The 2023 NPL Queensland Semi Finals are here with Gold Coast Knights hosting Peninsula Power and Moreton Bay United taking on Brisbane City for a spot in next Sunday’s Grand Final at Suncorp Stadium.
Premiers Gold Coast Knights host Peninsula Power at the Croatian Sports Centre on Friday night in the first of the two Semi Finals.
Friday’s match will be the third time the pair have met in Semi Final action at the Croatian Sports Centre in five years with Gold Coast Knights running out victorious before going on to win the Championship on both of the previous occasions.
Having already secured the NPL Queensland Premiership with a ten-point gap over their nearest challengers along with the inaugural Kappa Pro Series, Scott McDonald’s side have their eyes firmly set on completing the treble in the first season it’s been on offer in Queensland.
Standing in Knights way are an inform Power side, who reached the Semi Final with a 3-1 Elimination Final win over Gold Coast United after finishing the regular season in sixth.
Power come into Friday’s Semi Final on a league best 15-match unbeaten run with their last defeat coming in a 4-1 loss against Knights at AJ Kelly Park in April.
The most recent meeting between the two finished in a 0-0 draw at the Croatian Sports Centre in late July.
The second Semi Final pits two sides from Brisbane’s north against one another with Moreton Bay United taking on Brisbane City at Wolter Park on Saturday evening.
The Jets, who finished second will play their first finals match since 2018 while fourth placed City come into Saturday’s Semi Final off the back of their first finals appearance in eleven years, which they marked with a 2-1 elimination final victory over Lions.
Both matches between the pair this season have been enthralling contests with a 93rd minute Will Dent equaliser securing a point for City in a 2-2 draw at Imperial Corp Stadium in April before the Jets fought back from a two-goal deficit to win 3-2 at Wolter Park in July.
In total, the Jets and City have met 20 times in NPL Queensland action with Moreton Bay winning on 12 occasions, City winning five times and there having been three draws between the pair.
The winners of weekend’s Semi Finals will meet in the 2023 NPL Queensland Grand Final at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday, September 17 (7pm KO).
Both Semi Finals will be live streamed on FQTV as well as the Football Queensland YouTube channel and Facebook page.