Spinifex Pumas crowned Broome soccer champions after upset win over Chinatown Dragons

The Spinifex Pumas have been crowned 2021 Broome Soccer Association champions after an upset win over previously undefeated Chinatown Dragons in the grand final. After an impressive come-from-behind victory in their semi final game against Pearlers FC the Pumas set their sights on slaying the Dragons — a feat they came close to in round two when they drew 1-1. Since then, the Pumas had struggled against the league leaders, going down 5-0 in their second game, and 7-2 in their third. Finals are different though — and an early goal was all that was needed to swing the game in their favour. Before the Dragons were able to take flight, Pumas midfield maestro Jai Newton undertook a barnstorming run forward and struck a thunderbolt shot off the Dragon’s crossbar, before Matt Davies converted the rebound to give the Pumas a 1-0 lead. With the Dragons missing brick wall defender Vincenzo Foti-Cuzzola and canon-leg Sam Jones playing goalkeeper due to injury they weren’t looking themselves — struggling to get a single shot on target before the half-time whistle. Luckily, some wayward shots from Pumas striker Gareth McKnight provided some relief for the Dragons, whose defence were looking like they missed their morning coffee. For the rest of the first half a tit-for-tat game with a number of prickly challenges saw tensions flare, with stand-in referee Ben Robertson barely able to control the emotions of players on both sides. In the second half, chances on goal were few and far between as the battle to control midfield raged on. Then, in the last 10 minutes of the game the Dragons were able to pull one back, with perhaps the most scrappy goal of their season seeing the ball ricochet in-front of goal before a lucky deflection off Patrick Reisig saw the ball end in the back of the net, 1-1. For the next five minutes the game was the Dragons. Fire in their belly and doubt in the minds of the Pumas it seemed the game was going one of two ways — a late Dragons winner or straight to a penalty shootout. But then, against the tide of the game some nice interplay between Jai Newton and Matt Davies saw the ball break to youngster Kalen Bell, who hit an unstoppable strike hard and true into the Dragons’ bottom corner, handing the Pumas victory.