Season eight of the Westfield W-League saw the introduction of Melbourne City into the competition for the very first time.
And it was an unforgettable campaign for the club as they went through the whole season unbeaten to take out the Premiership-Championship double.
They left one of their best performances for the very last day of the season as City crushed Sydney FC – the same opponents they’ll face on Sunday – 4-1 in the decider.
More than 4000 fans were at AAMI Park to watch it all unfold, with City surviving an early Sky Blues onslaught to take a 32nd-minute lead.
A fantastic cross from Kim Little made its way to Jennifer Beattie at the far post and while her initial header was saved by keeper Michelle Betos, Beattie smashed home the rebound.
It was 1-0 at the break but City doubled their lead nine minutes after the resumption as Little went from provider to scorer, curling home a delicious free-kick 25 metres out.
Sydney FC got back into the contest 20 minutes from time as Kyah Simon scored via a penalty.
But that’s as close as the visitors came, with Beatrice Goad re-establishing City’s two-goal buffer when she finished off a rapid counter-attack by sliding the ball past the on-rushing Betos.
With the seconds ticking down Lisa De Vanna then put the icing on a sweet cake for City, her fantastic strike in injury time completing a perfect season for the Westfield W-League’s newest team.
