Preliminary Final
Maitland FC v Newcastle Olympic
Cooks Square Park, Sunday 4:30pm
Maitland FC coach Joe Wright says the added pressure from the preliminary final will not affect them when they welcome Newcastle Olympic to Cooks Square Park on Sunday.
A place in the grand final will be on the line in the do-or-die clash with Maitland eager to feature in their first grand final, while Olympic will be aiming for their fifth.
The Magpies have gotten the upper hand the three times they met Olympic in the regular season, but Wright is not relying on past results to get them over the line.
“I'm excited and we’re all looking forward to the game. We always have good battles with Olympic, so we look forward to playing them this weekend,” Wright said.
“We’ve had to deal with pressure throughout the season being on top of the table for a long period of time so I don’t think it’s something that will be unfamiliar to the girls.
“I think it’ll just be about who wants it the most on the day. That, for me, is how finals are generally settled.
“It’s always tough against them, they’ve got a good squad. It will be challenging, but it has been challenging all year.
“The girls have performed well against Olympic all year, but finals football is a lot different.
“I think they are probably one of the in-form teams. Towards the back end of the season, they’ve had real outstanding form so they will definitely be a dangerous prospect.”
Maitland have not been able to find the back of the net in regular time in their past two matches, something Wright knows his side needs to improve.
But he remains confident in his team after taking Charlestown Azzurri to penalties in the qualifying final.
“It’s potentially the difference between going through and getting knocked out, it’s as simple as that,” Wright said.
“I think we can match the best team going around, obviously going to penalties. I’ve got confidence in our group; it’s just about executing our game plan to get the outcome we’re after.”
Olympic have featured in four grand finals but have only been crowned champions once in 2020.
Coach Craig Atkins is hopeful his side’s finals experience could be the difference this weekend as they look to survive their second do-or-die match in as many weeks.
“The girls are excited, they've been in a lot of finals football, and they enjoy this time of year,” Atkins said.
“Last week was do or die as well. We didn't really speak about it too much; we just spoke about what we can control and sticking to the game plan and all that. It’s obviously in the back of the mind, we know that you lose, you're out, you win, you're through.
“We've got a lot of finals football experience, which can help. We know we're coming up against a quality Maitland side, that'll be well-prepared as well.
“We haven't had much luck against Maitland this year, but that's okay. We don't need to worry about those last three games now. We’ve just got to focus on this weekend.
“I think the first 15, 20 minutes are going to be pretty flat out. It'll be nice and intense. Both teams will be looking to break the deadlock early to try and put the other team on the backfoot. It'll be a tough encounter.
“Again, we're going to need to be switched on for that full 90 minutes. We saw Maitland go to extra time last week and handle that well. It's going to be a very tough game.”
Throughout the season Atkins has been vocal about wanting members of his side to step up and find the back of the net.
They did just that in the elimination final with four different goal scorers getting their name on the board.
“I've always had faith in every single player that we've got in the squad, but it was really exciting,” Atkins said.
“We've had a couple of players out with long-term injuries and to see them return and have such an impact. Then young Ava [McGann] with her second, first-grade start, she put one in the back of the net.
“I think that's a real confidence boost for everyone, not just those players. It's exciting to see the depth.
“You could see the girls celebrating with each other on the weekend, they're really a tight-knit group. I hope we see the same with that on Sunday.”
The preliminary final could be the last time Atkins leads the Newcastle Olympic side as he moves to New Lambton FC in 2026.
Atkins admits he is hopeful he can lead his side to another grand final but has full focus on this weekend.
“It's definitely my motivation. I'd love to obviously get another grand final with the girls,” Atkins said.
“But it's not trying to think about it too much in that sense. I'm fully focused on the girls and coming up with a nice strategic game plan.
“They executed it beautifully last week. If we can do the same this week, we'll get that reward to have a crack at another grand final together.”
