When the two teams in the soccer A-League fought their way through the semi finals to the grand final, the public relations team at Football Federation Australia must have felt as though a dream had come true.
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The Adelaide Reds had languished at the bottom of the ladder at the start of the season and the Sydney Wanderers had played in two grand finals, losing them both.
Adelaide had a convincing 4-1 win against Melbourne City in their semi final and the Wanderers had been down 3-0 at half time but lifted to win 5-4 against Brisbane Roar following a successful penalty shot in the last minutes of their game.
In front of a cheering and singing home crowd in the final, Adelaide scored twice in the first half but their players would have had Sydney's miracle resurgence in the semi final at the back of their minds.
In the second half Sydney attacked and scored to put them back in the game.
While they continued to attack, Adelaide staunchly defended until late in the game when against the run of play they scored a third goal.
With the result no longer in doubt the game died away to a peaceful end.
For Adelaide it was the fairy tale end to a dream season.
They had worked their way to the top of the premiership ladder and pulled of a stunning victory in the Grand Final.
For Sydney, they were left to contemplate their third grand final loss.
By way of a parallel, the Leicester Foxes in England have similarly pulled themselves up from facing relegation to an unassailable lead at the top of the English Premier League.
This is a truly 'rags to riches' story as they have very little money and no highly paid super stars.
They have got to the top by hard work, dedication and superior teamwork.
