State League One – Finals Week 2 Preview

Fans of the State League One competition have a special treat this weekend, with both semi final fixtures being played back to back on Sunday afternoon at Hensley Athletic Field in Matraville.
With Granville Rage the first to exit the 2013 finals series, let’s take a close look at the four remaining teams as they square up this weekend..
Semi Final 2
Northbridge FC – Balmain Tigers 
Hensley Athletic Field on Sunday, September 15 @ 2-00pm
Round 5 – 5 May – Balmain 3 (Cook 2, Occhipinti) beat Northbridge 2 (Jones, A McGrouther)
Round 16 – 21 July – Northbridge 2 (Bentham,A McGrouther)lost to Balmain 5 (Occhipinti 3, Donato, G Di Mento)
The early game will kick off at 2-00pm, with the prize for the victors being a spot in the 2013 Grand Final and a weekend off.
That team will be either Northbridge FC or Balmain Tigers, and either way it will be a maiden Grand Final appearance for whoever gets through.
Northbridge will go in as slight favourites if you use the league ladder as a guide, grabbing the Premiership title a fortnight ago and having a weekend’s rest as a result. No doubt coach Joe Hayward would’ve had his charges focussed to rid any complacency out of their minds, and playing on the artificial pitch at Hensley will suit them down to the ground, pardon the pun, as their own pitch at Northbridge is also an artificial surface.
The Bridge had the best attacking record in the competition, netting 52 times, lead by a host of players in the attacking third, including the strong Tom Bentham, the nippy Ry Hardy, and the effervescent Michael Cole.
Their backline is a sturdy unit, but the stats don’t lie, and having conceded 35 goals at more than 1.5 goals a game could be a stat that may be discussed at the Balmain strategic meetings this week.
Balmain stumbled alarmingly over the final weeks of the season, but all was forgotten when they comfortably accounted for Dulwich Hill 3-0 in the first week of the finals last weekend, the goals coming from Occhipinti, Fiakos and Cole.
The Tigers may have something to say about the ‘favourites’ tag coming into this clash, having accounted for Northbridge both times this season, scoring no less than eight goals in the process.
A brace from Joel Cook and a strike from Rosario Occhipinti gave Balmain a 3-2 win back in round 5 in May, with Lee Jones and Andrew McGrouther replying for Northbridge. The return at Northbridge Oval turned into a rout for the visitors, Balmain winning 5-2 via an Occhipinti hatrick, with Will Donato and Jacob Di Mento also getting on the scoresheet. Tom Bentham and McGrouther, once more, did the honours for the ‘Bridge’.
Expect a fierce battle in this one on Sunday given what’s at stake, and don’t be surprised to see some goals in what could very well be a Grand Final rehearsal.
Semi Final 1
Dulwich Hill – Hakoah Sydney City East
Hensley Athletic Field on Sunday, September 15 @ 4-30pm
Round 7 – 19 May – Dulwich Hill 0 lost to Hakoah 2 (McAlpine, Ezekiel)
Round 18 – 4 August – Hakoah 1(McAlpine) lost to Dulwich Hill 2(Calcagno, J Villazon)
The second fixture in Sunday’s double header at Hensley Athletic Field sees Dulwich Hill take on Hakoah Sydney City East at 4-30pm.
After missing the Premiership on the final day of the season, Dully now find themselves just 90 minutes from elimination in just two short weeks.
Missing a host of players through injury, Dully have lost 0-4 and 0-3 in their last two outings, and will need to draw on all their resilience to claw themselves out of this dreadful patch of form. You don’t become a poor side on the back of a couple of losses, and Dulwich Hill have too much talent at their disposal to be taken lightly.
The strength they may just rely on this Sunday could come from their coaching staff. Wally Savor and Norman Tome have both had distinguished careers at the very top level in this country, and have seen it all before, so they won’t be displaying any panic as they look to lift the morale and instil self belief amongst their players.
Momentum is a wonderful thing in sport, and Hakoah are riding a wave at the moment given they’ve had four wins and a draw in their past five outings.
They showed real steely determination to win last week’s elimination against Granville, helped by a  superbly struck free kick by skipper, Michael Katz. Another man in fine form over the past few weeks is the dynamic Mark McAlpine, a man who struck the winner last weekend after a workmanlike performance over the 120 minutes.
The bragging rights are up for grabs this weekend, both clubs having had a win apiece this year. Hakoah snatched a 2-0 win at Arlington Oval back in May, with McAlpine and Robert Ezekiel netting, whilst Dully returned serve at Hensley back in Round 18, another goal by McAlpine not enough to cancel out early strikes by Dully’s Frank Calcagno and James Villazon.
One of these teams will say goodbye to season 2013 on Sunday, get out to Matraville to see all the tension and excitement.
Please click on the following link to access all the details of the two Finals fixtures (all matches may be subject to late changes so please refer to the Football NSW website prior to kick off to confirm match details)
http://www.sportingpulse.com/comp_info.cgi?a=ROUND&round=2&client=0-9353-0-253810-0&pool=1001