The Wollongong Wolves will host Lions FC in the National Premier Leagues (NPL) 2019 Grand Final next weekend.

Lions FC earned their second consecutive NPL Grand Final berth after defeating Maitland FC 2-0 at Cooks Square Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Wollongong Wolves booked their berth after also accounting for Perth SC 2-0 at Albert Butler Park this afternoon.

Throughout the NPL 2019 Finals Series the Wollongong Wolves accrued 24 points to the Lions FC 16 (see points system below for calculation details) which gave them the hosting rights for the NPL 2019 Grand Final.

Full match details for the NPL 2019 Grand Final will be announced in the coming days.

The NPL 2019 Finals Series brings together the eight teams who finished top of their respective NPL standings at the end of their regular seasons to determine Australia’s best NPL side.

Once again, Mitre is the Official Match Ball Supplier of the NPL 2019 Final Series.

2019 marks the seventh edition of the NPL Finals Series, which was won last year by South Australian club Campbelltown City SC. Sydney United 58 FC won the inaugural competition in 2013 and in 2016, while MetroStars SC from South Australia (2014), Blacktown City FC from New South Wales (2015) and Heidelberg United FC from Victoria (2017) have also been crowned Champions of the series in the past.

The winner of the NPL 2019 Finals Series will receive automatic entry into the FFA Cup 2020 Final Rounds, providing an added incentive for the eight clubs taking part.

Every match in the  NPL 2019 Finals Series will be streamed LIVE on www.nationalpremierleagues.com.au as well as via the official Hyundai A-League Facebook page (www.facebook.com/aleague).

 

National Premier Leagues 2019 Finals Series

MATCH	National Premier Leagues 2019 Elimination Finals				Venue	Kick-Off (Local)
1	Sunday 22 September 2019	Lions FC (QLD)	2:1	Campbelltown City SC (SA)	Lions Stadium, Richlands, QLD	1:00 PM AEST
2	Saturday 21 September 2019	Maitland FC (NSW)	3:2	Devonport Strikers (TAS)	Cooks Square Park, Maitland, NSW	1:00 PM AEST
3	Saturday 21 September 2019	Wollongong Wolves (NSW)	5:1	Canberra Olympic (ACT)	Albert Butler Park, Primbee, NSW	3:00 PM AEST
4	Sunday 22 September 2019	Heidelberg United FC (VIC)	2:3 (aet)	Perth SC (WA)	JL Murphy Reserve, Port Melbourne, VIC	4:30 PM AEST
	National Premier Leagues 2019 Semi Finals				Venue	Kick-Off (Local)
5	Saturday 28 September 2019	Maitland FC (NSW)	0:2	Lions FC (QLD)	Cooks Square Park, Maitland NSW	2:30 PM AEST
6	Sunday 29 September 2019	Wollongong Wolves (NSW)	2:0	Perth SC (WA)	Albert Butler Park, Primbee, NSW	2:30 PM AEST
	National Premier Leagues 2019 Grand Final				Venue	Kick-Off (Local)
Grand Final	5 or 6 or 7  October 2019	Winner of Match 5	vs	Winner of Match 6	TBC	TBC

*Please note this schedule is subject to change

POINTS SYSTEM TO DETERMINE HOSTS OF SEMI FINALS AND GRAND FINAL:

To determine the host Member Federation clubs for the Semi Finals and Grand Final, the following points system will apply.

• Win within normal time (i.e. 90 minutes) = 3 points
• Win during extra time = 2 points
• Win on penalties = 1 point
• Goals scored by home team (excluding penalty shootouts) = 3 points
• Goals scored by away team (excluding penalty shootouts) = 4 points
• Goals conceded (excluding penalty shootouts) = -1 point
• Yellow cards = -1 point; and
• Red cards = -3 points

The host of the NPL 2019 Grand Final will be determined by the club with the highest accumulation of points across the Elimination Finals and Semi Finals.

Wollongong Wolves will look to end Perth SC’s hopes of playing at this year’s NPL Finals Series Grand Final as Luke Wilkshire’s men hope to add to its trophy cabinet as well as a round of 32 FFA Cup spot in 2020.

Albert Butler Park will be the venue this Sunday where the Wolves will hope to continue on with its winning form after cruising past Canberra Olympic in round 1 of the NPL Finals Elimination match, picking up a 5-1 victory.

One of the Wolves’ standout players for season 2019, big defender Nikola Djordjevic, was pleased with how his team performed against the ACT’s best.

“The 5-1 win against Canberra Olympic was a good result.

“We may have been able to go further with that score line, but in the end, we did what we had to do to get that step closer to being crowned the national champions.”

Asked how preparations were traveling with the big semi-final this Sunday, Djordjevic stated to Football NSW.

“All the boys are eager to get stuck in and get that one step closer to the NPL Finals Series Grand-Final next weekend.

“All the boys are pushing each other at training to ensure we get there and go all the way.”

The 2019 Ultra Football Goal of the Year award winner knows that Football West’s best in Perth SC will be no pushover side.

