Major Semi Final Preview – Men’s State League 2

This week will see another cracking match of football when Southern Districts and Hurstville FC go head-to-head.
The winner will book themselves a spot in this year’s Grand Final, to take on Club Championship winners, Dunbar Rovers.

Southern Districts SFA vs Hurstville FC, 5:30pm Saturday 29 August, Valentine Sports Park
Southern Districts and Hurstville FC will play each other for the second time in three weeks, after they squared off in the last match of the regular season. Hurstville FC got the upper hand, winning 3-2.
“We haven’t been at full strength the last couple of weeks, so it’ll be good to welcome back some of our key players,” said Southern Districts head coach, Ramsin Shamon.
They will be playing without Gordan Opacic however, after he picked up two yellow cards last weekend in their do-or-die semi between the Western Condors.
Despite this, they came out convincing 5-1 victors in what was described by Shamon as a “five star performance from everyone involved.”
For Hurstville FC, they will be disappointed after losing to the Dunbar Rovers in a penalty shoot-out.
It was an eventful match that saw both teams reduced to nine men.  One of which was league leader for goals scored, Denis Cutura.
As a result, they will be playing without their most dangerous attacking threat this week.
However, Hurstville FC head coach, Tom Vidovic is focused more on improving as a team, rather than relying solely on individual efforts.
“We always look to improve in all areas regardless of the result,” said Vidovic.
“There were some uncharacteristic errors from us on Sunday which we we’ll look to address.”
“Districts are an experienced side who we respect.  They are particularly strong in attacking transition, so we must make sure that these errors don’t happen again.”
Despite Hurstville missing Cutura up front, Shamon said that “the game will be won or lost in the midfield.”
“They work hard in the middle of the field,” said Shamon.
“We need to make sure we contain them and control the pace of the game.”
Both sides have won one match each in the two times they have played this season and traditionally, are known for having close encounters.
One of which was last years semi final when Southern Districts edged out a 4-3 victory over Hurstville.
There is no doubt that a part of this will be playing in the back of Hurstville’s minds and will be looking to redeem themselves come Saturday.
“Our preparation won’t change from what has served us well all season,” said Vidovic.
“We know we must execute our game plan well.  The key is doing this consistently.”
– By Lars Roy, Men’s State League 2 Reporter