LEADING BY EXAMPLE: Cobras captain Brent Tucker was a big presence in the middle of the park. Photo: Jenny Kingham.

In their final game of the season, the Parkes Cobras gave up a 1-nil lead with 10 minutes to go, eventually falling 1-2 to Barnestoneworth at Woodward Oval on Saturday afternoon.

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Parkes easily had the better of the game for the first 70 minutes; generating plenty of shots on target, while missing a couple of easy opportunities.

That counted for little though, as they fell into an all-too-familiar lapse in the last 20 minutes that allowed Barnies back into the game.

It was a devastating finish to the season in front of a healthy home crowd that had gathered around the oval, expecting a win after a dominant performance.

Coach Meghan Kempson lamented the finish but was proud of how far her side had come in their first ever season.

"It was a disappointing result to wrap up the season but there were a lot of positives to take out of the game and we'll use that going forward into next year.

"We created goal scoring opportunities, looked very dangerous in patches and kept our shape for the majority of the 90 minutes.

"If you look back and compare today's performance to the start of the season, I think it's safe to say we've come a long way," said Kempson.

The game started off a bit messy, with both sides guilty of miscommunication before Parkes began to cut open the Barnies defence.

A fantastic individual run by captain Brent Tucker forced a very acrobatic save before a long Adam Parker throw-in saw an unmarked Cobra miss the back of the net from 2 metres out.

While they generated a number of quality chances, the Cobras just lacked the killer instinct to finish them off, taking the score to nil-all at half time.

Parkes finally broke through for a goal five minutes into the second term, clinically converting a penalty after a skirmish in the box following a corner.

From there, the tempo in the game noticeably lifted from both sides, with Barnies regaining their voice as they fought to stay in finals contention.

Parkes again missed an opportunity to score with several shots from close range being rebuffed following a corner, including a shot that rattled the cross bar, went down but was not over the goal line.

The closer the game came to the final whistle though, the more the Cobras defence began to turnover under pressure.

Barnies finally rammed home their first goal with 10 minutes left in the game, before a goal resulting from a free kick near halfway sealed the loss for Parkes.

It was a bitter way for the side to end the season, losing in front of their home crowd after being the dominant side for much of the game.

"I feel for the boys, they're upset that they couldn't get the win for the supporters but I couldn't be more proud of what they've achieved this year," said Kempson.

The club has nothing to be upset about however. They have proved football is alive and well in Parkes, and have set the path for future generations to tread.

The way the town has got behind their new side and turned out to support is testament to that.

Next season the rest of the Western Premier League better watch out, because here come the Cobras.