Super League Finals Series Review
Suns fade as Eagles soar into NSW Super League grand final
Parramatta booked a berth in the NSW Super League Grand Final decider with a superb 1-0 victory over minor premiers Bonnyrigg on Saturday. The Eagles shook off their White Eagles demons with a gutsy display at a shell-shocked Sports Club, guaranteeing their ?big day? spot at Gabbie Stadium on Sunday, September 28. Bonnyrigg now meet Liverpool in this weekend?s preliminary final after Bossy ended Rockdale?s run, 3-1, in Sunday?s minor semi final.
In the under-20s finals race, Premiers Northern Tigers secured a grand final spot via a 4-0 demolition of Rockdale, while Central Coast defeated Parramatta 3-0 in the sudden death minor semi-final. The Suns and Lightning tackle each other in this Sunday?s preliminary final for the right to play the Tigers for the title.
Parramatta breaks down Bonnyrigg fortress
In defeating minor premiers Bonnyrigg White Eagles 1-0 in Saturday night?s major semi-final, the PCYC Parramatta Eagles have done what no Super League outfit has been able to do in 18 months of football ? win a game at Bonnyrigg Sports Club. And their reward was huge ? a berth in the 2008 grand final decider at Gabbie Stadium on September 28.
A 20th minute penalty converted by Parramatta midfielder Matthew Clowes was enough to separate the two sides and hand Bonnyrigg their first home defeat since Central Coast thumped them 4-0 in the opening round of the 2007 competition, last March. Bonnyrigg went on to win the title that year, and their weekend loss to the Eagles has seriously similar undertones to the 2007 finals series.
The White Eagles lost last year?s major semi-final 1-0 to the Northern Tigers before bouncing back to defeat St George the following week, 2-1, and going on to exact revenge on the Tigers in a decisive 2-0 grand final win at Seymour Shaw Park. Coach Blagoja Kulevski is certainly confident of deja vu taking them to a repeat championship.
?That?s semi-final football,? he said after Saturday night?s defeat, ?And good luck to Parramatta, they are entitled to be in the grand final. It was hard to get the players motivated after three weeks off, but it?s not an excuse to lose the game ? the players just didn?t look sharp.?
On the other hand, Eagles coach Jason Falzon was ecstatic, particularly as his players had squandered leads in their past two trips to Bonnyrigg. ?To be perfectly honest, we were ready for it,? he said. ?We thought we could?ve beaten them in the last match, the boys wanted another crack, and they got it. I can?t be happier for [the players] because they fully deserve the result.?
?We wanted to be the only ones to beat [Bonnyrigg] at their home ground this year, and now we?ve beaten everybody in the competition. We?ve achieved all of the goals that we set for this season, except one ? to win the grand final. So, now, there?s only one more box left to tick. It has been a fantastic season, but now I?ve got to get the boys back down to earth for the grand final. We?re all pretty excited.
?I think the players have learnt from their losses and they still have improvement in them. They?re young kids, full of energy, and they have to learn to control the tempo. They still like to go forward, but we have to play smart to beat the top teams.?
Parramatta played like they had a point to prove from the opening whistle and early pressure on the Bonnyrigg goal resulted in striker Fred Graham being pulled down inside the box. English-born Clowes stepped up to the penalty spot and drove to the right of a diving White Eagle goalkeeper Ali Akbal to take a 1-0 lead.
Despite the setback, the White Eagles stayed calm until the final quarter-hour, when they upped the ante and poured up-field towards the Eagles goalmouth in search of an equaliser ? but to no avail. The referee blew for fulltime and Bonnyrigg now face Liverpool in this weekend?s do-or-die preliminary final.
While Falzon gears up for his first grand final as a coach, Kulevski faces a different scenario in the Bonnyrigg camp. His team has been held scoreless twice in the past three games, against top-three sides Parramatta and Liverpool (0-0). Fortunately, Kulevski has been in this position many times and knows exactly how to lift his players for a crunch match.
?The players were a little sad after the game as it was the first loss at home in almost two years,? he said. ?But we can?t win all the time and now we have to focus on next week?s game. Of course, there is pressure on us. The supporters expect big things of Bonnyrigg, and not making the grand final can really affect everything we want to achieve, including going into Premier League next year. It is a challenge for us.?
