Minor Semi Final
Umina v Kanwal
It is do-or-die for these two sides on Saturday night as the reigning WPL Premiers Umina will look to defend their crown but must get past a resilient Kanwal side who will be determined to end Umina’s season.
It was an extremely positive end to the year for Steve Donaldson and his E-Gals who defeated Kincumber 4-0 on the final day of the year at their fortress Umina Oval.
That victory marked their fourth straight win to end their winter season campaign as Umina didn’t record a single goal against them in their four final fixtures as their defence seems to be coming together at the right time of the year.
Looking back on the season, despite getting both grades to qualify for finals it has been far from easy as stated by Steve Donaldson. “We’ve had a really tough year. Probably the hardest to date with players unavailable. But the squad has ended the year strong both in finals again.”
Umina will enter Saturday night’s fixture against the Bulls, and in contrast to the remainder of the top four, with plenty of valuable finals experience within his squad who will be adamant about making another grand final this season.
“We actually mentioned our finals experience last year against Southern in the semi-final and I feel it helped a lot last year,” stated Steve.
“Chelsea, Kate and Shana were all a part of the Grand Final win way back in 2012. And they’ve gone and won another three since, and been in a lot of finals, so it’s definitely an advantage.”
However, Umina’s last loss of the year came against their semi-final opponents Kanwal who recorded a positive record over the E-Gals this season.
Their first meeting back in round four saw Kanwal walk away 3-1 victors and backed that performance up in their next meeting in round 18 as the Bulls once again handed Umina a loss, this time winning 4-1.
Umina were able to record one win out of their three encounters which just so happened to be the last time these two sides faced which may give them a slight advantage come kick-off.
When questioned what his side will need to do in order to walk away with the win, Steve voiced his side must physically be up for the battle as well as playing to their abilities. “We must be confident and strong on the ball. Kanwal are physically the strongest, but fair, team in the competition so we can’t shy away.”
When further asked about what he is anticipating from Kanwal, Steve commended the opposition coach and his ability to alter a fixture. “Really interesting fixture this. Ben’s a smart coach and switched things up at halftime last time out and seemed to hold us back a little more.”
“It’s anyone’s guess if he keeps his second-half structure. However, we’ve changed our style since as well. I think both coaches will have to change as the game progresses.”
Kanwal got an early taste of finals last weekend when they met second-placed East Gosford on the main pitch of Pluim Park to finish their regular season.
Despite the Bulls recording three goals against statistically the second-best defensive side in the competition, The Rams were just too strong for the Bulls on the day as Ben Raychaudhuri’s side recorded a 6-3 loss.
“I’m not overly concerned at conceding six goals last weekend as we had key personnel missing and we went into the game with the plan to try some different tactics in the game as opposed to training,” voiced Ben.
“I think you have to give East Gosford credit too, they were clinical in front of goal. I have total faith that our defence and the systems in that defence can hold up during the finals.”
Leading up to the finals, Ben took a moment to reflect on this season since coming back to take the reins of Kanwal. “Our season, to date, has been something everyone involved in our squad can be proud of. In my two years away from coaching, these girls did it tough with Covid cutting the 2021 season short and then a difficult season on the pitch last year where they just didn’t get the best out of themselves for whatever reason, with first grade finishing nine points out of the finals.”
“We had a high turnover of players with some quality moving on, but we recruited really well and the way this group has turned things around to again be playing finals is an awesome effort. Whilst we are extremely proud, we aren’t satisfied with purely making finals and we want to make a mark over the next few weeks as I’m sure all four clubs in the finals will be.”
As his squad now prepare for his seventh meeting just this season alone with Umina, Ben also commended the opposition coach whom he highly respects as a coach. “This will be the sixth time we face Umina this season with the two Association Cup games included so both teams should be fairly familiar with each other.”
“That said, we simply have to be at our absolute best to get a result. Umina are defending premiers and they will definitely not want to go out in the first week of finals. We need to match their effort and be clinical in all aspects.”
“Steve is a good coach who always has a plan B, C and even D up his sleeve so depending on how the game is progressing, I do expect Umina to throw something different at us.”
“As is always the case with the top four sides this season, this will be an edgy, hard-fought game and with the sides evenly matched, it will be the team that makes the most of its chances that will prevail and hopefully that will be us.”
Ben also added, “I’d like to congratulate all the other three clubs in the semi-finals and wish them all the best over the next few weeks. The standard of football played by these girls, in both First grade and Reserve grade has been amazing and I look forward to seeing how these great teams lift the bar even higher.”
