MINOR SEMI FINAL
Terrigal v Southern Ettalong
Fierce rivals Terrigal and Southern Ettalong will square off this Saturday under the bright lights of Pluim Park as both clubs look to keep their season alive and send the other team out of the 2022 Finals Series
2020 Grand Final winners Terrigal will be looking to defend their crown as Premiers but must do it in the hardest way possible after finishing the regular season in third place. The O’lads ended their year with a record of ten wins, one draw, and seven losses and recorded the second-best attacking record in the league with 52 goals for, only Killarney had more goals with 56. Finishing in third place means that Terrigal must have a flawless run into the finals, unlike the other year when they won and had two chances of making the Grand Final.
Terrigal enter the finals coming off an emphatic 4-1 win over the second-place Kanwal side but having already secured their spot in the finals the Bulls did rest quite a few first graders for that fixture. It has not been the best run of form into the Finals for Martyn Griffith’s side as they have lost three of their last six competition games, seeing defeat to Killarney, The Entrance, and this weekend’s opponents Southern. Terrigal has been unable to get the best of Southern during the 2022 season as they lost both games to the Lions by a combined score of 8-3.
Terrigal had the luxury of playing six competition games at Pluim Park this year but their record at the home of central coast football is nothing to brag about, only winning two of those six fixtures. However, in the Association Cup in preseason Terrigal did meet Southern in another Semi-Final and on that instance, the O’lads came out on top with a 2-1 win. It’s shaping up to be another close and intense battle between these two rivals who both possess plenty of quality in their squad. With neither team wanting to exit Finals this early, this match will come down to the smallest of opportunities as Terrigal hopes their more experienced and senior players will be able to step up and hand their side the victory.
Martyn Griffiths once again has steered all three grades to finals football as he talked about the depth they have at the club and also spoke on the quality of the opposition they will face come Sunday. “Looking forward to the challenge again of Finals football this year in all 3 Grades. It’s been a really successful season for the Club in the fact that we lost some top senior players at the start and another 8 players during the course of the season either with injury or other issues. So, to perform so well in U21s and Reserve grade with a lot of youngsters being blood from the 18s team has been very pleasing and bodes well for the future.”
“Dale has been a good friend of mine since arriving on the coast some 5 years ago and his knowledge of the game along with recruiting some experienced players has got them to finals and to be honest, have been the form team in the last couple of months and will be hard to beat. They are a team that contests every ball, and we must do the same if we are to progress. Like I said If we compete and contest every ball, defend as a unit and if we click like I know we can, we can beat any team on our day.”
Mid-way through the year, Southern’s final chances looked very slim as the Lions struggled with their consistency week in and week out and it showed in their results. Dale Eggleton’s side ended their year with a record of nine wins, two draws, and seven losses but five of those losses occurred in their first ten games which goes to show how great their recent run of form has been. In their last eight games of the competition, the Lions have recorded 6 wins to their name which ultimately saw them jump an underperforming Berkeley side and claim the fourth spot on the ladder.
The rest of the top four know just how hard Southern is to beat and their recent run of form back that up as Southern is yet to lose to Kanwal or Terrigal during the 2022 Winter Season. These two teams could be the next two teams Southern faces as they look to book a spot in the Grand Final but must focus on their tough challenge this Saturday when they square off with rivals Terrigal at Pluim Park. Confidence will be extremely high within the Southern camp as they record two wins over the O’lads this year, but Finals Football is a whole different beast, and they must be at the best if they wish to repeat that feat once again.
Since welcoming Jacob Lepre back into the side from injury, Lepre seems to have played an instrumental part in their recent run of form and will again play an instrumental part in their hopes to make the Grand Final. Despite possessing the attacking prowess of Keith Gumbs and Jameson Flynn, Southern recorded the worst attacking record of any other team in Finals, scoring just 38 goals in their 18 matches. Southern will be hoping it all clicks this weekend for Gumbs and Flynn as they look to defeat their rivals.
Dale Eggleton spoke on what it means to the club to not only have all three BPL grades playing finals but the U18s and WPL squad who qualified also. “It’s a great achievement when you consider our U18s and WPL First and Reserves have also qualified. We pride ourselves on being a club where all are equal. We have had some great battles with Terrigal over the past five seasons in competition games and finals games, I have a lot of respect for them as well as Killarney and Kanwal too as all three clubs have all teams in Finals.”
