Berkeley Vale v Southern & Ettalong
Berkeley Vale looks to close the distance on second-place Southern and bounce back from their disappointing loss in their last fixture when they welcome a hungry Southern determined to keep pressure on league leaders Budgewoi.
When Mark Pratt’s side last took to the pitch, underdogs Ourimbah took all three points from the Wombats in a 1-0 victory.
“Just one of those days that you have in football, sometimes things don’t happen unless you make it happen, and we didn’t on the day,” voiced a reflective Pratt.
A win in that fixture would have set Berkeley up for a chance to overtake the Lions but these two sides still have two meetings with each other, so a second-place finish isn’t out of the realm of possibility for Berkeley Vale on their quest for back-to-back grand final wins.
Now the 2024 Premiers are up for one of the toughest challenges yet, welcoming Southern & Ettalong to Mingara Athletics Oval for their first meeting with the Lions in 2025.
Berkeley Vale got the best of Southern during both encounters last season. These two opened the MPL season in 2024 as Berkeley Vale defeated Southern 4-1 away from home.
Berkeley completed the sweep of victories over Southern in round 11 with another 4-goal haul over the Lions, a 4-2 victory at the Bats’ home ground.
However, it has been a year since these sides have stepped on the pitch against each other for a competitive match and both sides have changed quite a bit in the space of 12 months.
Mark Pratt and Matt Page have been coaching against each other for over ten years now and have had quite some battles over the years.
When questioned what he is anticipating from this Southern outfit this weekend, Pratt commented, “Realistically, I’m expecting nothing different from any team that Pagey turns out. They will be tough to beat and have been in the top two all season because they are a very good side.”
When speaking about his squad, Pratt mentioned, “No injuries to worry about, just the same as everyone else this time of the year with sickness within the group, but that’s to be expected with the weather that we have been dealing with at the moment.”
Conor Fitzpatrick has been a standout for this Berkeley side in 2025. After only netting five goals during the winter season in 2024 for the Wombats, Fitzpatrick has nine goals to his name this year and has been an attacking force.
After a slower start than what he is used to, 2023 MPL Player of the Year Jakeb Brownlow also seems to be finding his stride in front of the sticks, netting a brace in their last home game against Avoca.
Although this fixture could have a major impact on whether Berkeley Vale finishes the year inside the top two, Pratt is treating this like just another game.
“No special message from us to the players. I’ve been around long enough to realise it’s just another game of football and every time we turn up, we want to win so whether it’s the first or last game of the season, that’s what we will be trying to do.”
After holding down first place for the majority of the season, Southern & Ettalong lost their top-of-the-table clash to Budgewoi which has since seen the Lions drop to second.
Southern’s 3-3 draw against Woongarrah two weeks later now has Matt Page and his men four points behind the league leaders with just five games to go as they can’t afford another slip-up if they wish to have any hopes of taking out the MPL League Champions in 2025.
Southern almost slipped up in their last game, a 3-2 win over Wyoming. However, Wyoming took a 2-0 lead in that fixture before Southern were saved by the almighty and timeless Keith Gumbs who scored his opening goal of the year to snatch all three points away from the Tigers.
“We’ve had a bit of a tough time of late with guys missing due to injury, weddings, suspensions, but the squad as a whole has managed to pick up the slack,” said Page.
“Special mention goes to our 18’s and 23’s who have stepped up big time on a few occasions recently. We are starting to get some players back in now, which makes things a bit easier to balance.”
Page also mentioned, “Hopefully we can get on the park with all this rain that’s due. With the games getting cancelled last week and guys having been away lately, we are a bit short of a gallop, so the message to my guys this week will be to simply enjoy getting back on the park and we will be looking to get our combinations going again.”
Although yet to play this side in the winter season, Pagey has reflected on their pre-season cup match against the Wombats as he has high praise for this outfit.
“We played them in the Cup early on in the year and they were missing a few guys who are back now, making them the formidable side they have been over the last few seasons.”
“They play a great brand of footy under Gumps and Pratty and are very dangerous when they get going. And Trengove is a rock at the back, which makes it difficult at both ends of the park.”
“We anticipate the same tough opposition we’ve come to expect from Berkeley, and we will have to be near our best to get the three points.”
Although boasting the second-best attacking record in the league, they face the second-best defensive side in Berkeley Vale, so this contest is set to come down to the wire on Saturday night.
“The keys to success will be the same as every other week,” said Page. “Concentrating defensively for the full 90 mins, trying to create some chances ourselves and then having the composure to take those chances. A task easier said than done when playing Berkeley, but we’ll be giving it a crack.”
Match Official – Anthony Kabbout
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