Report by Tommy Doleman

Northern Redbacks celebrate after winning the 2020 Top Four Cup final. Photo by Football West/FotoEnzo

Finals football begins this weekend with the 2021 NPLWA Men's and Women's Top Four Cups as respective champions Perth SC and Murdoch University Melville look to add further silverware to the trophy cabinet.

The Women's major semi-final is first up on Friday night with a replay of last week's league title decider between back-to-back NPL champions MUM FC and Northern Redbacks. The winners will head straight to the final at Dorrien Gardens next Saturday, with the losers getting a second chance against the winners of Sunday’s minor semi between Perth SC and Fremantle City.

Goals from Ellie La Monte and Grace Betti gave Mark Jones' side a 2-1 win in front of a bumper crowd at Wormall Civil Stadium last week and wrote the latest chapter in a series of epic clashes between the sides in the NPLW era.

Redbacks won 3-1 on the synthetic back in Round Seven this season, while a late equaliser earned Murdoch a 2-2 draw at Celebration Park in Round 14. The Women's State Cup clash between the sides went to extra-time before MUM FC went on to win 5-2. Friday's defeat was only Redbacks' second loss of the season, but they are the current holders of the Top Four Cup and defeated MUM FC last year on penalties at this stage of the competition.

The Perth v Fremantle tie is another semi-final repeat from 2020. Fremantle thrashed Perth 6-1 in that game, with Gemma Craine one of the stand-out players. This year Craine will be in the light blue of Perth, having helped Danielle Brogan's side win their last four league games without conceding a goal to snatch a third-place finish. In contrast, Freo are winless in three.

On Saturday, the NPLWA - Men's Top Four Cup gets under way.

League champions Perth SC meet Floreat Athena in the major semi-final at Inglewood Stadium. Athena humbled the Azzurri 4-0 in the 2020 finals decider, but in this season's NPL Vas Vujacic's side let slip a 10-point lead at the summit as Perth's undefeated second half of the season helped complete a fourth league success in six years under outgoing head coach Ramon Falzon.

The minor semi-final sees Sorrento host Perth Glory in a clash between two evenly matched sides in 2021. Both league fixtures ended 1-0. The first of those in the Mid West’s Regional Festival of Football in Geraldton went the way of Glory, while Sorrento got their revenge at home a few weeks ago. Both sides finished their league campaigns in style. A first-half blitz gave Glory a 5-1 win over Inglewood and locked away their finals position, while Sorrento won 4-0 at Bayswater City.

There are also semi finals in the Men’s U20 and U18 and Women’s U23 competitions.

At U20 level, the title race went to the final day between Bayswater City and Perth Glory, with the latter edging clear by three points. City had won their last six games but were unable to bridge a three-point gap at the business end of the campaign with a 5-1 win over Inglewood completing the job for Glory. The pair meet this weekend with Glory winning 3-2 at Frank Drago Reserve in Round Three while the points were shared at Forrestfield in the reverse meeting. The winners will advance straight to next Saturday's Final's Day with the losers to play the winner of the minor semi-final between Perth SC and Floreat Athena.

In the 18s, Bayswater SC and Inglewood play in the major semi-final. Both teams went toe-to-toe throughout the final month of the season with goal difference giving Bayswater the title following a final day 3-0 win over Sorrento. Willie Herd and Paul Lincoln will now aim to guide their side to a treble, having also defeated Subiaco in July's U18s State Cup Final. The losers of this tie will meet the winners of the minor semi-final between Perth Glory and Perth SC, the former having won the previous three U18's league titles before Bayswater's win.

The 23s semi-finals are on Sunday, Fremantle City meet Perth SC with the winners heading to the final. The losers face the winners of Curtin University v MUM FC, who meet at Edinburgh Oval.

All roads then lead to Dorrien Gardens who will play host to all 10 of those Top Four Cup Finals across the weekend of September 17-19 with the NPL Men's and Women's competitions, as well Men's State League Division One and Two showcased. All games are scheduled to be live streamed on the Football West YouTube channel and Facebook page. 

Fixtures (major semi-finals in bold)

Comp	Home	Away	Venue	Date
NPLW firsts	MUM FC	Northern Redbacks	Wormall Civil Stadium	Friday 10 Sept, 7.30pm
NPLM 18s	Bayswater City	Inglewood United	Frank Drago Reserve	Saturday 11 Sept, 11am
NPLM 18s	Perth Glory	Perth SC	Inglewood Stadium	Saturday 11 Sept, 9am
NPLM 20s	Perth Glory	Bayswater City	Inglewood Stadium	Saturday 11 Sept, 11am
NPLM 20s	Perth SC	Floreat Athena	Inglewood Stadium	Saturday 11 Sept, 1pm
NPLM firsts	Perth SC	Floreat Athena	Inglewood Stadium	Saturday 11 Sept, 3pm
NPLM firsts	Sorrento	Perth Glory	Percy Doyle Reserve	Saturday 11 Sept, 3pm
NPLW 23s	Fremantle City	Perth SC	Dorrien Gardens	Sunday 12 Sept, 1pm
NPLW 23s	Curtin University	MUM FC	Edinburgh Oval	Sunday 12 Sept, 5.30pm
NPLW firsts	Perth SC	Fremantle City	Dorrien Gardens	Sunday 12 Sept, 3pm