“We will be expecting a game that goes to the next level and will have to compete with Terrigal all over the park if we want to keep continuing in the Finals,” stated Eggleton.
MATCH OFFICIAL – Luke Dunkerley
MAJOR SEMI FINAL
Killarney v Kanwal
There’s not much that can be said about Killarney that hasn’t already been said. Killarney continues to remain the gold standard for the rest of the competition, but this year Chris Ackerley has taken this side to another level, accomplishing a feat that has never been done before in BPL history. After last week’s 2-0 win over Avoca, Killarney cemented themselves as the greatest team in Central Coast Football history as they finished the season with a perfect record of 18 wins from 18 games. Now Killarney set their sights on keeping this unbeaten record through finals and regaining their title as BPL Premiers.
Killarney has played in the last five BPL First Grade Grand Finals and after winning their first four, the Terries fell short in 2020 to Terrigal in a 1-0 loss at Central Coast Stadium. Not only did Killarney finish the year undefeated, but they also record the best attacking and defensive records in the league. The Terriers have scored 56 goals in total whilst only conceding just 10 goals in 18 matches. The next best defensive team is Kanwal who have conceded 26 goals which shows just how tremendous their backline is.
Killarney will welcome back their captain Sam Kirk and also talented midfield Andy Klijn who both were out serving suspensions last weekend. In their line-up Killarney also has the 2022 BPL Golden Boot Winner Adam Woodbine who topped the rest of the competition, finishing the year with 13 goals to his name. After their history-breaking year, Killarney enters the Finals as massive favourites to take it out and will have a big target on their back but Finals Football can be unpredictable at times so they must continue to be at their very best if they wish to be crowned Premiers.
Chris Ackerley spoke on what it means to finish the season with a perfect record and to create history for the club. “It’s a massive achievement especially as the club is celebrating its 50th anniversary. It’s a huge credit to everyone involved in the three squads as all have played a part in this great season so far, especially since we lost a huge amount of experience before the season started.”
Despite claiming two victories over the Bulls this year, Ackerley stated he is expecting a tough game come Sunday. “Kanwal has had an amazing season with all three grades making the finals. They are a very fit and quick side who like to pressure you all over the park, as well as the experience of Porter and Kwasnik. Expecting an extremely tough game as all finals are with both sides hopefully attacking each other to the end in what should be a good game.”
Despite coming off one of their biggest defeats of the season last week when the Bulls went 4-1 down to Terrigal, having already solidified their spot in the top two, coach Ryan Walker decide to rest his players coming into this very important match against Killarney. Kanwal was not on many people’s radars at the start of the season as many outsiders saw Berkeley Vale as the favourites to take out the competition. But Kanwal started the year with three big wins and didn’t concede a single goal in all three of those matches as they sent a statement out to the rest of the competition.
Kanwal, who were in a relegation battle just the previous season, ended the year in second place on 36 points and had the second-best defensive record in the league, claiming eight clean sheets and only conceding 26 goals throughout the 2022 Winter Season. For a lot of these Kanwal players, this will be their first taste of Finals Football as they gear up to accomplish what no other team this year has been able to and defeat the undefeated League Champions. Kanwal will meet Killarney at Pluim Park where they boast a great record this season.
Besides last weekend when they rested players, Kanwal is undefeated at Pluim Park throughout the season and in those three games against Wyoming, Terrigal and Berkeley Vale, the Bulls did not concede once which will be their key to success again this weekend. Kanwal is one of only a few teams that were able to score against Killarney on both fixtures and were the only team to score 3 goals past the Terriers in a single game. Kanwal must be clinically this weekend as they look to book themselves in the Grand Final.
Ryan Walker touched on how big of an achievement making finals football in all three grades. “Making the finals in all three grades has been a massive accomplishment for all the boys and the club and we are very excited to see how far we can go with it.”
Walker also touched on what he is expecting from the game against the League Champions. “Killarney has been excellent this year, to win every game is a massive achievement and they should be very proud of themselves. I expect come kick-off there to be plenty of nerves from my side as a lot of them have not been in a finals series for a long time and in terms of what I expect from the game, I can see Killarney being extremely well structured as they always are and look to hit us hard on our mistakes.”
MATCH OFFICIAL – Miles Allen-Scott