Major semi final: Bonnyrigg White Eagles 0 Parramatta Eagles 1 (Matthew Clowes 20m)
Liverpool sends Rockdale packing
A Sam Awad hat-trick helped steer Bossy Liverpool towards a preliminary final death match, against Bonnyrigg this weekend, after ?the blues? defeated a hapless Rockdale City Suns 3-1 in Sunday afternoon?s minor semi-final at Ernie Smith Reserve.
Bossy had won both regular season clashes between the two teams, but Suns striker Goce Trposki made sure this game wasn?t going to be a lay-down affair for the home side, hitting the back of the net in just the fifth minute for a 1-0 Rockdale lead. Trposki?s eighth goal of the season silenced the crowd and gave the visitors the start they craved for.
Liverpool starting rumbling back into the match and, on 26-minutes, Awad found an equaliser to take the score to 1-1 at halftime. A second Awad goal two minutes after the restart lifted Bossy in front, but Rockdale pressed hard to force some fine saves from the Bossy goalkeeper, and a clearance off the line to boot kept the scores unchanged.
The Suns were definitely missing the services of solid midfielder, Pece Zaikovski (knee injury), and it showed when Awad completed his hat-trick in the 57th minute for his ninth goal of 2008. Solid defence helped Liverpool close the game out with their noses in front, 3-1, not the way coach Michael Grbevski wanted to finish a great year with the Rockdale club.
?We knew they would be tough; [Liverpool] are a very hungry, aggressive side; they fought hard for every ball and got the result,? he said. ?It was just one of those games where we didn?t turn up to play. Bossy did well to put us off our game, they were really in our face. Maybe the occasion was too big for us.?
?It was a shame to go out this way as we had worked hard all year to get to where we did. Considering the late start to the season, and losing so many players from last year, I think we did quite well, and I hope the club can build on this. Personally, it has been fantastic experience ? a very steep learning curve with all the ups and downs.?
The win has definitely boosted the Liverpool?s confidence, and Mile Todorovski intends to cash in on all the fervour at the club. ?It wasn?t easy, [Rockdale] didn?t come to lose the game, but I thought we were marginally better and I am happy with the result, even though we could have scored more goals.?
?It?s difficult to say how we?ll go [against Bonnyrigg this weekend]. We don?t have a very good record against them and it doesn?t matter what you say, always somewhere in the mind is that feeling. I have played 20 seasons, I know what it?s like as a footballer to forget about these things. But we will try everything to get into the grand final. Bonnyrigg is a strong team, but we are not a bad team either. We will see what happens this weekend.?
Todorovski had previously stated that third place was an excellent effort for Liverpool, but with just 90 minutes of solid football standing between Bossy and an unlikely grand final berth, there is added incentive to do well against their south-west Sydney neighbours this weekend.
?In my mind, in the back of all players mind is a grand final. It doesn?t matter what team they are in, it is a natural thought. So now we push further and try to make it a better achievement than third spot. I do have plans on how to beat Bonnyrigg, but that is not for publicity,? he said.
?[Super League leading scorer] Alex Canak is out because of a second yellow card, so we have to regroup and make some adjustments, but every coach has the players to win. Rockdale had the team to beat Liverpool but didn?t, so anything can happen.?
Minor semi final: Bossy Liverpool 3 (Sam Awad 26/47/57m) Rockdale City Suns 1 (Goce Trposki 5m)
Grade 20 finals
The Northern Tigers roared into the under-20 grand final following their 4-0 rout of Rockdale City Suns in Saturday night?s major semi-final at Bonnyrigg Sports Club. The minor premiers completed a demolition job on the Suns to gain a deserved place in the title decider, while Rockdale live on to face Central Coast Lightning, who disposed of the Parramatta Eagles 3-0 in Sunday?s minor semi-final at Ernie Smith Reserve. The Suns will have to be on their guard this weekend, with second-place finishers Central Coast sure to be out to avenge their 2-1 loss to Rockdale in last weekend?s preliminary semi-final. The winner plays the Tigers on Sunday, September 28, at Gabbie Stadium.
Major semi final: Northern Tigers 4 Rockdale City Suns 0
Minor semi final: Central Coast Lightning 3 Parramatta Eagles 0
Preliminary Finals
First Grade
Bonnyrigg White Eagles v FC Bossy Liverpool
7.30pm Bonnyrigg Sports Club – Saturday 20th September
Preliminary Finals
Under 20s
Rockdale City Suns v Central Coast Lightning
5.00pm Bonnyrigg Sports Club – Saturday 20th September
-By Daniel De Nardi
