3 Things to Watch for in Round 20 of the IPL
There are three rounds to go in the top division of local football which is the same amount of wins the resurgent South Coast United have picked up over their last four matches. Their last result being a 2–1 victory over Tarrawanna who continue to stumble over their own feet.
Elsewhere, Fernhill stunted the Albion Park White Eagles upward momentum by holding them to a 1–1 draw while the top two sides both registered 3–1 wins. It’s time to discuss the three things I will be keeping an eye on this weekend in the IPL.
1 — Give Wollongong United a sniff at your own peril
I wasn’t assigned to report on Wollongong United’s 1–0 win over Cringila last time out, however, I took my notebook along in case it turned out to be a cracker. In the end, I jotted down five dot points and promised myself I would try and forget about what was a boring old match.
You get those every now and then, however, even though United weren’t great, there are still a number of positives Jeff Allport can take out of Round 19 — not least the three points.
It was perhaps the strongest and fittest side Allport has been able to select in months — this can be seen in the under 23s result with United bouncing back from a three-match losing run to smash title contenders Cringila 4–1.
Jake Leighton and Zac McLaren returned to play at least 90 minutes across the top two grades, Nathan Elasi appeared to not have any strapping on his left knee which has hindered him for much of the season and Alvin Ceccoli made a cameo appearance in the under 23s where he scored a goal a day before his 44th birthday.
This weekend, United host an in-form South Coast United but they will still be expected to get the job done even without the suspended Mark Every. After South Coast, Allport’s side take on Port Kembla and the Albion Park White Eagles — a run which seems to be a perfect primer for finals football.
I’ll say this quietly. If everyone is on deck — including Matthew McNab — United are perhaps, maybe, nearly the favourites to win the Grand Final.
2 — Picton are facing their last chance saloon
Picton played out a nil-all draw with Woonona in Round 19 in a match they really needed to collect three points. The fact the Sharks were without captain and centre back Chris Gibson for the final half an hour after he saw red probably means the result is more two points dropped than a point gained for the Bushpigs.
With three weeks remaining, Picton are three points adrift of Woonona and South Coast United, however, inferior goal difference effectively makes it four points. This means Picton need two results in their final three matches against Tarrawanna, Wollongong Olympic and Fernhill. They are not going to get anything out of Olympic so a defeat at home to the Blueys on Saturday will see the boys from the north as good as gone.
I give Picton a chance against Tarrawanna up at Hume Oval. In fact, over the last seven weeks, Picton have collected a point more than the Blueys as Peter Willis’s side have made a dog’s breakfast of their top five chances.
Draw.
3 — White Eagles go head-to-head with Olympic in finals teaser
The match of the round comes on Sunday with third-placed Albion Park White Eagles hosting second-placed Wollongong Olympic in what promises to be an entertaining affair. Both sides have only lost a single match this season with host’s unbeaten record spanning nine matches while the visitor’s is a League-best 15 matches.
These sides last faced off in the quarterfinals of the Bert Bampton Cup with Olympic thumping an understrength White Eagles 5–1. It was a different story when they last met in the League with the Round 8 fixture finishing 1–1 after a fiery 90 minutes of action.
A slip up for either side will effectively end their hopes of moving up the table in the final few weeks of the season as Olympic are four points off top of the table Bulli while Albion Park are four points shy of their Sunday opponents.
Olympic need a miracle as it is to take out the League title and they could kick off at Terry Reserve some seven points off the top meaning it is win or bust.
As for the White Eagles, all of a sudden they are in a bit of a tense situation. They have the toughest run home on any side, meaning instead of the full focus being on catching Olympic, some attention may be on not slipping out of the top three with Wollongong United lurking towards them.
I am tipping Olympic.
Albion Park White Eagles will also be celebrating NAIDOC week with the side wearing a custom strip designed by Indigenous Australian and White Eagles’ player Kane Wright. There will also be a prematch ceremony including a welcome to country. This follows on from the Albion Park Women’s side who had a similar event last weekend against Fernhill.
