against Coniston.
After the first week off in the finals due to them winning the premiership, all seemed to be going so smoothly in the second week against Cringila. Their talisman Cameron Morgan had them 2-0 up inside seven minutes, before capitulation followed and the Lions qualified for the decider with a come from behind 3-2 win.
So then the attention turned to Coniston with the winner to face Cringilaon the last day of the season. With the preliminary final seemingly destined for extra time, disaster struck in the 87th minute when Daniel Loe headed home from a corner to make it 1-0 which confirmed APWE's destiny.
Knocked out before the final hurdle.
Despite the disappointment, White Eagles coach George Antoniou said there was a silver lining.
![George Antoniou won the league championship in his first season at Albion Park. Picture by Sylvia Liber George Antoniou won the league championship in his first season at Albion Park. Picture by Sylvia Liber](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/181794477/69f4dd3d-0ae4-46aa-add7-3e977cdf4f44.jpg/r0_280_5472_3369_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"We were very happy with how we performed throughout the regular season," he said.
"But at the end of the day we weren't good enough. I think both teams had limited opportunities. It was a very tough game in the middle of the park. In the end they took their chance and the one half chance we had we couldn't convert and that's what you need to do in those tight games."
A former coach at Wollongong Olympic, Antoniou came into the role of Albion Park coach with the goal of getting them back into finals football after they missed out in 2022.
In the end they blew the competition away. Albion Park recorded 18 wins in 22 games, with just two losses. In the end, they collected 56 points, 12 ahead of second placed Cringila.
"I take winning the league as the purest in terms of football. You always want to win the league first and foremost and whatever comes after that is a bonus," Antoniou continued.
The Illawarra Premier League grand final will be this Sunday (September 17) with rivals Cringila and Coniston taking part. Kickoff 3pm at WIN Stadium.
Our news app has had a makeover, making it faster and giving you access to even more great content. Download The Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store and Google Play.