Macedonian Asutralian football club Preston Lions has completed a fairytale season with a resounding 3-1 victory over Whittlesea in the Foxtel Cup Grand Final. A crowd of more than 5,000 was on hand in perfect conditions to see Preston claim their third Foxtel Cup-Premier League championship.

Tony Sterjovski was omni-present for the Lions, as was Zoran Petrevski who's brace earned him the Jimmy Rooney Medal for best on ground.
The players barely had time to acclimatise to the conditions before Bill Fleming medalist Sterjovski's superbly hit corner found the head of a rising Petrevski in the box.
His strongly hit header crashed into Zebras keeper Kenny Gerochristoudolou’s goal to give the Lions the lead in only the third minute.
The goal set the tone for the game, as the Lions pushed forward at will, leaving the youthful Zebras line up on the back foot for much of the early going.

Preston then amassed six corners over the next twenty minutes, highlighted by a Sterjovski near miss and a dangerous set up by Serdar Pir. Then, in the 24th minute somewhat against the run of play, a Josip Kozic free kick found Kristian Rees open to head home an equalizer for the Zebras. The Zebras joy was shortlived as Sterjovski again combined with fullback Jonathan Munoz in the 31st minute. The Chilean's slick cross was partially saved by Gerochristoudolou and found Petrevski in the air, in a near carbon copy of the opener.

A Kristian Rees header very nearly brought parity to the game for a second time, his looping effort hitting the cross bar and bouncing off for a goalkick.
Sterjovski nearly struck again in the 42nd minute when he drove a 40 yard strike inches to the left of Gerochristoudolou, leaving the Lions a goal to the good at half time.
Tex Aposotolikas caused some head aches for the Lions defense after the break, while Steve Martin’s blast from outside the area on the hour mark did everything but find the back of the net.

Blaze Georgioski went close before being replaced by Igor Arsovski moments later. A Petrevski stumble in the area denied him a certain hat trick in the 63rd minute.
Playmaker Sterjovski was subbed in 83rd for Michael Miskas while electric forward Hamlet Armenian was swapped for Luch Santilli.
With time ticking away, Nik Lazarevski’s clever back pass in the 86th minute found Igor Arsovski unmarked at the far post for the simplest of tap-ins to seal the Foxtel Cup title for Preston.

Photo's by Nome Risteski

Whittlesea Zebras 1
Preston Lions FC 3
Crowd: 5,800 (unofficial) at Bob Jane Stadium

Source: www.PrestonLions.com