POTTSVILLE Panthers, Football Far North Coast's Cinderella side, has won a fourth premiership in five years after defeating Goonellabah 1-0 in a tight contest on Sunday.

With an average age of around 35, the side defied the odds to make the grand final and down their younger opponents after moving up to second division this season.

Captain and grand final goalkeeper, Lisa Friend, said the side took a while to settle early in the season but continued to build confidence as the new-look playing group combined.

"We had to nominate for second division as we'd won third division twice. We had new players and girls that hadn't had much experience so we really weren't sure how we'd go,” Friend said.

"It took us some time to settle in. We had some girls some that hadn't played, so it was a matter of gelling together.”

The grand final was tense, with a large crowd of Panther supporters watching the back and forth play, with several expert saves from Friend a feature. No side was able to break the deadlock until star striker Jasmine Riddle stepped up to take a free-kick.

Friend said the pressure on Riddle was enormous after missing a penalty in the first five minutes of the match, but the golden boot of the last three seasons (until Monique Piper took the title this year) took the moment in her stride.

"Goonellabah got a free-kick just before our winning kick - but they put it over the crossbar. After that I said to Jas 'we need to score' and she said 'what can I do, I'm in the backline?', but next thing the free kick came up,” Friend said.

"She was nervous - but she was very experienced. She picked her spot and nailed it.

"It was a big relief and you could hear the crowd screaming but I pulled the team together and told them to keep focussed.”

The Panthers held Goonellabah out for the remainder of the game to hold the trophy aloft. Riddle paid tribute to Friend and said the captain kept the Panthers in the game.

"She was by far our player of the match. If it wasn't for Lisa, we wouldn't have won,” Riddle said.

"She did a job no one else wanted to do nailed it.”

With 35 children among the playing group and another on the way, it's a big commitment for the side to play on, but Friend was confident they would return for a shot at another premiership next year.