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 [...]