Image: Mark Avellino
A 35th minute strike from Vitaka Rodriguez propelled the St Albans Saints to a 1-0 win over the Whittlesea Ranges to confirm their promotion into the top-flight following a six year absence.
Kruni Razov’s men needed just a point to seal elevation to the top tier and made a frantic start to proceedings at Churchill Reserve when Welsh midfielder Joshua Knight went close to scoring.
News then quickly swarmed the ground that rivals North Geelong had broken the deadlocked away against Ballarat as former Warrior Michael Grgic headed just over the crossbar.
But the expectant home crowd didn’t have to wait long to see their side take the lead when Spaniard Rodriguez struck the ball past Luke Gallo as noise levels rose across Fox Road.
Despite chances at both ends in the second half, the scoreboard remained unchanged as jubilant scenes erupted after referee Patrick Chaplin’s final whistle as Dinamo secured their return to the top-flight for the first time since 2011 following an impressive second half of the season.
10 wins from their last 13 saw the Saints leapfrog the Moreland Zebras, Melbourne City, Whittlesea and sister club the Warriors for the NPL2 West Championship, and will now face off against NPL2 East winners Kingston City next week for the NPL2 overall title.
Micky Colina’s North Geelong eventually defeated Ballarat 2-1 following a late strike from Juso Julardzija and will now face Dandenong Thunder at JL Murphy Reserve next Saturday for a chance to face Richmond in the promotion-relegation playoff.