MORWELL Pegasus finished the state league division two season with a 4-0 win over Kingston City on Saturday, but it was not enough to put it in the frame for promotion.
Pegasus placed third on the ladder just one point adrift of Box Hill United, which will have a shot at promotion via a play-off against Moreland City, which finished second in the north-west division.
Morwell coach Stan Webster said it was disappointing to miss out on a top two finish and a chance to move up, but overall it had still been a successful year.
“It’s the best season that Morwell Pegasus has ever had; it’s the highest we’ve ever finished in a state league and we also won the regional trophy so all in all it was a good season,” Webster said.
“We had the best defence in the league; we conceded the least amount of goals all season and had 10 clean sheets from 22 games so that was a good thing to achieve.”
Needing a win over Kingston City and a Box Hill loss to Langwarrin to sneak into second, Pegasus made a scrappy start to their last ditch effort.
Max Etheridge had a shot blocked and Shane Tagliaferro hit the rebound straight to the Kingston keeper.
Pegasus got on the scoreboard in the 20th minute when Tagliaferro scored.
Etheridge headed the ball into the net in the 43rd minute only to have the goal disallowed for offside after the ball was cut back by Jamie McGeoghegan.
Pegasus put the ball in the net again when John McCluskie scored with a header from a corner in the last play of the first half.
Kingston almost scored early in the second half from a free kick but the header went over the bar. Etheridge got his 13th goal of the season in the 50th minute in comical fashion, following an error by the Kingston keeper. Pegasus scored a fourth in the 82nd minute when Daniel Cairns slotted home after a cross by Byrne.
Max Etheridge was voted Pegasus’ player of the season, but is likely to return home to the United Kingdom along with skipper Jamie McGeoghegan.
Webster said the side would feel their loss tremendously and would need to rebuild in 2013. The club will hold its presentation day on Sunday, 7 October from 12.30pm at Ronald Reserve, Morwell.
