Armadale won the Belt Up Cup on Saturday. (Credit: FotoEnzo/Football West)
Camera IconArmadale won the Belt Up Cup on Saturday. (Credit: FotoEnzo/Football West) Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Soccer: Armadale celebrate 2-0 win over Gwelup Croatia in Belt Up Cup final

Jessica NicoComment News

ARMADALE lifted their first piece of major silverware on Saturday after taking out the Belt Up Cup final.

Chris Jackson was the hero and showed why he sits second on the NPL WA goal scorers list with his brace the difference in the 2-0 win over Gwelup Croatia.

Armadale came out the stronger of the two sides at the start of the game and it took only 10 minutes for Jackson to stamp his authority with a low bullet past the Gwelup keeper.

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Armadale then capitalised on Gwelup’s near miss on goal, punishing them for the error with a piece of Jackson brilliance at the other end as he curled the ball into the far corner passed a stunned stationary keeper.

As well as the two goals, Jackson also scored the Stan Lazaridis Medal as man of the match, but said the win had been a great team effort.

“We grafted for each other and fought ‘til the end and the two shots we had, we managed to take,” he said.

“I was fortunate to get both, but the service I got today was a great, and once we had that two-goal cushion we soaked up their pressure and hit them on the break.

“Our supporters are brilliant-we love playing in front of them at home and it’s quiet when we go away, but it is great to hear them celebrating our win today.”

Armadale coach John O’Reilly said he was proud of his players.

“Chris scored two great goals for us but we were delighted with the defensive effort of the whole team today,” he said.

“I can’t single out one person, it was a fantastic team performance.”

The game was perfect preparation for Armadale, who will travel to Queensland to take on Cairns in the FFA Cup round of 32 on August 1.

After a week off for the final, the NPL WA will return this weekend with the 7th placed Armadale taking on 6th placed ECU Joondalup from 3pm July 21 at Alfred Skeet Reserve.