Woy Woy v East Gosford
Our rescheduled round 1 affair between the two promoted sides from our Division 1 competition in 2022 will take place this weekend as a fired-up Woy Woy side will look to build on the momentum of their last win as East Gosford look to pick up all three points away from home.
It was do or die for Woy Woy in their last game as Neal Morris and his squad travelled to Alan Davidson Oval to battle against another relegation-bound side, Wyoming.
Despite going down in U21’s, Woy Woy rallied together to secure vital victories in Reserve and First Grade as the Roosters now find themselves just one club championship point behind Wyoming.
Woy Woy will now look to build on that win and use that momentum in front of a home crowd this weekend as they try to claw their way out of the relegation zone as they currently sit just 16 club championship points away from safety.
It has been a far from ideal return to MPL which Woy Woy would have been hoping for. After 14 rounds, the Roosters only claim two wins to their names with both of those victories coming against last-placed Wyoming.
Neal voiced that this lacklustre start of the season is because of multiple variables within his squad. “The opening 14 rounds of this competition have been a real hard slog week after week, with lots of personnel not playing due to different things and the fact of the inconsistency that we have showed to go on and win games that we were well and truly in at certain halftimes and never finished the last 45 off.”
“Last week’s washout wasn’t good as we wanted to back up that great performance we put together against Wyoming the week before, but we regroup this week and train well to put the same performance together again that we did to give ourselves a great chance against a strong East Gosford outfit.”
Neal also spoke on the opposition and the season they are having as well as the history between these two sides as he suggests it will be another close encounter come Sunday as both teams have plenty to play for.
“East Gosford have had a great season leading into this clash and our history with them shows it’s always been a tough clash ending in a draw as we fought back from two nil down a few times. They will be looking to secure themselves well and truly out of relegation so we will have to start well and apply the same pressure we did in our last game.”
“Once again, the key for us is to carbon copy our game plays from our last game performance where we got all the little things right and got control of the game and played a very consistent ninety minutes to get the three points.”
As for East Gosford, although they aren’t mathematically clear of avoiding relegation, the Rams have had a more positive year compared to their opposition since re-joining the MPL competition.
Steered by Ricky Sansom, after a rather slow start in 2023 the Rams have picked up their performances and have even secured victories over some MPL heavyweights.
When asked how he has found the MPL competition in 2023, Ricky voiced, “It’s exactly what I expected. Big step up. When you have a young squad the level of intensity and consistency required is what takes time. In many games this year we lost or drew by conceding in the final five minutes, there’s the lesson.”
Although the Rams have seen defeat eight times in 2023, five of those eight defeats have been decided by just one goal which proves this side can be competitive against any team in the league.
This record includes narrow defeats to Killarney (1-0, 2-1) and Terrigal (2-1, 3-2) which further demonstrates this quality Rick possesses within his squad that may just lack the experience to see out close games against big teams.
“To be honest it’s never a good time for a washout. Sometimes it helps to get over injuries, but it can affect momentum. Just have to deal with it and remember what’s on offer,” stated Ricky when questioned if the washout last weekend has a positive or negative effect on his squad.
When it comes to Woy Woy and East Gosford, these two teams have had quite the history in recent years in Division 1 and now MPL. When these two sides met for the first time in MPL in round 10, neither side could find the final advantage as the game ended in a 2-2 draw.
However, East Gosford did enter the halftime break in that contest two goals to the good but a subpar second half saw the Rams only walk away with the one point which coach Ricky will be adamant to not happen again if they find themselves in a similar position come Sunday.
Ricky also mentioned that he is anticipating another hard-fought contest with Woy Woy. “Woy Woy are always a battling side and every game we have played against them has always been a battle, they just keep coming and go to the end. we will need to be at the top of our game.”
“Nothing more than where we have been at for many games this year, we just need to focus for 90 minutes and play smart. For a young squad in their first year, our boys have shown time and time again we are capable, but we just have to believe it. To be honest, looking forward to it.”
Match Official – Anthony Kabbout
All Round 1 Fixtures –
