Elimination Final

Tigers FC v Tuggeranong United | Saturday, 3pm @ Deakin Stadium & LIVE on BarTV Sports

Sudden death is on the cards in the first semi-final on Saturday at Deakin Stadium, as Tigers FC and Tuggeranong United meet in the Elimination clash. Tigers come in to the finals series as one of the form teams in the competition, despite a 7-0 thumping at the hands of Canberra Olympic in their rescheduled clash during last week. Gaby Wilk rested a number of players for that outing, fielding a side far from full strength and paid the price but the team will be fresh for this encounter. After struggling early on in the season the Cooma side rallied during the second half of the campaign with some impressive performances orchestrated largely by Nico Villafane. Jakob Cole said on Friday morning that the team are bringing plenty of confidence into this outing and that has shown in the way they have played of late. Tigers are happy to play underdogs to the most-talked about outfits in Canberra Olympic and Canebrra FC, and will just look to get through this weekend. If Wilk’s men can be close to their attacking best they will pose a big threat here, but they must also be wary of leaving their backline exposed.

For Tuggeranong they went the opposite way of Saturday’s opponents, starting flawlessly before tailing off towards the end of the season and eventually scraping into the four thanks to Tigers knocking off Belconnen United on the final day of the season. But that doesn’t matter though as the first-grade team run out for a first finals berth since 2003 and look to book themselves a spot in the Preliminary final next weekend. This will be the first finals experience for the vast majority of this squad, and there will be players who were not born when Tuggeranong last scored in a first-grade final. That is all irrelevant this weekend though, and Mitch Stevens is looking forward to having a full bench for the first time all season. The last time they were at Deakin the side struggled against Canberra FC but Stevens admitted today that the extended break following Round 18 had allowed him to field an entirely fit squad. An early goal is what United will be aiming for to unsettle Tigers and increase their volatility. If they can do that and force their opponents to chase the game then the threat of quick forwards like Aisosa Ihegie will bear fruit on the counter-attack. First though, Stevens needs to ensure his team are not overwhelmed by the occasion and are capable of harnessing their passion and excitement.

 

Qualifying Final

Canberra FC v Canberra Olympic | Saturday, 7pm @ Deakin Stadium & LIVE on BarTV Sports

Canberra FC and Canberra Olympic will meet for the second time in a week when they clash in the Qualifying Final at Deakin. Canberra FC prevailed in the Premiership decider last weekend after Olympic snatched a 1-0 victory in their other league clash this year, and at media on Friday Sam Brown was confident in saying that his team could win again.

“It’s good to get the result last week, we maybe know we have it over them,” Brown said.

“It frustrated them last week that we played pragmatically and for the result we needed, but we know we have the quality to play good football and get a win.”

That 2-0 win sealed the Premiership for the Deakin side and they will bring plenty of confidence into this meeting. They’ve know seen off Olympic twice this season; once in the league and once more in the FFA Cup, while Olympic were narrow winners in the Round 10 clash between the two at this ground. Thomas James will return to the team here in what will likely be a more forward-facing lineup than at O’Connor and he will be a consistent threat to this Olympic side.

Olympic will have a fire in their belly after Sunday’s defeat on home turf but can expect a different approach from Canberra FC this time. With both teams wanting to win the game Frank Cachia’s side are likely to have a bit more luck breaking down the backline of Canberra FC than they did on Sunday, where Stephen Domenici and his fellow forwards struggled to create clear cut chances. Their defence was not bad but was opened up as they committed numbers forward to chase a win, and it will be interesting to see of any changes this week. Nathen Megic commented on Canberra FC’s tactics in that match on Friday morning, insinuating that they did not play ‘beautiful football’ and the stage is set for a classic contest between these storied rivals. Megic himself will be an important player at the back this weekend if Michael Mensah continues to start up front, with the big man offering a key target for Canberra FC to help bring the ball to ground up front. Defence will be key for both teams, but converting chances will be just as important, with there not likely to be too many clear-cut opportunities on offer.NPL