PRELIMINARY FINAL
BROADMEADOW MAGIC FC V NEWCASTLE OLYMPIC FC
MAGIC PARK, SATURDAY 6.15PM
Newcastle Olympic coach Paul Devitis is confident his squad can get the job done once more against Broadmeadow Magic in their preliminary final on Saturday night.
The two sides will fight it out for the final spot in the grand final at Magic Park with Olympic on a high following their come from behind win over Charlestown Azzurri in the minor semi-final.
Olympic progressed to the preliminary final after defeating Azzurri 3-2. The win came after a spectacular come back in the final five minutes of the game with Keea Parrish scoring the winning goal in the 92nd minute.
Devitis said his squad would be up for the challenge but would not play down how tough the challenge of facing Magic would be.
“We know from the last sort of three years how strong [Broadmeadow] are as a team and [Magic coach Jake Curley] has done a great job there for the last three years,” Devitis said.
“They’ve kept a lot of players over that period, so the girls are very used to playing against some of them and I think we know their style quite well. They could obviously change things up on the weekend depending on their personnel but we know we’re going to be in for a tough game.”
After taking the win against Azzurri, Devitis said his squad’s confidence was high and he was confident they could get the job done.
“Mentally the weekend result for us was so important and it’s given us so much more belief coming into this game,” Devitis said.
“It’s a derby, knockout semi-final and the winner goes to the grand final so the excitement in the camp is very high at the moment.”
Despite the wins they have achieved, it has not all been smooth sailing for Olympic. This weekend they will be missing Jade McAtamney (overseas), Alesha Clifford (ankle), Zoe Burnley (ACL) and their goalkeeper Natalie Wiseman.
“We’ve got a few injuries at the moment,” Devitis said.
“Even with that, the girls are really excited for this game and they know they can win.”
It is a similar story for Broadmeadow Magic who also suffered injuries in their major semi-final loss to Warners Bay last weekend.
Magic was left without Maddie Dean (foot) and Jannali Hunter (concussion) as well as Bella Carlisle who was sent from the field following two yellow card offences.
While there are still question marks around whether Dean and Hunter will be playing this weekend, the squad will be without Carlisle who has copped a one match ban following her send off last weekend.
Broadmeadow attacker and former A-Leagues Women player Rhali Dobson said she looked forward to seeing what both sides had to offer.
“Olympic are a quality team in the competition and we’ve got a long-term rivalry between the two clubs so it’s going to be a passionate game," Dobson said.
“When it comes to semi-finals and finals themselves, it’s more about emotion. For me personally, I just see it as another game. I have a job to do and if every player puts their best performance forward, then we’re successful.
“It will come down to who wants it more and who turns up on the day because both teams have had their injuries and players away so it’s going to be a great battle and showcase female football for the community.
“Saturday will be about letting the excitement of the final take over and doing what people expect me to do and that’s to bring the best version of Rhali forward that everyone loves and wants and hopefully we get the win.”
Broadmeadow will be pulling on their previous success against Olympic throughout the season. In the three matches the two sides played, Magic won all three with scores of 3-1, 4-2 and 3-1 in rounds seven, 14 and 21 respectively.
The winner of this weekend’s preliminary final will meet premiers Warners Bay in the grand final.