This was proven after they dumped Victorian Premiers Heidelberg United out of NPL Finals Series race with a 3-2 victory in Melbourne last Sunday.

The likes of Azzurri stars Kristian Santich, Paul Zimarino, Bojan Radinovic and WA NPL Golden Boot winner Michael Domfeh will all be key players coach Ramon Falzon will look towards producing the goods against the NPL NSW Men’s Premiers.

“We don’t know much about them, but I am sure they will be coming into this match full confidence.

“I’m sure a few of the boys watched their game on Sunday against Heidelberg – to get a result there isn’t easy.

“But we all know that no game can be taken lightly as these are the best NPL teams across Australia that we are coming up against and Perth SC will certainly put us to the test.”

It would be a dream come true for the Wolves should they prove successful in beating Perth SC as, pending on the points system, could host the NPL Finals Series Finale against Maitland FC or Lions FC, something Djordjevic hopes they will do.

“To host and win the grand final in Wollongong would be amazing.

“It allows all our fans to be there to get behind the lads to bring another trophy home.

“It would definitely bring back some good memories of the NSL days for the club too.”

Match Details

Sunday 29th September

Albert Butler Park (2:30pm)

Wollongong Wolves v Perth SC

Football Federation Australia (FFA) confirmed the match details for the Semi Finals of the National Premier Leagues (NPL) 2019 Finals Series with NPL NSW Men’s Premiers Wollongong Wolves taking on Football West’s Perth SC this Sunday at Albert Butler Park with kick-off scheduled for 2:30pm.

The winner of this match will play the winner of the other semi between Maitland FC and Lions FC who are playing on Saturday 28 September at  Cooks Square Park.

The NPL 2019 Finals Series brings together the eight teams who finished top of their respective NPL standings at the end of their regular seasons to determine Australia’s best NPL side.

Once again, Mitre is the Official Match Ball Supplier of the NPL 2019 Final Series.

2019 marks the seventh edition of the NPL Finals Series, which was won last year by South Australian club Campbelltown City SC. Sydney United 58 FC won the inaugural competition in 2013 and in 2016, while MetroStars SC from South Australia (2014), Blacktown City FC from New South Wales (2015) and Heidelberg United FC from Victoria (2017) have also been crowned Champions of the series in the past.

The winner of the NPL 2019 Finals Series will receive automatic entry into the FFA Cup 2020 Final Rounds, providing an added incentive for the eight clubs taking part.

Every match in the  NPL 2019 Finals Series will be streamed LIVE on www.nationalpremierleagues.com.au as well as via the official Hyundai A-League Facebook page (www.facebook.com/aleague).

 

National Premier Leagues 2019 Finals Series

MATCH	National Premier Leagues 2019 Elimination Finals				Venue	Kick-Off (Local)
1	Sunday 22 September 2019	Lions FC (QLD)	2:1	Campbelltown City SC (SA)	Lions Stadium, Richlands, QLD	1:00 PM AEST
2	Saturday 21 September 2019	Maitland FC (NSW)	3:2	Devonport Strikers (TAS)	Cooks Square Park, Maitland, NSW	1:00 PM AEST
3	Saturday 21 September 2019	Wollongong Wolves (NSW)	5:1	Canberra Olympic (ACT)	Albert Butler Park, Primbee, NSW	3:00 PM AEST
4	Sunday 22 September 2019	Heidelberg United FC (VIC)	2:3 (aet)	Perth SC (WA)	JL Murphy Reserve, Port Melbourne, VIC	4:30 PM AEST
	National Premier Leagues 2019 Semi Finals				Venue	Kick-Off (Local)
5	Saturday 28 September 2019	Maitland FC (NSW)	vs	Lions FC (QLD)	Cooks Square Park, Maitland NSW	2:30 PM AEST
6	Sunday 29 September 2019	Wollongong Wolves (NSW)	vs	Perth SC (WA)	Albert Butler Park, Primbee, NSW	2:30 PM AEST

 

NPL NSW Men’s Premiers Wollongong Wolves have qualified for NPL Finals Series Semi-Finals after easily accounting for Capital Football Premiers Canberra Olympic 5-1 at a windy Albert Butler Park on Saturday.

Although Canberra started the brighter of the two it was the Wolves who hit the lead in the 36^th minute via a clever striker from Lachlan Scott.

Their lead doubled three minutes from the break with NPL NSW Men’s Player of the Year and Golden Boot winner Thomas James slotting from the spot.

The Wolves smelt more blood as James Stojcevski added a third in the 49^th minute before big defender Nick Littler put the game beyond reach in the 54^th minute with a well taken goal.

Olympic did pull one back thanks to Nik Popovich but Stefan Dimoski made sure the hosts would be the last ones to score bagging one with two minutes left to send Luke Wilkshire’s men to the semi-final of the NPL Finals Series where they’ll face either Heidelberg United or Perth SC next weekend, the two teams playing each other tomorrow (Sunday 22^nd September) at 4:30pm.