After two incredible results last Saturday, our U20’s and First Grade Men’s teams are through to the next stage of the Championship Series. After an action-packed first weekend, our Senior Squad is ready for another battle this week as their finals campaign continues.
Saturday morning was a rollercoaster of emotions for our U20’s. The team fought back from 2-nil down to force extra time, taking the lead before being pulled back to 3-3. Will DiMartino was the man to step up and find the winner, securing the victory against Western Sydney Wanderers.
‘I felt relieved when I scored as we all worked our backsides off for the full 90 minutes and extra time’ said DiMartino. ‘I was also glad there was no pressure on us for penalties!’.
U20’s captain Matin Abroon and his team are filled with energy heading into this Sunday’s Major Semi-Final against Central Coast Mariners Academy.
‘Coming off the back of a great win last week, there’s a lot of energy within the team. It’s always a tough game against the Mariners, but with the recent form and confidence in the back end of the season it’ll be a good game. The boys are eager to try and grab the first grand final spot’.
This Sunday, the squad head to Pluim Park on a mission to book their spot in the Grand Final. Assistant Coach Darren Pratt is excited for the challenge.
‘CCMA have been the benchmark team of the FNSW League One 20’s competition this season and our boys are excited to be competing against them again in Finals Football’ said Pratt. ‘Head Coach Raph has prepared the boys well following our win last Saturday against WSW and we are looking forward to another challenging game at Pluim Park this Sunday’.
Saturday night was also a wild ride for our First Grade Men side against local rivals NWS Spirit. After going down 1-0 in the first half, the Tigers came out firing, scoring almost straight away through recently promoted U20’s player Kai Denton. Shortly after, front man Shervin Adeli slotted one away to clinch the 2-1 win.
‘I am proud to score for the club and extend our season another week’ said Adeli. ‘I can’t wait for next Saturday to go again’.
First Grade captain Jamie Lobb did a fantastic job in the heart of the defence to hold out the win. Lobb and his side are still on the hunt for silverware.
‘Unfortunately, we were unable to gain promotion this season. However, we are still very excited as a collective to be a part of the final series. We are aiming to finish the year on a high and receive some silverware.
WSW will be a tough opponent this week. They have a very young and talented squad who had a stellar regular season. We will be heading into this week’s fixture confident after returning to winning ways with a hard-fought win last weekend’.
Head Coach Adam Hett was happy with the way his side played against Spirit and is looking for another strong performance this Saturday.
‘We are all looking forward to the match this weekend’ said Hett. ‘As a group, we were happy with the way we implemented our game plan against Spirit. We will be looking to replicate the same level of performance this Saturday. Both of the matches against WSW were tight during the season. We know we will need to be at our best to progress.’
To watch the First Grade fixture against Western Sydney Wanderers this Saturday, head to NPL.TV https://npl.tv/football/football-nsw/football-nsw-league-one/
