SUPA IGA NPL NSW Men’s 2 – Finals Week 3 Preview
Macarthur Rams and Mounties Wanderers are just one game away from the Grand Final. Which club succeeds to meet St George in the season’s finale next weekend will all be revealed on Saturday night.
Macarthur Rams (2nd) v Mounties Wanderers (3rd) Saturday 7pm, Bonnyrigg Sports Centre
If this match lives up to finals past, we can expect a real humdinger of a game this Saturday night, when close rivals Macarthur Rams and Mounties Wanderers meet for the second time in a fortnight.
To the winner will go the spoils of a Grand Final appearance while the loser will have to wait at least another year for any tangible success. The pressure will be on from the start and with very little between the two, it will be a match with plenty on offer.
Macarthur took out the qualifying final with a backs-to-the-wall display, especially in the latter stages, so they certainly know that they can produce the goods when it matters. They came close against St George last week, finishing in a flurry, so they won’t lack the confidence this Saturday. They have the better recent record against the Mounties, having eliminated them from the finals last season in a tempestuous affair at Cook Park, while also having the Mounties’s measure this year. They kept them scoreless during the season proper, a sure sign of the strength of the Rams’ defence, claiming four points from six, so the slight favouritism for this should rest with Macarthur.
They will look again to their front pairing of Shannon Hankin and Almir Dizdaric for goals, their height a particular strength. Hankin’s goals against the Mounties two weeks ago and against St George last week both came from headers so Mounties will do well to keep a close watch in that department.
The Wanderers will be hoping that their ace Alvin Singh will be fit to play. Singh missed last weekend’s semi against Fraser Park but if there is any chance that he will be ready this Saturday, expect him to play. He has produced the goals when it has mattered, and his conversion to the frontline has proved a boon to Mounties. The single goal victory last weekend, despite the Mounties’ general dominance, goes some way to show how much the Fijian means to the Wanderers.
But the Mounties also have the dangerous Daniel Willoughby back. Willoughby missed a large proportion of the season and his timely return will add much to the Mounties attack. His raids down the right and the accurate crosses which result will prove a handful for the Rams. Throw in the ever dangerous Daniel Severino and Daniel McCann in the middle, and a central defensive pairing of Mark D’Alessandro and Scott Goodwin, and the Mounties are strong across the park.
Once again, there will be no shortage of fire this weekend, or firepower, and as the Mens 2 competition heads towards its climax, there is still plenty of great football to look forward to.
