Photo credit: Field of View Sports Photography (Coldstream), Craig Dooley (Fairpark)
By: Joseph Arthur
Coldstream and Fairpark will clash this weekend in what’s quickly becoming one of the most anticipated finals across the EFL.
Of the sides’ two clashes throughout the year, each club boasts one win and one loss in a match-up that looks poised to go down to the wire.
Fairpark comes into Sunday’s clash with the momentum, after defeating Surrey Park by 20 points in what was the club’s first finals victory since 1997.
Coldstream, however, will need to turn its form around after a 45-point loss in its semi-final against minor premier, East Burwood.
Fairpark senior coach Sean Stanton said after the initial elation of a finals victory, his side quickly re-focused on the task at hand.
“Everyone was up and about for this campaign, but for the club…there’s people who have been here for 15-20 years and have never been part of a successful finals campaign,” Stanton said.
“The victory on Sunday obviously meant a lot to the playing group – but also to the spectators and supporters who have been there through the hardships supporting us.
“I think a lot of people thought on the back of Sunday that we were satisfied with what we achieved, to get in finals and to get that victory – it’d been 22 years since the club had won a final – but I think there’s a feeling that we’re not just here to make the numbers up.
“At the minute, everyone seems to be in a really good spot.”
The focus for the Lions will be to capitalise on their opportunities – with a number of squandered chances in front of goal against Surrey Park last weekend – and a quality Coldstream outfit won’t be as forgiving.
Stanton said the semi-final was “a tough watch” at times and getting off to a strong start this weekend will be “critical” to beating Coldstream.
“We played them (Coldstream) earlier in the year and had a pretty good victory,” Stanton said.
“They’re obviously a pretty good team; they have a really strong midfield that is good around the footy and also kicks goals.
“The start will be key and I think we had quite a few players on the weekend that probably didn’t perform to what they’re capable of, so I’m hoping we can get a really good team effort this weekend.”
Coldstream will be desperate to avoid a straight-sets exit and take advantage of its strong home and away season in which it earned a top-two spot.
Senior coach Chad Rogers said he was disappointed in his side’s effort against East Burwood, but won’t let one bad performance weigh on him or the team too much.
“We just didn’t match the intensity early and when you have a five-goal wind you’ve got to make the most of it. We were even at quarter time with the wind, so that just put us on the back-foot,” Rogers said.
“We probably only had three players play to their capacity, the rest of the team was very much way down on their past performances.
“They now know what to expect and I expect them to be ferocious on Sunday.”
The Cougars will indeed need to be ferocious if they are to tame the Lions; Fairpark’s recent form suggests it will be confident, defeating East Burwood and now Surrey Park in back-to-back weeks.
Rogers said he is sure his men have what it takes to consolidate throughout the week and be primed for battle come Sunday afternoon.
“We got here for a reason – we were playing really good football – we’ve had one poor game in 11 weeks and we’re just going to focus on what we bring to the table,” Rogers said.
“Play our game the way we know we can and we’ll be fine.”
The two sides square off this Sunday at Scoresby Recreation Reserve at 2:10pm with the winner to meet East Burwood in the Division 4 grand final.