Sebastopol Vikings have locked in grand final appearances for both their division one open and women’s sides in Ballarat and District Soccer Association competition.
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In a thrilling finish, the division one open squad managed to turn around a two-goal deficit with just 25 minutes left of playing time in the semi final against Ballarat North United on Sunday.
While Ballarat North dominated the first half, the Vikings kept up their defence in windy conditions.
In the second half, the third-placed United scored a goal off a set piece and then got a break to score its second to lead by two.
But Sebastopol coach Rod Oppenhuis said the team rallied to get itself back into the game and lifted at the right moment.
“We scored a goal fairly quickly after they went two goals up, then about seven minutes later we scored an equaliser from a set piece and then we got a late one to win,” he said.
“I thought our last 15 minutes were pretty positive, but there probably wasn’t all that much between the teams – we were pretty fortunate to get away with the win.”
Oppenhuis was happy with the team’s defence, which held firm when Ballarat North fired in the opening half.
But he said Sebastopol could not afford to bring the same level of performance in its next game.
“Luckily when it counted the team lifted, which is a good sign because we did not play at our best, so to still win was a real positive,” he said.
“But coming back from two-nil is probably not going to be achievable in a grand final, we need to bring the pressure from the first minute.”
Among Sebastopol’s best were teenagers Henry Ward, who scored a goal, and Samuel Coxall.
Sebastopol has earned itself a week off before the grand final.
Oppenhuis said it would be a good time for the team to work on improving certain areas of its game, but it also needed to back its processes.
“We are not going to go outside what we’ve been doing for the last 20 weeks, we will just try to make a few slight adjustments and hopefully that’s good enough,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sebastopol’s women’s team has secured a grand final berth after defeating Warrnambool Rangers by a goal on Sunday.
It will come up against either Warrnambool or Ballarat, with both teams to face off in a decider on Sunday.
