Woy Woy v Southern & Ettalong
The peninsula derby headlines round 9 as Woy Woy welcomes local rivals Southern & Ettalong for match of the round this Sunday.
Woy Woy go from taking on first-place Killarney District last weekend to having to back that up and face second-place Southern & Ettalong this Sunday to close the opening round of MPL fixtures.
Last week an extremely understrength Woy Woy squad made their way to Edsacc Oval to face the reigning league champions. By the time First Grade came around, four of their starters had already played a full ninety minutes of football as Woy Woy saw defeat.
“The boy’s morale within the camp is still very positive considering all the players that have been unavailable every week, knowing in every game that we have played we haven’t been far off the mark,” commented Woy Woy’s Neal Morris.
Neal also spoke on the local derby and what it means to the club. “The local derby always means a lot as there is always plenty of feelings in games like this as every player is very passionate and it’s always a hard grind to the end.”
As we enter round 9, Woy Woy finds themselves on the bottom of the ladder, sharing the same points as the other newly promoted team East Gosford but a worse goal difference puts them behind the Rams.
However, in recent weeks Neal Morris and his side have put together some compelling performances.
Woy Woy picked up their first point of the year in round 5 when they came from behind to record a 3-3 draw with Kanwal. The following week Woy Woy welcomed Wyoming to Austin Butler Oval and walked away with a 3-1 win to record the first win of their 2023 season.
Woy Woy almost backed their first win up with another three points when they scored four past Avoca in round 7 but the Sharks put five goals past the defence of the Roosters which saw them pick up their fourth loss of the year.
“We anticipate this contest to be a very physical one as Southern have always been a physical club. You must stay in that strong on the ball and battle to give yourself any chance.”
“The key for us on Sunday to come away with the points will be, keeping the ball for long periods of time, getting the little things right and staying in that grind till the very end,” voiced Neal.
Southern will be flying high after making club history last weekend when they hosted their first Saturday night game at ‘The Den’ James Browne Oval.
In front of a healthy turnout from the home crowd, the Lions started fast to go 2-0 up against Wyoming within the first 15 minutes of the game. Despite having multiple chances and opportunities, Southern were held to a 2-1 victory as they maintain their spot in second place, one point behind league leaders Killarney.
Southern currently only record one loss to their name which came against the undefeated Berkeley Vale side back in round 4.
Head coach of the Lions, Dale Eggleton, also spoke on his team’s morale at this stage of the season. “The morale in the playing group is very good. Our good start to the season has been player driven with a combination of ability, attitude and hunger driving the players.”
On paper, Southern are the team to beat as they have plenty of quality depth over multiple positions which is apparent as Keith Gumbs has been coming off the bench for the Lions in recent weeks.
Jacob Lepre has been in tremendous form to start the season as the midfielder currently records seven goals to his name as he sits on top of the golden boot standings with Killarney’s veteran attacker Tim Knight.
The Almighty Keith Gumbs also record a healthy six goals to his name with the attacking midfield duo of Matt Caisley and Jack Ellwood sharing 8 goals between them evidence of how well this Southern side can find the back of the net.
Coming up against the third worse defensive side in the league, the Lions will be looking to keep their excellent run of goal-scoring from going as their defence looks to record their second clean sheet of the season.
Dale also talked about the local derby and what he is anticipating come Sunday’s match of the round.
“It’s good to again be playing our peninsula neighbours Woy Woy who appear to have adjusted to the increase in pace and intensity in the Premier League and are certainly going to be a challenge,”
“I know we will have to be ready for a team who will be wanting to do well at their home in front of their home crowd. Neil has done a great job in making his squad realise what’s needed over the ninety minutes week to week in the Premier League.”
“The main ingredient for us this week is to compete in every avenue of the game for its entirety and be focused if we want to take the three points.”
Match Official – Kyle Hockings
All Round 9 Fixtures –
