Grand Final Preview – Men’s State League 2
The most highly-anticipated match of the season is finally here when Southern Districts and the Dunbar Rovers square off in the Grand Final of the Men’s State League 2.
They have been the most consistent teams of the year, emphasised by their close battle for the Club Championship. Dunbar narrowly took the title which will definitely fuel Southern Districts come Saturday.
Southern Districts SFA vs Dunbar Rovers, 5:30pm Saturday 5 September, Valentine Sports Park
Valentine Sports Park will set the scene for another quality match of football.
Despite dominating the majority of last week’s Major Semi Final against Hurstvillle FC, Southern Districts are coming off a narrow 1-0 victory. While Dunbar Rovers took their week off as a time to regenerate, both mentally and physically.
“We literally took the whole week off so we don’t put any pressure on ourselves,” said Dunbar head coach, William Cullen.
“We’re going into it nice and relaxed.”
Regardless of their many achievements this season as well as getting the edge over Southern Districts in both encounters, Cullen believes they are the underdogs.
“We are underdogs as the pressure is on them not to finish the season empty-handed,” said Cullen.
“We will play care-free football that won us the Club Championship and the league.”
An advantage that Southern Districts do hold over Men’s State League 2 debutants Dunbar is that they have been in this position before. As recent as last season in fact, when they lost to Rydalmere Lions 2-1.
“Last year’s Grand Final loss hurt, losing it to a penalty in the 89th minute,” said Southern Districts head coach, Ramsin Shamon.
“We’ve taken that feeling from last year and have done all of the little things right to get to where we are now.”
Southern Districts captain, Tomislav Romic has been waiting even longer for this opportunity after he was ineligible for last year’s Grand Final, after he received a red card in the major semi final against Hurstville FC.
“He’s had to wait a long time for this chance,” said Shamon.
“It means a lot for him to be out there with the boys in such an occasion. He’s the heart of our team.”
This passion and will to succeed for one another has stemmed right throughout the club and has developed over a number of years.
Shamon says that there is no under twenties or first grade squads, rather they train all as one.
“We represent the district, we always have,” said Shamon.
“All of our players are locals, it’s a very multicultural area. We have 19 different nationalities and we all gel well as a unit because we are all good friends and have a lot of respect for each other.”
Both teams have taken positives out of their last performances including areas to build on and execute.
However, they have agreed that it comes down to which team can play to their potential on the day, by executing their game plan and showing both resilience and relentlessness for the full 90 minutes.
– By Lars Roy, Men’s State League 2 Reporter
