Terrigal v Berkeley Vale
Finishing inside the top four all comes down to the final round of the winter season for these two sides, as the reigning MPL Premiers Terrigal will welcome Berkeley Vale to Duffy’s Oval for the last match of the round in the 2023 season.
These two sides find themselves in a similar position to last season. For Terrigal, the O’lads just scrapped into the finals last year as the defending premiers went on to win the Grand Final once again, going back-to-back and keeping their crown of Premiers.
As for Berkeley Vale, a defeat on the final day of the year saw Mark Pratt’s men fall outside of the top four which they will be hoping isn’t the case again this weekend.
A come-from-behind win last weekend for Pete Edward’s men ensured that they would still be in finals contention. Terrigal found themselves down 2-0 inside the opening 10 minutes against a relegation-battling Entrance side.
The O’lads managed to get themselves back into the contest at 2-2 but once again would trail on the scoresheet in that contest as the Entrance were able to reinstate their lead.
A gutsy and monumental comeback saw the O’lads take all three points to keep within distance of the top four.
“Last week against the Entrance was a game where as a coach you reflect on the performance and piece it all together,” explained Pete.
“We had five players who had just come back into the squad from being away, and the plan was to bring them back into the team to get some much-needed minutes in their legs. You can see from our start that we were well off the pace early on.”
“However, the longer the game went on, the better we looked. Ultimately coming away with the three points we needed to stay in the fight for finals, but also some really positive game time for many players.”
Pete also reflected on the difficult season he has had in his first year in charge of Terrigal’s MPL squad. “We’ve had a tricky season managing the roster all year, with so many of the players being overseas or injured, that to still be in with a shot at the top four is a massive credit to the depth of the squad.”
“The energy and vibe of having all these players now back and finding a way to win with our backs against the wall last week, the squad is looking really good and we are going into this weekend’s match against Berkeley Vale with good confidence and belief.”
With their sights now firmly set on their weekend’s match of the round opponents, Terrigal will also be keeping a very close eye on Kanwal’s clash with Southern & Ettalong as a draw may not be enough to get them into the final four if Kanwal picks up any points.
The task at hand is simple enough, win and you are through to the finals. However, on the only other occasion these two sides face this season the points were shared as Pete Edwards smentioned his thoughts on the Wombats.
“We know the danger Berkeley Vale possesses, and they have been lethal in front of goal all year. Last time we played each other, the game was tightly contested and both sides had the chance to win the game, ultimately settling for a point each.”
“We know the capability of the team and have shown how good we can be over the ninety minutes. This is just another game where we will have to be at our best and any mistakes can be costly.”
Pete also voiced his excitement on a personal manner ahead of this Sunday’s extremely important fixture. “As a coach, these games are the reasons we love football. I’m really looking forward to the challenge and I know the lads can’t wait to get back out on the park at Duffy’s and earn the right to play finals footy.”
As for the away side, it’s completely up to them this weekend as a draw or a win will guarantee a place amongst the top four without having to rely on other teams to drop points like their opponents Terrigal.
The Wombats had a chance to cement a finals spot with a win last weekend when they travelled to Wadalba to face another finals contention side in Kanwal.
After going down a goal early, Andre Gumprecht’s men fought hard to get back to 1-1 and from there took control of the game and were destined to get a result out of that contest.
However, a red card and two late goals saw Berkeley record just their third defeat of the season against a Kanwal side fighting to keep their season alive.
When questioning Mark Pratt about what went wrong in their game against Kanwal, Pratt stated “Unfortunately this is a tough one to answer but in all honesty, a good competitive game of football was once again ruined, and we move onto next week hoping that both teams are officiated the same.”
Now as they gear up to take on the mighty O’lads, Berkely Vale will be forced to face another tough competitor who will also be fighting for their season come Sunday.
Despite only needing a draw to secure a position in the top four, Pratt voiced “Our mindset is not to sit back and defend, we will be chasing the three points,” as Berkeley Vale will look to take maximum momentum into the 2023 Finals Series.
This attacking mindset with favour attackers Jakeb Brownlow and Kane Woolston who are both currently sitting on a goal tally of 13 goals and have just one game to tie or outscore current MPL Golden Boot leader Logan Moore as the Bulls attacker leads the rest of the pack on 15 goals.
“This will be no different than any other game this season, we will continue to concentrate on what we have been doing over the last five weeks and hopefully that takes care of our first-round performance,” added Pratt.
“They are fighting to play semi-final football, this weekend is a grand final for them.”
Match Official – Miles Allen-Scott
All Round 16 Fixtures –
