Raiders men’s premier league
Urunga Raiders face the Maclean Bobcats for the second time in three weeks on the weekend, and for the latter, there’s far more at stake this time round. The Bobcats need to throw everything they can at the Raiders in hope of a top four finish.
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Currently in fifth position and behind fourth placed Coffs Coast Tigers on goal difference, the Bobcats need to beat Urunga by a margin of five goals, or rely on the Tigers losing to Orara this weekend.
Bobcats’ coach Guiseppe Terranova is focussed on doing what they can and putting themselves in the best position possible for a semi-final spot.
“Top Four is out of our hands, it's a bit difficult because we have to beat Urunga at home, and rely on other results to go our way,” Guiseppe said
“But we're going to go out there and play for what we can; the boys know what's at stake, and we played well last time around against Urunga, so we've got a chance.”
In their last encounter, Urunga beat Maclean 2-0, though Guiseppe said Maclean were unlucky not to get anything from the match.
“I think we were very unlucky to not get anything, we completely dominated the second half and we just couldn't score that first goal to get the momentum up,” he said.
Guiseppe hinted that Maclean deserve a top four spot, but that several factors this year have caused them to slip down the ladder.
“We’re the only team undefeated at home, and we’ve got some good results against first and third placed teams, where the other sides competing for fourth placed have struggled. In a way it’s out of our hands but we’ll do what we can to get there (fourth spot).”
While Urunga’s chances look good, coach Peter Snow said “they (Bobcats) will be desperate again this week. We got the result we wanted last time, a 2-0 win, and I'm confident we can do it again.
"This week is about preparation and building momentum for the semi finals … we also want to keep the yellow cards at a minimum."
Women’s Premier League
Third and fourth spot are still up for grabs in the North Coast Hotel Group Women's Premier League, and three teams are vying for a semi-finals berth with the final round of competition to be played today.
Coffs United sit in third position on 27 points, and Woolgoolga Wildcats one point behind them on 26 points. Urunga Raiders are in fifth position on 25 points.
The Raiders travel to Coffs in a must win against the homeside. If Urunga lose, they cannot make the semi-finals. If Coffs United lose, they could still make fourth spot, depending on other results.
Coffs United are in season-best form following a 2-1 win over premiers Boambee Eagles last week, and will be tough to beat on home soil. In previous encounters this season, they've each won one and most recently shared a 1-1 draw.
In the other deciding game, Woolgoolga travel to Maclean to take on the second placed Bobcats. A win will see Woolgoolga guaranteed of a top four finish, whereas a loss will see them relying on Urunga to lose their match.
Woolgoolga have proven they can beat Maclean this season, winning 3-0 in round five. They've since narrowly lost both other fixtures against the Bobcats.
It's been a competitive year of football in North Coast Football's WPL, with the final round proof that there is almost nothing separating the best footballers in the area.