The Tamworth Local 3rd Grade Grand Final showdown is set with Minor Premiers South United FC taking on Gunnedah United FC in hopes to secure the double. With a 0-0 result during the regular season, the Major Semi-Final between 1st & 2nd place was always going to be a close one and extra-time was needed to split the two.
South United FC have set the pace in the 2024 season finishing 1st by 4 points over their opponents tonight. Coach/player Toby McVey said “it’s been a good year. We’ve had a lot of luck and some very successful games this year. We’ve had a lot of young lads from our Under 16’s step up this year and joined a couple of the older lads. It’s been really good for both the 16’s team and ours.”
“It’s going to be a tight game tonight.” McVey said on his expectations for the Grand Final and players to watch. “Only the one goal in the last game, they came out fast and hard in the Semi-Final, caught us off guard and we went down 2 goals early on. We know they’ll want revenge, and we need to be on top of our game.”
“Our captain, Logan Fuller, is only a young bloke and an absolute workhorse in the centre-mid for us. We’ll bee looking for him to have a big game. He just leads those 16-year-old boys around, gets in the chats and really lifts the team moral for the older boys too. Aidan Walker in centreback for is too, he’s had a cracking season and just dominating the backline. We’ll also have the return of Harrison Russell who have been overseas for a few weeks, so him coming back in that other centreback position will be a huge boost.”
Gunnedah United FC have made the return to Tamworth competitions in 2024 and have wasted no time in reminding the local community why they’re a quality side by featuring in the Grand Final.
Speaking on the 2024 season, Gunnedah’s player/coach Richard Grant, has highlighted his teams commitment to travelling each Friday night to be apart of the competition. “We have 11, 12 or 13 players most weeks. We didn’t want to have a big squad, but just a committed one and we got that. We have a great group.”
Looking back on the Semi-Final and his plans for the Grand Final, Grant said they need to “Control their fitness. Obviously, they’re a lot of young fellas and a few old heads out there. We lead 2-0 a fortnight ago and maybe got a little too tired and they dominated the extra time period. So, we got to put foot on ball and be very smart. We didn’t have Declan playing last time and he’s our real calming influence. I think we will be a better team (than last time) but the Grand Final is a different beast.”
“Across the park we have a lot of talented people. Reuben Bekker is a standout kid, Lachlan May has pushed intp the midfield and he has had a cracking season.
