A beautifully struck late header by Billy Sikwaae has secured Mushies a 1-0 win over Moore Creek in the Premier League reserve-grade grand final at Scully Park on Saturday night.
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In the dying stages of the contest, the attacking midfielder broke the deadlock after intercepting, with perfect timing, a cross.
Immediately, Moore Creek had a great chance to reply. But OVA keeper Aaron Turner prevented the game going into extra time with another excellent save.
"Super header. Absolutely super header," Mushies captain Felix Bruno said of the match-winner.
"He's scored a couple [of headers] this year. I think that might be his second. And it's only the last couple of games [he has scored them].
Winning the grand final was "awesome", Bruno said, adding that OVA had "worked really hard all year".
"We've had players missing," he said. "[But] week in, week out we turn up - we finish the game strong. That's how it normally goes."
OVA finished the regular season in second place, then beat Northies 3-1 in the semi-finals to advance to the grand final.
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Moore Creek finished the round matches in fourth place, and booked their place in the showpiece clash with wins over Souths United and Northies in the finals.
In the first half on Saturday, genuine scoring opportunities were at a premium.
![OVA's grand final hero Billy Sikwaae. Picture by Gareth Gardner OVA's grand final hero Billy Sikwaae. Picture by Gareth Gardner](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/KUhQizDbwW8WqAyPP4x5yp/6ead4d3f-7da7-4478-9f9f-e9c614077415.jpg/r0_0_4381_3248_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Early in the contest, an off-side call prevented an OVA goal - after Moore Creek keeper Dean Hoy did well to keep out William Priest's powerful strike, with Sikwaae then finding the back of the net from Hoy's deflection.
In the second half, Moore Creek had several good opportunities including when Max Rumble's promising run was halted by resolute OVA defence in front of goal.
Moore Creek were now exerting sustained pressure including Isayah Monk's strong shot, which was well saved by Turner, and Jack Fletcher's even better strike, which Turner athletically sent over the crossbar.
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