FINAL
Kanwal v Terrigal
Kanwal will look to put last week’s disappointment behind them as the Bulls look to dethrone the reigning premiers Terrigal and get another shot at the undefeated League Champions Killarney in the Grand Final.
Kanwal started last weekend’s Major Semi-Final against Killarney with high spirits as the Bulls look to take it to the 2022 League Champions. After a fast start, a quick counterattack from the opposition saw their goalkeeper come out of his box and foul the Killarney attacker who was through on goal. As a consequence, Kurtis Mohan was shown a straight red card as his side was forced to finish the remaining 70-minutes of the game with just 10 men. Kanwal will now be without their number 1 keeper this weekend as he serves his suspension. Kanwal will also be without Adam Kwasnik who picked up two yellow cards after being subbed on late against the Terriers. Although they had to finish the game with only nine players on the pitch, it was a very courageous effort from Ryan Walker’s side who only went down 1-0.
Kanwal will now look to pick themselves up not only in First Grade but all three grades who can book their places in the Grand Final with a win this Saturday. Kanwal remains the only club that has all of their BPL Grades still in the 2022 Finals Series which is a credit to the quality of their squad this season. Kanwal knows what it takes to beat Terrigal, especially at Pluim Park after claiming a win over them earlier in the season. On that night the Bulls walked away with a 1-0 victory after a closely fought match. You can expect another tight and closely fought battle come this Saturday as both sides will be giving it their all in hopes of joining Killarney in the Grand Final. Kanwal will look to correct their errors from last weekend and come out fast and with a relentless approach against the O’lads.
Ryan Walker spoke positively about his team when asked how their emotions were after losing all three grades last Sunday as they now cast their focus to Terrigal. “After a disappointing weekend for the squad the boys have bounced back well at training and I’m sure they will be right up for it again this weekend. Terrigal has been a really good competitive team this season as they have been for a few years now and I expect them to come out firing and make it a really good contest.”
When asked if we will see many changes after losing two players to red cards in their fixture against Killarney, Walker talked highly of his squad and does not believe it will be an issue at all. “Unfortunately, we will be missing two big players for us this weekend in first grade, however this year the whole squad has done extremely well when asked to step up into higher grades, I do not believe this will be an issue for us.
Terrigal left it until the last minute possible in extra time to seal their Minor Semi-Final victory over Southern Ettalong last weekend. After controlling the majority of the possession and play in the opening half, the O’lads entered the sheds at halftime with the scores still locked at 0-0. Entering the second half with the same determination as the first, Terrigal found the opening goal after a Mark Partridge cross was turned into the goal by an opposition defender. After barely being challenged by Southern for the whole match, many neutrals expected Terrigal to walk away with the win, but a late Southern equaliser forced the two teams into extra time. With penalties, less than a minute away, a Ryan Pearce cross found fellow defender Tyson Cosgrove who turned his man and poked home to give Terrigal the winner and keep their season alive.
Now Terrigal will have to back up that 120-minute performance again this Saturday as the reigning Premiers look to send the Bulls out in straight sets. These two sides met at Pluim Park only two weeks ago for the final round of the BPL season. On that day, Terrigal got the best of the Bulls with a 4-1 win but after having already secured second place, Kanwal rested a lot of their players for that game so you can expect this weekend’s fixture to be a lot closer as both teams are fighting for their season and a place in the Grand Final. Terrigal will be hoping they can be more clinical in front of goals this weekend as chances will not come easy against this stern Bulls backline. Terrigal will be hoping to assert themselves from the very first whistle as they did last week and if they come out with the same energy will be a very hard team to beat.
Martyn Griffiths spoke about his team and how they are shaping up for the weekend after coming off an intense and gruelling battle with Southern. “Yes, it was as tough as I expected against a strong Southern team. They pushed us all right up to the 120th minute so the boys are a bit fatigued. We got them to do a swimming pool recovery session on Tuesday, which will help, but all came through unscathed and looking forward to Saturday. Obviously, a last-minute winner is always good for the side that scores it, and I think it was a relief for us that we didn’t have to choose five players to step up after 120 minutes to take pens. There were a lot of tired players out there. Kudos to my right arm man Dan Murace who was the first to slide in on Tyso. If he keeps that from up, he will be the marquee signing for next season!”
Any side that finishes second after 18 games are a quality unit and they kept their form right up to the end of the season. Our last game against them was a 4-1 victory but they had rested several players and I expect a sterner and closes encounter this Saturday after watching them against Killarney. They have some quality players that can win games on their own, so we must match our standards of last weekend if we are to progress to the Grand Final. Great to have Reserves and First Grade involved again this weekend. Another exciting day for the club but hopefully not as close and nerving as last weekend. It was not a good day for the grey hairs,” added Martyn.
MATCH OFFICIAL – Mark Roberts
