Budgewoi v Southern & Ettalong
With the wet weather having cleared for now, Budgewoi will finally get to play at their home ground since returning to the MPL competition. This Sunday, they will host title contenders Southern & Ettalong at Budgewoi Oval which could be a matchup we see in the finals come the end of the year.
Although Budgewoi enters this weekend with an undefeated record to mark their return to the top-flight competition on the Central Coast, Haydn Appo’s men are one of just two teams who have only played two competition games since the start of the season.
Along with Berkeley Vale, the wet weather has caused a major disruption in Budgewoi’s season as they will be raring to go this weekend, especially in front of a healthy home crowd who look to show their support at Budgewoi Oval.
It was a dream start to the season for Budgewoi who commenced their year on the road and took on the daring challenge of the defending league champions and premiers Killarney on a Saturday night under the bright lights of Edsacc Oval.
Despite being in enemy territory, Budgewoi showed their full intentions for the year ahead. Not only did First Grade claim a 3-0 victory, but all grades came out victorious and managed to keep the Terriers scoreless in all three grades to get their season off to a perfect start.
The following week, Budgewoi were on the road again, this time travelling to Hylton Moore to face a tough MPL outfit in East Gosford. After ninety minutes of end-to-end football Appo’s men claimed a tense 2-1 victory over the Rams to send them level on top of the table as one of just three teams to win their opening two fixtures.
Appo spoke more in-depth when reflecting on the opening two fixtures. “There haven’t been any real surprises from our opening two games. Both were very tough away fixtures and coming away with wins on the road is always a bonus.”
“The weather has played havoc with everyone. We have a busy week coming up, but our focus is this Sunday. There is always room for improvement in every aspect of the game, individually and collectively. We will need to stay in the game both physically and mentally for the full 90 minutes.”
Unfortunately for Appo and his squad, Budgewoi haven’t stepped on the pitch since that game which will be a week shy of a month come Sunday as lack of game time could play a major factor in the outcome of this fixture.
Appo expressed how excited not only the players but also the club are for their first home fixture of the season. “I think all the players from all the clubs will be excited to get back on the park. For us, our main oval, Frank Millington Field, is significant to our players and supporters, past and present.”
“In fact, the whole place holds significant value. We like to look after the surface in the hope that it will encourage quality football in return. Our boys love playing at home, and this Sunday, being our first MPL match since promotion, will only add another layer of excitement.”
Looking forward to Sunday, Appo anticipates a tough battle against a distinguished club. “Southern has been one of the top clubs for many years. Dale left his legacy in more than capable hands when the club appointed Pagey.”
“I know that they are very dangerous from set pieces and have the calibre to score for fun from open play. We will need to be disciplined in defence whilst playing our natural attacking game when in possession.”
As for the opposition, after a tough run of games to start their season, Southern will be out to build on their first win of the season this weekend.
The Lions got their year underway when they took on competition favourites Berkeley Vale in round 2 as the Wombats handed the Lions a 4-1 defeat.
In their next fixture, Southern hosted Woongarrah who are on paper the best side in the competition and after going down 3-0, the Lions showed great character to get a result and their first point of the year as the match finished 3-3.
Matt Page’s men were finally able to get their first victory of the season when they enjoyed another home game, this time against the stern test of Avoca as the Lions reigned supreme after ninety minutes, recording a 3-0 victory to their name.
Page also had time to reflect on his side’s schedule to start the season. “Nothing has really surprised us to start the season, facing the benchmark of the competition in Berkeley Vale first up, followed by the well-recruited Woongarrah, and the ever-competitive Avoca in the first three games.”
“Every game in the MPL is tough but we’ve seemed to get a bit better with each match and hopefully that can continue on Sunday.”
Page also added, “There are always things we can improve on, especially this early in the season. We have a few new faces in the squad, and a change in coaching staff from the last decade at the club.”
“New ideas always take a bit of time to take hold, but the boys are starting to adapt to these changes well and I’m confident we can keep building as the year progresses.”
After playing all three fixtures so far this season at home, Southern will hit the road come Sunday as they look to hand the newly promoted side their inaugural loss of 2024.
2023 MPL player of the year Jacob Lepre has brought last year’s form into the new season as the playmaker has been one of Southern’s key personnel on the pitch along with midfield duo Jack Ellwood who has registered three goals in three games.
Although Southern saw defeat to this outfit in pre-season, the Lions were coming off an Australian Cup fixture the day before which saw a different line-up on that day than what is expected when these two sides face again this weekend, but Page knows his team must be at their best if they wish to walk away with any points to their name.
“Budgewoi will be a tough challenge for us on Sunday. They are coming off a very successful promotion campaign last year and have carried that confidence and good form into the MPL this season. They have recruited well, strengthening their squad and the results so far have shown that.”
“I know Haydn has brought together a squad primarily of homegrown guys and that always helps you be successful in this league. We had a good battle against them in the preseason cup where they managed to get the victory against us and progress out of the group.”
“I envisage Sunday’s game to be another tough affair and we welcome the chance to see how we match up after some more games under our belt.”
Match Official – Miles Allen-Scott
All Round 6 Fixtures –
