Round 2 Finals Series Preview – NPL NSW Men’s

The first week of the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s finals series provided plenty of excitement and entertainment and this weekend is set to bring even more as the competition heats up.

One team will secure a position in the Grand Final on Saturday, while one team will see their season come to a close on Sunday in what should be stellar football on all fronts.

Sydney Olympic FC v Manly United FC

3:00pm, Saturday 13th August, Belmore Sportsground

Premiership winners Sydney Olympic will host Manly United in the Major Semi-Final on Saturday afternoon, with the winner booking a Grand Final place.

After a week off, Olympic should be feeling fresh and ready to take on Manly, who will surely be buoyed by their sensational late win over Blacktown City.

Having beaten out Manly for the Premiership on the final day of competition, Manly will be fighting for vengeance with a win that would give them a week off before a grand final appearance.

Alen Aganovic was the hero for the Northern Beaches boys last week with his two late goals securing the win for Manly and will be one to watch in this clash, having been impressive throughout the season.

Manly also had three representatives in the NPL NSW Team of the Year with captain Jimmy Oates being selected, alongside Seiya Kambayashai and Bruno Mendes, showing the quality of Adam Griffiths’ team.

While there is plenty of talent in the Manly squad, there is just as much in the Premiership-winning Olympic team.

Roy O’Donovan, Michael Glassock and Darcy Burgess were selected to the Team of the Year from Olympic and are expected to have a big impact on the game, as they have done consistently throughout the regular season.

O’Donovan in particular will be a threat after showing his goal-scoring ability and securing the golden boot in a tight battle with the other talented strikers in the competition.

In a high-stakes match, there is set to be plenty of action at Belmore as one team will secure the valuable place in the NPL NSW Grand Final.

Blacktown City FC v APIA Leichhardt FC

4:00pm, Sunday 14th August, Blacktown City Sports Centre

Blacktown City will host APIA Leichhardt in the Minor Semi-Final on Sunday evening, with the winner talking on the loser of the Olympic v Manly clash, while the loser’s season will come to a close.

A late extra time double to Manly saw Blacktown City lose their lead in their Preliminary Semi-Final, but Mark Crittenden’s men will be giving everything they’ve got to ensure that doesn’t happen again.

With the return of former players Travis Major and Danny Choi, Blacktown bolstered their already strong squad in the lead up to the finals and have plenty of talent to lean on as they fight to stay in the finals.

Young goalkeeper Alex Robinson was selected as the league’s custodian in the Team of the Year, while experienced defender Grant Lynch was included on the bench.

APIA’s Jason Romero and Themba Muata-Marlow were both selected from the APIA squad for the Team of the Year after impressive seasons and will be likely to impress again in this clash, amongst the other talent and experience of the Inner West side.

After a less than ideal lead up to the finals, APIA bounced back with a big win over Marconi last week in a fiery Italian derby and will be hoping to knock another team out of contention as they fight an uphill battle to get to the Grand Final.

Will Blacktown be able to fight another day in the NPL NSW finals, or will APIA continue to bump teams out of their way as they hunt for glory?

Under 20s Finals Series Details

Minor Semi-Final

Saturday 13th August

Mt Druitt Town Rangers v Marconi Stallions

Belmore Sports Ground – 7pm

Major Semi-Final

Sunday 14th August

Blacktown City v Sydney FC

Blacktown City Sports Centre – 1:15pm