UNE Regional Super League Men’s Grand Final
Alstonville FC v Moore Creek FC
Coffs Coast Synthetics, Saturday 3pm
Moore Creek FC coach Andrew Cygan admits his side faces a daunting challenge heading into Saturday's UNE Regional Super League Men’s grand final against Alstonville FC at Coffs Coast Synthetics but believes his players will be ready to embrace the occasion.
Making their competition debut in 2026, Moore Creek enjoyed an impressive inaugural campaign, with their only defeat in the group stage coming in a 1-0 loss to Alstonville in the opening round.
Cygan has been delighted with his side's progress since but knows the challenge has become even greater with several key players expected to miss the decider.
“We’ve been amazed by our progress in the Regional Super League. We entered really unsure whether it was the right decision and it turns out it has been,” Cygan said.
“I’m not overly confident going into the final but we’re going to go there and give it the best crack we can.
“We’ve got three Spanish players and one of them is our main striker [Ivan Fernandez] who is away. Another centre midfielder is the one who got sent off in the semi-final [Adria Garrido] so he’s suspended.
“Our defender [Mahamadou Juwara] was injured at the weekend and is likely to miss as well. One of our good centre midfielders [Ryan Davidson] has a fairly bad knee injury. We got him to play last weekend but he had to come off again, so he’s going to struggle to be there.
“You’re probably taking four of your best four or five players out of the team. But we’ve had to deal with this all year at different times and every reserve grader who has stepped up has put in for us.
“It’s worked so far. We missed most of those players at the weekend [in our 0-0 draw with Inverell FC] and still got what we needed. You never know.”
Moore Creek's path to the grand final was anything but straightforward. The Mountain Goats produced a dramatic 3-2 extra-time victory over Port Saints in the semi-final, equalising in the 93rd minute before finding the winner in the 118th minute.
Cygan hopes the resilience shown throughout the season can carry his side one step further.
“We’ve got a good coaching group. There are three of us involved in this and different coaches do different things on Tuesdays. I go over on Thursdays and we all chip in on Saturdays,” Cygan said.
“A lot of effort goes into it and I guess that’s where they say [the grand final is ] your reward for putting that effort in.
“I just hope our luck hasn’t run out after coming back so many times in that semi-final.”
Standing in Moore Creek's way is an Alstonville side that has looked equally impressive throughout the competition.
The Football Far North Coast side booked their place in the decider with a commanding 5-1 semi-final victory over Inverell FC, leading 3-0 at half-time before coasting to victory.
Coach Andrea Zubani is hoping his side can carry that momentum into Saturday's grand final, having also continued their strong form in the Football Far North Coast Men's Premier League, where they sit atop the table with 14 wins, two draws and just one defeat.
“I hope we can continue on from that [semi-final] performance. Since then we’ve played three league games. We had a draw, which we weren’t really happy with, and then we had two wins in the last two games we played,” Zubani said.
“We should also have a couple of players coming back from injury as well. So hopefully we can carry the momentum from the semi-final into the grand final too.”
Zubani believes Alstonville's trademark intensity will be the key if they are to lift the trophy.
“If we perform how I know we can, we’ll have a really good chance of winning,” Zubani said.
“But at the same time, I’m aware of the situation and the quality of the opposition. We’ll have to be at our best to have a chance to win the game.
“It’s about high-intensity football, being 100 per cent committed to every challenge, every 50-50 ball and working hard as a team.
“Those are the things I think are our strengths.”
Although Alstonville defeated Moore Creek in the opening round, Zubani believes Saturday's grand final will be a completely different contest.
“It’s more of a clean slate because that [round one] was our first competitive game of the year and I’m pretty sure it probably would have been Moore Creek’s first competitive game of the year as well,” Zubani said.
“From what I’ve seen, both teams have had a few changes to their squads, so I’m looking forward to the game.
“I know it’s going to be a really tough challenge, especially after seeing how they played in the semi-final.”
After two impressive debut campaigns, Saturday's grand final presents Moore Creek with the chance to complete a remarkable first season in the competition, while Alstonville will be looking to cap off their dominant campaign by lifting the UNE Regional Super League trophy.
Don’t miss any of the action from the UNE Regional Super League Men’s Grand Final. The match will be streamed live and free on the NNSWF YouTube channel HERE.