SOCCER
LATROBE VALLEY
By LAURIE WILLIAMS
PEGASUS has taken out the 2026 Battle of Britain Cup.
The Flying Horsemen beat Sale United 1-nil for the trophy last Sunday in front of a packed house at Burrage Reserve, Newborough.
It was the club’s seventh Battle of Britain Cup, and first in 31 years, the last being a 2-1 win over Monash in 1996.
It’s been a long haul for Pegasus over this period, having gone through some dramatic changes since they last held the cup. Time spent in the VSF Metro League and the Gippsland Soccer League (South Gippsland) has changed the dynamics of the club which is now mainly of African origin.
Led by former Dick Bosma medallist Kuku Mahammad, the Horsemen showed great spirit to reach and win this year’s cup final. It has been a bittersweet season for Pegasus, with points lost due to an ineligible player incident and injuries to major players. Knocking over the league champion Olympians in the semi-final of the cup gave them plenty of scope for success.
On a windy day, the match went into extra time after a nil-all score line at full time.
Both teams had trouble coping against a strong breeze. It wasn’t pretty, as constant turnovers limited the access to goal, with both keepers Sash Danilovic (Pegasus) and Cooper John Kelly-Williams (Sale) having very little to do.
In darkening skies, the match went into the first 15 minute stanza of extra time without scores, but after the teams changed ends, a possible penalty shootout was on the cards.
An incident at 107 minutes saw the game change. A send off for Sale’s David Durning after a second yellow saw Kuku Mahammad beat a four man wall to score the winner.
The Battle of Britain trophy (Cup) is in its 74th year after, commencing in 1952 with Morwell Soccer Club the first winner.
The original trophy was donated by the RAAF in East Sale and was made supposedly from a spent shell casing used in World War 2, but somewhere on its travels the trophy almost disintegrated and a new trophy was made in the 1980s.
Pegasus has now won the cup in 1963, 1967, 1973, 1974, 1991,1995 and 2026.
Reserves (Shopwell Trophy)
MONASH won the Shopwell Trophy 2-1 in extra time.
It has been an amazing season for the Wolves, who went through the season to win the league championship and cup double.
After a scoreless first half in the final against Olympians, the underdogs came out after the break and scored at 59 minutes through Abdi Sheikh Hassan. Disaster struck however in the 65th minute, when Olympians were reduced to 10 men after Hamzh Eliaser was sent-off.
This gave Monash an advantage with an extra player, which changed the tempo of the match. Gareth Cheng was able to equalise at 81 minutes. It was end-to-end without further score.
Going into extra time, it was left to Marc Koolen to become an instant hero for Monash, when he scored at 105 minutes to put the trophy in their hands.
Third Division (Nan Bosma Cup)
OLYMPIANS won the Nan Bosma Trophy against Sale, winning 3-1.
The Traralgon boys led 3-nil at halftime.
Olympians set the pace early, with Enrique Sbaglia getting a crack at the penalty spot two minutes in, and he made no mistake.
This set the tone for Olympians, and they went further ahead when Deano Minchella scored at 20 minutes.
Sale pressed hard but couldn’t break through, with the windy conditions playing havoc.
Enrique Sbaglia ensured that Olympians had one hand on the trophy with his second goal at 47 minutes.
Sale was down but not out, with a last gasp effort from Will Page seeing him reduce the margin to a 3-1 score-line.
Editor’s note: no photo could be found of Pegasus’ victory. If there is one, please email it to: ldurkin@lvexpress.com.au
_____________________________________________________________
SOCCER
LATROBE VALLEY
By SEBASTIAN HASSETT
SALE UNITED won a fifth consecutive Browne-Huizer Cup, after overcoming Falcons 2000 4-1 in the final at Burrage Reserve, Newborough denying the newly-crowned league champions a historic League-Cup double.
The result capped a memorable season for both clubs and produced a final worthy of the occasion, with Falcons taking the lead before Sale turned the match around with four unanswered goals.
The Swans are now the only Gippsland club in men’s or women’s soccer to have won a major trophy five straight times.
Rob Guarascio’s Falcons had already secured the Football Victoria Latrobe Valley Women’s League undefeated, then swept aside Traralgon City 6-nil in the semi-final to reach the final for the first time.
Sale had defeated Monash 6-nil in its semi-final, and were seeking to add another Browne-Huizer Cup to an extraordinary run of success in the competition.
Falcons made the brighter start, dominating the contest from the opening whistle, with the match being entirely played in and around Sale’s penalty box during the opening half-hour.
Golden Boot winner Monique Lapenta opened the scoring in the 24th minute, giving the league champions an early advantage and continuing her outstanding contribution to the club’s cup campaign.
However, Sale, who had done incredibly well to be only a goal down having defended so much, grew in confidence as the match wore on.
The equaliser arrived in the 37th minute, with Madelaine Breakspear finding the net with a floating, long-range effort to bring Sale level at 1-all.
The second half belonged to the Swans, and it was who else but Breakspear who struck again in the 52nd minute.
Standing over a free kick from 25 yards out, Breakspear let fly with an absolute rocket that gave Falcons goalkeeper Rebekah Poynton no chance.
The momentum continued just three minutes later when Hollie Ryan scored in the 55th minute to make it 3-1.
Falcons were now faced with the task of scoring twice simply to force its way back into the contest, while Sale’s legion of travelling fans began to roar with belief as they sensed victory.
The decisive fourth goal arrived in the 76th minute, with Eden Fullerton extending Sale’s lead to 4-1.
It completed a remarkable turnaround from the Swans, who not only trailed in this match but were twice beaten by Falcons during the regular season – including a 9-nil bloodbath in Morwell.
For Falcons, the defeat brings a disappointing conclusion to an otherwise outstanding campaign, with post-match talk in the changerooms already forecasting how they can improve next year.
But the day belonged to Sale United, and especially to Breakspear, who spectacularly franked the ‘Legend’ Status she was granted by the Latrobe Valley Soccer League Hall of Fame at the start of the year.
