Based at Newcastle Benfield, the setting for the cup final was brilliant. With a fair few people in attendance, it felt like a real occasion - and it’s an occasion the girls most definitely rose to.

The game started in a tense and tight manner, with both teams taking some time to adapt to the field. After a full season's use and a week of very dry weather, the pitch was dry and bobbly, which wasn’t conducive to playing good football.

In the early going, Berwick probably adapted to the field better than we did, and looked to put pressure on our back line. Hannah Collins and Julia Narmore lead the team in minutes played this season, but the central defensive pairing showed no signs of fatigue as they dealt with the physicality of the opposition forwards superbly.

Forays forwards were tough to come by in the opening period, but when we did get away it looked like it would be Kelly Garcia who would provide the spark. She got down the right flank a few times in the first 15 minutes, but wasn’t able to find the necessary delivery.

Neither side had been able to carve out anything in the way of clear goal-scoring opportunities in the game in the first 20 minutes. Until, that is, Kylie Holmes picked the ball up 40 yards out and set off. She drove forward, beating defenders left and right before being hacked down just as she entered the penalty area. The referee pointed straight to the spot, and Tvene Derderian stepped up to take the spot kick, burying it confidently to open the scoring.

Just after the half hour mark, Berwick had a great chance to level. They broke forward from our corner, and Hannah Collins looked to have snuffed out the danger as she played it back to Eleanor Hynson, but the forward closed down Hynson and blocked her clearance. Julia Narmore did well to get back in, get her body in the way and clear it before Berwick could really punish our loose play.

We doubled our lead in the 39th minute thanks to a moment of pure quality from Emmely DeMarsico. Esa Cullinan hooked a ball forward, and the defender tried to clear it but could only send it into the path of DeMarsico on the left flank. She opted to hit it first time from the corner of the 18-yard-box, and it looped up and over the keeper into the far corner to put us two to the good before the break.

Berwick continued to push for one back as the clock moved closer to the half, but we held firm to go into the interval two goals up.

In the second period, things continued to be tight and tense as Berwick searched for a route back into the contest. In the 59th minute, they did manage to pull one back as we failed to clear a long free-kick into the area, allowing their forward to sneak in and prod home. Game very much on, with the watching spectators rallying behind the opposition.

Despite the rising momentum, the girls continued to push and regained control of the game in the minutes that followed. We restored our two goal lead 10 minutes later as Kylie Holmes’ cross from the left was cleared only as far as Taylor Donaldson. The skipper fired an effort back in, which deflected up into the air before being turned into the net by a Berwick defender to make it 3-1.

From that point onwards, Berwick legs began to tire and it started to become clear that trophy number five was mere minutes away. The girls saw the game out in somewhat comfortable fashion, albeit with one or two nervy moments, to bring what has been a truly astounding season to a close.

What an effort, what a season, what a team!

POTM: Taylor Donaldson