Preliminary Final
East Gosford v Umina
It all comes down to this Sunday between these two sides with quite the history as East Gosford looks to book a place in their first WPL Grand Final as their opponents Umina will be determined to defend their crown of WPL Premiers.
Jorge Chavez and his Rams came up against Terrigal last weekend in the Major Semi-Final. After a fast start, East Gosford took the lead thanks to a clinical Tahlor Thackray strike just 13 minutes into the contest.
Unfortunately for Jorge, he was forced to make two substitutions while his side was holding that 1-0 lead and from there his side conceded four unanswered goals as Terrigal remained undefeated and claimed the first place in the Grand Final.
Fortunately for Jorge and his side, finishing the year in second place allows them more than one chance to qualify for the big dance as the Rams now set their sights on the E-Gals.
“I’m looking for a huge reaction from our squad this weekend as I believed we created enough chances to win that game against Terrigal, but our mistake let them walk away with the win.”
Jorge is well aware of the dangers Umina possesses within their squad who have a wealth of Finals experience within the squad. “We need to make sure we come on Sunday ready for a battle because Umina is a team that has shown and proven themselves in the finals series year after year.”
East Gosford will be hoping for a similar outcome over Umina as their 2023 Association Cup Grand Final match against the E-Gals which saw the Rams walk away 1-0 winners and crowned Champions with that match also being played at Pluim Park.
However, East Gosford will also have in the back of their minds their last encounter with Umina which they lost 5-4 in a 9-goal thriller. That was the first time this outfit had conceded more than three goals in a single fixture and since then it has only happened one more time which was last weekend.
Jorge went on to further express how this Sunday he is after a big reaction from his team. “It will be a great challenge for our girls and I’m looking forward to the reaction from our squad as we chase our first grand final in history.”
“Even though Umina finished third this year they still have quality all over the park and I expect them to come out firing in the opening stages of the game.”
“We need to make sure we weather the storm and set into our rhythm and play the game that we like to play and hopefully things will take care of themselves,” added Jorge.
Despite an early scare from Kanwal, Umina were able to rally together and come from behind to be victorious over the Bulls and end their season in last week’s Minor Semi-Final between third and fourth place.
With Kanwal now out of their way, Umina turns their attention to East Gosford, a side they have battled with plenty of times over the years and now Umina has the chance at redemption for their 2023 Association Cup Grand Final loss.
Umina first played East Gosford in the league all the way back in round 3 at Umina Oval and that contest played out to be a 1-1 draw. Their second meeting in the winter competition saw these two sides meet at Pluim Park as a dominant Rams performance saw them score five past Umina to pick up a 5-2 win.
On their last encounter before Sunday, East Gosford were leading the Rams 4-1 at half time only for Steve Donaldson’s side to score four unanswered goals against East Gosford in the second half to record their first win over their opponents this season.
Steve reflected on all of his previous meetings with East Gosford this season, stating his side have been below standard whenever they have faced the green and white outfit. “We’ve been under our standards all season against East Gosford. We are going to have to be at our best to keep this season alive.”
Umina’s squad, compared to the remaining clubs in the finals series, have a substantial amount of finals experience on the rest of the players which could be their ticket to success against the two sides who have a better record over the Eagles in 2023.
If Steve Donaldson and his side can retain their title of Premiers, it will mark their third straight WPL Premiership. However, they face a very stern test on Sunday which they will need to compete for the entire ninety minutes if they wish to have any chance of progressing to the Grand Final.
“Need to make sure we’re competing for the full ninety. We lost a bit of our momentum last weekend after the halftime break,” explained Steve.
Attacker Kate Styles is one of many players within the Umina squad who seem to be hitting her season-best form at the right time of the year. Their captain, Chelsea Campbell, has also been on a tear lately in front of goals.
The defence of Umina has also been in tremendous form, finishing the year with four straight clean sheets which will play a major part come kick-off on Sunday as Steve is well aware of the dangers East Gosford possesses in front of goal.
“I don’t expect too much different from them at this time of the season. They’re here for a reason playing consistent football with around a hundred goals. We just can’t drop off at any moment. Their strike force is just too clinical.”
Match Official – Laura Hockings
All Preliminary Fixtures –
