Finals Series Round 1 Preview – PS4 NPL 2 NSW Men’s
It’s finals time in the PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues’ 2 NSW Men’s competition and as always, regular season form goes out the window as teams pursue their ultimate dream of winning the Grand Final.
This weekend’s elimination finals provide two intriguing matchups: Mt Druitt Town Rangers v Northern Tigers and Central Coast Mariners v North Shore Mariners. Both matches are at Lilys Football Centre and both matches will be hard fought and physical.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers v Northern Tigers, 5pm, Saturday 2 September, Lilys Football Centre
Mt Druitt Town Rangers will be looking at reinforcing their dominance over Northern Tigers when the two sides clash in the first elimination final at Lilys Football Centre on Saturday.
Statistically, Mt Druitt should have no trouble disposing of the Tigers. After all, Aidan Desmond’s side finished third on the league as opposed to the Tigers’ sixth; and in two matches smashed six goals past the hapless Tigers while conceding just one. Desmond’s side is also very experienced as opposed to the youthful Tigers, whose team of cubs will need to rise to the occasion in the most unforgiving cauldron of all.
But this is the stage of the season where regular season form counts for nothing. This is the stage of the season where surprises occur and teams dig deep in the hope of taking another step towards the Holy Grail of winning a Grand Final.
“Anybody that’s played semi-finals football will tell you that form throughout the season means nothing when it comes to the semi-finals,” Desmond told Football NSW. “I’m no different. These are the games that every single player in the team is up for.”
This matchup is an intriguing battle between two teams of contrasting styles. In one corner we have a Rangers side that works hard for one another and plays a robust, physical style of football; while in the other corner sits a Tigers outfit that prides themselves on playing the ball on the ground and working well as a unit.
With five wins from their last six games, Mt Druitt is one of the form teams in the competition, and that form has been achieved by a solid work ethic and desire to play for one other.
“There’s a belief in the team in one another,” Desmond said. “There’s a willingness to want to get in there and do the hard work. We were 1-0 down against the (Bankstown) Berries (last week) and while we might not have been playing our best, we kept making the runs and putting in the effort and got rewarded with two penalties. If you’re not making the runs and putting in the effort you don’t get the penalties.
“The team works hard for each other. We’re not a team of superstars but we’re a team that works well together.”
Despite Mt Druitt’s dominance over the Tigers this season, Desmond believes the North Turramurra side will arrive at Lilys expecting to win. For so long one of the most feared teams in the competition, the Tigers’ recent form has been disappointing, but Desmond still believes they’re a fantastic football team capable of causing plenty of problems
“I think they’ll come out with fire in their belly and a point to prove,” Desmond said. “They play good football and they’ll try to play the same good football. We beat them 3-1 and 3-0 this season, and while they look like convincing scorelines, to be honest, they were in both of those games so we’re not taking anything for granted. They’re a very good football team and they’ll arrive at Lilys expecting to win.”
Meanwhile, outgoing Tigers coach Mark McCormick understands the daunting task confronting his side. Not only will they face an experienced team that has the wood on his aide, but with several youngsters playing finals football for the first time, it’ll be interesting to see how they cope with the additional pressure associated with knockout football.
“Mt Druitt have been one of the form teams in the second half of the season so as far as we’re concerned it’s as difficult a draw as we can get,” McCormick told Football NSW. “They’ve beaten us twice this year and they’ve scored (six) goals against us so we know we’re facing an uphill battle.”
But despite the stats and the experience factor, McCormick’s teams have always been fit, fast and determined. Typical of his Glaswegain roots, McCormick will expect his charges to show some grit in what is their most important game of the season.
As of Tuesday, both sides had some niggling injury concerns. “At this stage of the year, every team has got injuries,” Desmond said. “If any team is injury free and fit with no niggles anywhere then they’re pretty lucky. But I’m confident we’ll be in a position to put our best foot forward by Saturday.”
McCormick, who will depart Sydney to take up a plum position as head of coach development at Sunderland FC in England, said a couple of his boys had taken knocks in last week’s win over the Blacktown Spartans and they’d be working hard with the physio to be fit for the weekend.
Key Players: Luke Grima is critical to Mt Druitt because I think that every game he’s played, Mt Druitt has won. The Tigers backline is also very strong and their buildup play from the back is critical to their ability to hurt teams.
For Northern Tigers it’s not about key individuals. It’s how well they get their gameplan kicking over as a unit. If the unit’s working well then things will fall into place. Mt Druitt will rely on individuals because while as a team they might be working hard, as a unit, they need that individual quality. Daniel Rezo can create something out of nothing and he’s very good on the dead ball situation. Luke Grima is quite lethal in the final third. Lachlan Roberts is also a very good player. They’re the key players for Mt Druitt and they have something special to unlock the game whereas the Tigers are more reliant of the unit itself.
