Division One Grand Final Preview
DIVISION ONE
Grand Final Preview
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Melita Stadium – Everley Road, South Granville
1st Grade
Kick Off 3-00pm
SPIRIT FC vs DULWICH HILL SC
After a long season of competitive football, of thrills and spills, of excitement plus, including a drama filled finals series, Division One culminates this Sunday afternoon in what promises to be an enthralling grand final.
The picturesque Melita Stadium will be a suitable venue for the season decider between Spirit FC and Dulwich Hill, two famous clubs with long histories, and two clubs with all intentions of recreating past successes with a grand final victory this time around.
Spirit FC go into this match as clear favourites, finishing runaway minor premiers of the competition by 12 points, and boasting the best attack and best defensive records in the league.
As minor premiers, Spirit FC have had only the one game since August 24, and it will remain to be seen whether the lack of games works for or against them.
On the other hand, Dulwich Hill have played every week of the finals, so they would be hoping the continuity works in their favour, as well as the fact that they are underdogs and have nothing to lose.
The teams have met twice this season in the regulation competition matches, the first time going back to the very first round of the competition on March 29, when Spirit FC prevailed 3-2 in a thriller at Christie Park.
Biviano opened the scoring that day for Dully on 12 minutes, before Nicolau equalized for the home side just nine minutes later. Purdue then put Dulwich Hill back in front on 27 minutes, and that?s the way it stayed until half time.
De Kelly scored a brace in the second half to give Spirit FC maximum points, the winner coming controversially in the 10th minute of injury time.
The return clash in Round 12 on June 14 saw another fairly even match, Spirit FC again grabbing the win with a 2-1 victory at Arlington Oval. The match had a similar ring to the first one, with Biviano once again putting Dully in front in the first half, before Cunningham equalized on the stroke of half time. De Kelly did what he did in the first round, again grabbing the winner, this time in the 53rd minute.
Both teams have a very strong attack, with the league?s equal top marksman, Leo Papanicolaou, and Tim Simpson, heading Spirit?s forward line, whilst Dulwich Hill will look toward Steve Biviano and Nick Paradisis to continue their rich vein of scoring.
The four attackers have scored over 70 goals between them this season, so the defensive lines of both teams will no doubt be stretched to keep them at bay.
I managed to speak to the coaches of the two grand final teams, Tony Walmsley (Spirit FC) and Mark Strachan (Dulwich Hill), and asked them both a series of questions about the season their teams have had, as well as the big game on Sunday ;
Q-What do you attribute to your team?s success this season?
TW ? ?We have created a winning mentality, a belief that we can improve on last year?s effort, and that has carried us through this season.?
MS ? ?We have a good crop of experienced players, a really strong squad, and we have settled down during the latter part of the season and shown some real consistency.?
Q-What hurdles have you had to overcome during this season?
TW ? ?Like most teams, we?ve had our fair share of injuries, but this season we?ve had a very strong U/20s squad to call on, and the depth in the club helped immensely.
MS ? ?We went through a stage where we were missing players through injury/suspension, so that affected us somewhat. Also, we were sitting mid table for quite a while because we had a few games postponed, so playing catch up was something we had to deal with, and deal with it we did.
Q-Are there any players you would to single out for their performances this season?
TW ? ?Our two strikers, Leo (Papanicoloau) and Simmo (Tim Simpson) have scored 34 goals between them, and I think when you have a couple of forwards that are hitting the target regularly, you?re bound to be successful. At the other end of the field, our back four have been tremendous this season, as you can see by having the best defensive record in the comp.?
MS ? ?Our goalkeeper, Frost, has been exceptional, with an incredible work ethic, training 4/5 times a week. Our defender, Rao, has been consistently good all year, and just gets on with the job each week. And of course, our two top goalscorers, Biviano and Paradisis, have consistently been knocking the ball into the net all year.?
Q-Are you at full strength for the Grand Final?
TW ? ?Yes we are, and training has been competitive as everyone wants to play!?
MS ? ?Yes, and we even have Raphael Bove back from overseas, so all hands on deck from the players that are not suffering long term injuries.?
Q- Finally gents, can you give us a prediction for the Grand Final?
TW ? ?All I am going to say is that we have a lot of respect for Dulwich Hill, and we know they have a lot of experience. We will have to be at our best to win on the day, and I am confident we can be the first club to do the double (minor remiership & grand final).?
MS ? ?Spirit FC has beaten us twice this season, so we are hoping to exact revenge, and I think we?ll win by one goal, whether it?s 2-1 or 5-4, it doesn?t matter!?
This grand final promises to be a real special one between two clubs with plenty of history, and two teams who play an attractive brand of football, so get out to Melita Stadium on Sunday afternoon to see which team will take home the silverware.
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U/20s Grand Final
Sunday, September 21
Melita Stadium ? Kick Off 12-30pm
SPIRIT FC vs SCHOFIELDS SCORPIONS FC
In the early game on Sunday, the Grand Final of the U/20s competition sees minor premiers Spirit FC hoping to make it a double celebration for the club when they take on Schofields Scorpions.
The Scorpions finished the season proper in fifth position, and have done it the hard way to get this far, winning sudden death matches for three consecutive weeks, conceding just the one goal in the final series.
But Spirit FC will be raging hot favourites, as, like their first grade counterparts, boast the best attacking and defensive records in the competition, and are in the grand final courtesy of their 6-1 hammering of Inter Lions in the major semi final.
Spirit did the double over the Scorpions this season, winning 4-3 at home and 2-0 away, and will be looking no doubt for a clean sweep with yet another victory in the big match on Sunday, which kicks off at the earlier time of 12-30pm to allow for any potential extra time.
-By Frank Speranza