“It’s the end of an era at the conclusion of this season so I just hope we get large crowds coming down to enjoy the quality football that will be on show.”
Match Official – Trent Dickeson
Major Semi Final
Terrigal v East Gosford
The two best WPL teams of the year will meet this Sunday as League Champions Terrigal and second-placed East Gosford will battle it out for a spot in the 2023 Grand Final.
It has been quite a historic few weeks for Gab Blanch and her Terrigal squad. Being only her first year in charge of Terrigal’s WPL side, Gab couldn’t have asked for a better inaugural season as her squad finished the year unbeaten in First Grade taking home the title of League Champions, and also qualifying for finals in Reserve Grade.
“It’s a great achievement. Our girls deserve it, our club deserves it. I’m disappointed for Myself, our Staff, our Girls, and our Club that we won’t have the opportunity to defend our First and Reserve Grade results next year,” voiced Gab.
Terrigal will enter Sunday’s clash with full momentum after defeating Southern & Ettalong 10-0 in the final round last week. That win saw Terrigal record an astonishing twelfth clean sheet of the season.
The defence of Terrigal has been impenetrable for the entire season which has been the foundation for their success in 2023. Also, the clinical attack of the O’lasses has been boosted by the return of Candice Phelan whose return from injury is sure to leave the rest of the competition’s defences anxious this finals series.
With the season over and finals now upon us, Terrigal will enter the 2023 Finals Series with a target on their back as every team they face will be looking to hand them their first defeat of the season, starting with the mighty East Gosford.
Gab is well aware of the difficult challenge they face but insists her squad is up for it. “We are prepared. We understand what it means to other teams to take points from us, though I think that fuels us to do what we do best if anything.”
Every time Terrigal and East Gosford met throughout the season it was close, intense, and physical as very little separated these two extremely competitive sides. That will be the same case for this Major Semi-Final as just the slightest of lapses could prove costly.
“We are focussed on our game, as always, in our preparation. We know their strengths but more importantly, we know ours. We just need to be disciplined, no switch-off moments, and take the opportunities we create.”
When questioned if she believes the opposition will try anything different come Sunday, Gab stated “I anticipate Jorge will come in with a fresh focus. He’s an experienced Coach and I know how much he’d love to get this one.”
“As usual I see it being closely contested, a quality game of football, and hopefully the dream run into a Grand Final that my girls have worked so hard for.”
A win on Sunday will mark a place in the Grand Final for East Gosford who look to further add to their silverware of 2023. Jorge Chavez and his side got a taste of winning trophies at the start of the season when they won the Association Cup Grand Final.
East Gosford took the momentum from their pre-season success into the WPL winter competition and after 21 rounds recorded a record of 13 wins, 2 draws, and three losses.
That was more than enough to see Jorge Chavez clinch a spot in the finals for just the second time in the club’s history. When reflecting on the season, Jorge shared how delighted he is of this squad who continues to make history at the club.
“I’m super proud of what this squad has achieved this year. Our club is sixty years old and it’s the first time that we have achieved both first and reserve grade playing finals football in the Women’s Premier League.”
Jorge also added, “On top of that winning our first silverware in WPL with first grade winning the Association Cup at the start of the year and now having a chance to play finals football and possibly make our first grand final. We look to continue to make history at the club this year and hopefully, we get the results on the weekend to take us to a grand final.”
Jorge has been forced to make changes to his line-up almost every week which has impacted team chemistry but he is hopeful he will have almost everyone available for the weekend.
“Like most teams in any premier leagues squad, we struggle throughout the year with numbers, injuries, players out, players having other commitments and so on. We have had bad luck with key players missing multiple games.
“We should have almost a full-strength team on the weekend. I’m glad we are playing both Saturday and Sunday so players can rest in between. Looking forward to two good games on the weekend.”
East Gosford have been the team closest to recording a victory over Terrigal this season. Round 6 saw these two teams meet at Eastern Road Oval and a clinical first-half performance saw the Rams go up 3-1 only to fail to hold on to their lead and ultimately share the points with Terrigal.
“All our games this year against Terrigal have been extremely close. In the first encounter, we were up 3-1 at halftime and drew 3-3. In the second game, we lost 1-0 to a goal off the post and in the third contest we again lost 1-0, this time to the last kick off the ball in the first half on the back of our defensive mistake.”
“I expect it to be a tight game again. Both teams have quality players and good depth, it sure will be an exciting game to watch.”
Match Official – Dylan Watson
Semi Final Fixtures –