Lachlan Roberts is the key player for Mt Druitt and for the Tigers there are no standouts and they’re a solid collective unit. They’re more dangerous playing with structure whereas Mt Druitt rely on Roberts’ pace and the skills of other individuals.
Central Coast Mariners v North Shore Mariners, 4.30pm, Sunday 3 September, Lilys Football Centre
In a major coup for the Mariners’ “brand” Central Coast and North Shore will clash in yet another intriguing matchup between teams of contrasting styles.
The young Coasters have played some brilliant football this season and possess the most potent front third in the competition, one that has the uncanny ability to score goals at will.
North Shore meanwhile, play a very direct and robust style of football that can be quite devastating as Western Sydney Wanderers discovered in last week’s 6-1 annihilation at Northbridge.
In matches between the two Mariners’ sides this season, North Shore has won one, and the other resulted in a draw, so there’s nothing more than a struck match between the two sides.
Central Coast coach Ben Cahn told Football NSW that he was expecting a tough, but entertaining match.
“First of all, it’s excellent for the club and the brand that both Mariners sides are in the finals,” Cahn said. “That shows the programs are working well and producing good pathways for players.
“Secondly, we know it’s going to be a physical game. We know North Shore are quite direct, they’re quite high pressing and they’ve had some success with that style this season. We’ve had two really good games against them so it’s going to be a proper finals game and it’s going to be unpredictable. It’ll be a really good entertaining game of football.”
Will the previous games between the two sides have any bearing on the outcome this weekend?
“No,” Cahn replies. “We actually led 2-0 in both games so that obviously gives us a lot of confidence. We’ve improved a lot in the last few weeks in some of the areas that have hurt us before. We know a lot about them. They know a lot about us and I’m sure there will be some surprises on the day. Both teams fancy their chances.”
As of last Tuesday, Central Coast were injury free and had a full squad available for selection, a scenario Cahn attributes to the club’s strength and conditioning coach and team of physiotherapists. “Credit to Simon Taylor, our strength and conditioning coach and our two physios,” Cahn said. “We’ve had no injuries in our top three squads for maybe six weeks. They’ve done a really good job.”
Meanwhile, North Shore coach Joe Haywood was delighted with last week’s thrashing of the Wanderers, which could turn out to be perfect preparation for the young Coasters.
While A-League academy teams such as the Wanderers and Mariners are tactically mature, possess near flawless technique, and the skill and energy expected of teams full of the best teenage players in the country, the physical demands of competing against outfits such as North Shore can be overwhelming.
“They’re going to be fast, quick, energetic,” Haywood told Football NSW. “I think it’s going to be a good showcase of the Mariners academy so we’re looking forward to it.
“I don’t think the previous games will count for much because the finals are a different beast to the regular league season. Our team has drastically changed since the beginning of the season and our defensive stability and ability to score goals has helped us in the past few weeks.”
Indeed, in the last six rounds of the regular season, North Shore were one of the form teams of the competition, winning four and drawing two, a near perfect record that should give them plenty of confidence going into Sunday’s do-or-die “derby” against their fierce rivals.
“Earlier in the year we were scoring goals but we had a patch in the middle of the season where we weren’t converting our chances,” Haywood said. “The last few games we’ve been scoring and as I said, that has helped us get some good results going into the finals.”
Amazingly, 12 months ago North Shore Mariners had avoided relegation to NPL 3 by the skin of their teeth, so Haywood appreciates the opportunity to play finals football in NPL 2 for the first time.
“It’s huge and for us it’s a step in the right direction,” Haywood said. “Looking back at the history of the club, which has come through state league football, last year’s struggles in NPL 2 was difficult but a steep learning curve in terms of NPL 2 level football. It showed us what we needed to do as a club and as a group. We’ve learnt a lot of lessons and moved forward. Hopefully we can make an impact in the finals.”
Haywood added that (as of Tuesday) his side was injury-free and would be at full strength for Sunday.
Key Players: Central Coast’s Brenton Fox is very good, especially in dead ball situations, while the likes of Duncan Stewart, Lachlan Wales and Peter Kekeris are lethal in the front third.
North Shore has no standouts. It”ll be a collective effort from the entire team. They’re a team and everyone plays their part. However, they do have a good goalscorer (Mitch Smith) who is very strong in the air. If Central Coast can prevent a lot of crosses to Smith, that’ll go a long way to destabilizing North Shore. Tactically how Central Coast pushes their central defender into midfield to create overload can be quite a problem for the opposition.
For Central Coast, Lachlan Wales, Brenton Fox, Kekeris and Petratos are all lethal. They’ve got a lot of attacking weapons and can score goals on a whim.
North Shore’s Marquin Smith is one of the best players in the league and he’s their strength. Without him they’ll struggle, he’s that good.
-By Derek Royal, Football NSW Reporter
