Welita Sloane was the star for the minor premiers in their emphatic five-nil victory against the Pirates.

Aces captain Catherine Power said the result was a credit to the side’s hard work all season.

“The whole team has worked hard at training all season, so the result was a reward for all that time and effort,” she said.

The Pirates had the early running in the match, winning a short corner as forward Sian Dodd dribbled deep into the opposition’s arc but couldn’t make the most of the chance.

The Aces then settled into the match, with Power leading her side with a number of threatening runs, leading to scoring chances from short corners.

“To Pirates’ credit, they came out and pressed us early, which got us rattled and out of our own game plan,” Power said.

“The girls had to dig deep for the first 10 minutes and ensure that we didn’t concede a goal.

“Pirates look defeated when they couldn’t convert their pressure into a goal, and we built on that.”

It was against the run of play when Sloane intercepted the ball on the left, pushed into the arc and slotted the ball back across her right to open the scoring.

“Once Welita scored that first goal for us it got rid of the nerves we all had and allowed us to play a more free-running game,” Power said.

The Aces finished the first half strong and were rewarded with another goal when Marisa Power tapped in a short corner from close range.

The break seemed to work in the Aces’ favour, with Sloane adding a second shortly after the resumption of play.

“It was very hot conditions and I think the Pirates ran out of legs towards the end of the match, as they didn’t have any substitutes,” Power said.

“If they had scored early, when they used a lot of their energy pressing us, the match could have been very different.”

The Pirates continued to push hard for that elusive goal, which left them vulnerable at the back, seeing Jenna Burke and Christine Grant sealing the match for Aces.

“It was great to see the whole side enjoying the match at the end because I knew how much it meant to everyone,” Power said.

“We will have some time off now and come back next season looking to make it 10 on the trot.”