2016 NPL Grand Final Review

On Sunday 2 October I made the short trip to Sydney United Sports Centre for the 2016 NPL Grand Final between Sydney United and Edgeworth Eagles. Both teams were looking to win their third trophy for this year. United had already won the NPL NSW Premiership and Waratah Cup, while Edgeworth were this year’s Premiers and Grand Final winners in NPL Northern NSW.

 

Despite the fantastic weather, there was a fairly modest crowd of about 300 for this fixture – hopefully attendances for the NPL Finals Series will grow in future years. On the plus side, it was good to see a lot of Edgeworth fans make the two hour trip from Newcastle for the game.

 

Both sides reached the Grand Final after two close contests. Two weeks earlier, United won an epic contest 5-4 against Adelaide City, thanks in large part to a hat-trick from Panni Nikas and a last minute winner from Chris Payne. The Reds followed this up with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Brisbane Strikers, with Nikas scoring two more goals to send United into the Grand Final.

 

Meanwhile, Edgeworth made history by becoming the first team from NPL Northern NSW to reach the NPL Grand Final. An impressive away win against Bentleigh Greens (3-1 after extra time) was followed by another away win, 1-0 against Perth SC, with the ageless Daniel McBreen netting the winner.

 

The importance of the occasion was clear, and the tension showed at times in the opening stages. United centre back Theo Kofinas was very fortunate not to be booked for dissent after an appeal for offside was unsuccessful.

 

From early on it seemed unlikely that this would be a low scoring game. United were typically dangerous going forward, with Panni Nikas hitting the post with a 25 yard free-kick. Edgeworth also showed plenty of attacking intent, clearly unafraid of their more illustrious opponents. Then with just over a quarter of an hour played, the Reds took the lead. Panni Nikas was given a second chance to score from a dead ball, and he was able to beat Eagles keeper Jim Fogarty with the help of a massive deflection.

 

About 10 minutes later Edgeworth thought they had equalised after a goalmouth scramble. The goal was initially given, however it was disallowed after the referee consulted with his assistant. To make matters worse for the Eagles, Daniel McBreen received a booking for a blatant handball.

 

Soon afterwards United doubled their lead. Chris Payne cleverly chested a long pass into the path of Glen Trifiro, and his volley was too powerful for Fogarty. The Reds were having a good spell at this time and were unlucky not to score again a few minutes later, with Chris Payne hitting the post after beating the offside trap.

 

So despite Edgeworth troubling United with attacks down the Eagles’ left flank, Sydney United led 2-0 at the break and looked fairly comfortable. However, the United fans around me were worried about their team losing a 2 goal lead, displaying a pessimistic mindset that most football fans will be familiar with.

 

For a while, it looked like their pessimism could be justified. Edgeworth came out firing early in the second half, with Keigo Moriyasu forcing a good save from United keeper Thomas Manos. Things would get even better for the Eagles just before the hour mark as Edgeworth won a penalty, Nick Stavroulakis getting booked after dragging Keanu Moore to the ground. Moriyasu’s penalty was saved by Manos, but he was able to score from the rebound and halve the deficit.

 

Unfortunately for the Eagles, that was as close as they would come in the second half. Soon after Brody Taylor missed a half-chance for Edgeworth, Trifiro won the ball on halfway, before darting towards goal and sidefooting past Fogarty.

 

After that there was a nice touch from United coach Mark Rudan, as he brought on Robbie Mileski, with rumours suggesting that this would be his last appearance for the club. Mileski made an impact almost straight away, setting Trifiro up for his hat-trick after good work down the left flank.

 

With the game over as a contest, there was still time for a couple of sentimental moments. United brought on Nikola Taneski, another player rumoured to be leaving Sydney United. Meanwhile, Daniel McBreen was substituted, and left the field to a nice round of applause.

 

Sydney United ran out 4-1 winners in the end, winning their second NPL Finals series and becoming the first NPL club to qualify for the FFA Cup four times. Glen Trifiro was an easy choice as Man of the Match, picking up his second John Kosmina Medal, and Mark Rudan was able to leave the club on a high note, with three major trophies this year and a total of six major trophies in the past four seasons.

 

 

Sydney United 4 (Nikas 17’, Trifiro 29’ 78’ 88’)

Edgeworth Eagles 1 (Moriyasu 58’)

 

 

So that’s it for state-level football until next March, when the 2017 NPL NSW season starts. I’m not sure what I’ll do in the summer. Apparently there’s a national football competition starting this weekend, but I haven’t seen much advertising . . .

 

 

Eric Subijano

@eric_subijano

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