Elimination Final

Port Kembla vs South Coast United

Elizabeth Park

Kick-off: Sunday, 2:30pm.

Referee: Bobby Mazevski

Port Kembla face off against South Coast United in the Illawarra Mercury Premier League Elimination Final on Sunday.

It’s a do or die fixture for the two teams who will need to win every game from here on out to earn some silverware this season.

Last season’s League and Grand Final Champions, Port Kembla, will be relying on their considerable experience if they hope to go back-to-back this year.

“Obviously finishing where we did means we have to win every game,” said Port boss Stuart Beedie.

“We’ll be going in on Sunday with that mind knowing there’s no second chance and we’ll play the game like that.

“We were League and Grand Final Champions last year and we’ve got plenty of experience but so do they and it’s going to be a real tight game I think.

“We had some positive results against South Coast during the season but this is a totally different scenario and they’re coming in with some great form.

“Preparation has been good, everyone is fit bar one or two doubts so it’s given me a bit of selection headache which is always good.”

An injury to striker Nuno Pires could leave Port without one of their experienced players but they have considerable attacking options in reserve.

Last year’s Champions made a slow start to their title defence this season but recovered strongly to finish fourth.

South Coast United had a strong finish of their own, outlasting challenges from Tarrawanna and Albion Park for that last spot in the finals.

The Southern Suburbs club will take great confidence into the match after winning their final game of the season 5-0.

“The boys are excited, they’re in a very good headspace at the moment with a lot of confidence so preparation is going well,” said South Coast boss Alan Paine.

“We’ve got a pretty good feel of how they’re going to play so we have our game plan set now.

“They’re a good football team and we know what they’re all about.

“To win the comp you have to beat the top teams and win every game but that’s what we play football.

“We’ve got a lot of self-belief and we’ll go into the game thinking we can get something out of it but they’re a very good football team so it’ll be tough.”

Both coaches know what’s at stake and that any slip up will end their season so the two clubs will be going all out to progress and keep their hopes alive.

Julian Keith

FSC Reporter