The first of the two PlayStation® 4 NPL Northern NSW Semi Finals takes place at Magic Park as the fourth ranked Broadmeadow host Premiers Edgeworth in the first of their two-leg tie.
Broadmeadow Magic FC (4) vs. Edgeworth Eagles FC (1)
Semi Final 1 Leg 1
Sat 22 August 2:30 PM
Magic Park
Magic has done extremely well to make the finals, after trailing the fourth placed Weston by a significant six points in Round 15. Magic won their last three, including a win over Weston who lost their last three, meaning Magic finished the season fourth by three points.
This season has been a significant improvement on their ninth placed finish in 2014. They have won ten, drawn two and lost six PS4 NPL games in 2015.
The Eagles have no players in the top eight, with the closest being Brenton Olzomer and Brody Taylor who are sitting tenth and eleventh respectively on five each.
These two sides have battled twice this year. In the only Round 3 match to be played on schedule, on a wet Friday night back in April, Magic hammered Edgeworth 4-1 away from home, however Edgeworth returned with confidence in Round 11 and defeated Broadmeadow 2-1 at Magic Park.
Both sides have won three of their last five matches, and after two intriguing games this season the pair are set to put on a spectacle on Saturday afternoon. Expect desperate defence, creativity in the midfield and class in the front third in what should be a highly entertaining match.
Hamilton Olympic FC (3) vs. Lambton Jaffas FC (2)
Semi Final 2 Leg 1
Sun 23 August 2:30 PM
Darling Street Oval
The second Semi Final clash this weekend sees second placed Lambton Jaffas travel to Darling Street Oval to challenge third placed Hamilton Olympic, in the first of their two-leg tie.
Hamilton blew the chance to finish second, last week going down to Maitland 2-0 at home. It was just their second loss of the season, a competition best. Combined with ten wins and six draws they recorded a tally of 36 points to finish third.
The Jaffas finished one point in front of Olympic, on 37 points, having won eleven, drawn four, and lost three games this season.
Both of these sides finished on a points total that would have seen them finish as Premiers in 2014, however Edgeworth were simply near-perfect this season.
Despite the Eagles finishing first both the Jaffas (three) and Hamilton (two) recorded less losses then Edgeworth (four). As Hamilton coach Mick Bolch suggested mid-season it was the draws that were letting his side down, which ended as the case for both Olympic and the Jaffas.
Although the sides produced two low scoring affairs in their two matches this season, expect goals this Sunday. With both sides averaging three goals a game in the last three months, and desperate to go into the second leg of the Semi Final with a clear advantage, this match should be an intriguing affair.
Click here for a full preview of both matches.