United was confirmed provisional league 1 north-west runner-up with a 2-1 win over FC Strathmore in the drama-filled local derby at Aberfeldie Park on Saturday.

A 25-yard strike from Andrew Imvriotis 15 minutes from time dragged the match out of reach for the 10-man Mores and whipped the United supporters into frenzied joy.

"There's excitement and thrill, but there's also relief for all the hard work we've put in for 40 weeks," United captain Enzo Inglesi told Community News.

"It's started back in January - 22 rounds and all the pre-season.

"Knowing we're going to be playing state league is a massive thing for the club and it improves the club across the board."

United performed something of a Houdini act in 2009.

At the mid-point of the season, they were nowhere to be seen in the fight for promotion.

"Ten rounds into the year we were sitting in eighth position," Inglesi said.

"We were talking about just surviving in the league."

Twelve rounds have since passed and United won nine of its 12 encounters to turn their season upside down.

"Things just started clicking," Inglesi said. "We haven't lost a game ever since then. We went 12 games undefeated and momentum built."

United has done the unthinkable, continuing

to defy the odds since its inception into the FFV ranks.

The team started in the lowly men's metropolitan league just for laughs and earned promotion.

It caused more than a few shocks when it made it a three-peat of promotion by conquering the provisional league's 2 and 3 north-west zones.

No one could have predicted that United would make it four promotions in a row - even in a year they managed to attract one-time Socceroo Con Boutsianis for a brief stint.

"It's been a really big year for the club," Inglesi said.

United was gifted an own goal 20 minutes into Saturday's derby. But the complexion of the game turned in favour of the Mores. Central defender Inglesi limped off with a knee injury and prolific goalscorer Antonio Napolitano missed from the penalty spot before half-time.