Caroline Springs George Cross had one of the more remarkable victories to send the club back into the National Premier League for the first time in 15 years.
The Georgies have been one of the stories of the Victorian soccer scene in recent years as it’s risen up from state league 1 back in the Victorian Premier League 1.
There were absolute scenes on Sunday afternoon as an 8-0 win against Western United gave them automatic promotion back up into the top flight for next season.
Georgies’ coach Eric Vassiliadis said it was just an amazing feeling.
“There’s an incredible sense of pride,” he said. “For the club, the community and the sponsors it’s been a long, long journey.
“What this group has achieved is nothing short of amazing. The willingness, the desire and the sacrifice.
“The support staff, the board that funds it and the fans, we’ve all going to celebrate tonight [Sunday].”
Vassiliadis said there was a lot of ambition in the group and it was about executing the plan and staying calm in the chaos.
The Georgies knew that they needed to get the win in the final round and hope that other results went their way to get automatic promotion.
The Georgies entered the round in third spot one point behind Bentleigh Greens and goal difference behind Melbourne City.
The top two teams earned automatic promotion, while the side that finished third would play off in finals for the last promotion spot.
Melbourne City suffered a final round loss but the Georgies victory put them ahead on goal difference as well.
Vassiliadis said when the dust settled they would look back at that final round result.
“We were so determined and people believed in us,” he said. “We had to make sure all those hard days meant something.
“We had to focus on ourselves and hope the results went our way. We delivered what we had to and won 8-0.
“It was so amazing and was synonymous of the whole season. We went on the front foot and it was a reward for effort.”
The Georgies led 2-0 at half time before piling on the goals in the second half.
Joshua Whiteley and Michael Tzoutzidis scored two goals each.
Vassiliadis said they defended brilliantly and could have easily put a few more goals in the back of the net.
With all the final round games being played at the same time, there were plenty of people on the edge of their seats.
Vassiliadis said how he found they were going up was pretty special.
“I didn’t want to know the other scores [while the game was going],” he said. “There were supporters around the bench and they started celebrating nothing, which meant that Brunswick City [which was playing Melbourne City] had scored a second goal.
“The supporters told me and it was a special feeling.”
The promotion is the Georgies third in four years.
Vassiliadis, who has led all three promotions, said they would let this one settle and start thinking about next year.
“We want to enjoy this,” he said. “We don’t want to set any limits.”
