West Adelaide is just one win away from its first top flight title in 24 years, as it prepares to face its great rival this season in the SA NPL Grand Final at Elite Systems football centre this afternoon.
Adelaide Blue Eagles stand in the way of Wests and the championship trophy, and if past matches between the two frontrunners this season are anything to go by, the Blue Eagles loom as a formidable obstacle for West Adelaide.
Both teams take confidence into the final.
Although finishing runners-up to Wests by just one point, the Azzuri start slight favourites, knowing that the minor premier has been unable to defeat it in four meetings this year.
They’ll be further emboldened by their last meeting in the second leg of the qualifying final a fortnight ago, which finished 4-1 in the Eagles’ favour and secured a direct passage into today’s grand final.
Apart from the last twenty minutes of that game when the floodgates opened, the matches between the two rivals have been very tight with three drawn games. West Adelaide is confident it can avoid a repeat of that second half in the last game against the Eagles.
West Adelaide qualified for the grand final by defeating West Torrens Birkalla in an exciting match last weekend.
Birkalla had the better of the first half, taking the lead in the ninth minute through Ryan Kitto.
However, Wests Nathan Andijanto equalised on the stroke of half time to swing the momentum to Wests. Clinical finishing by Wests in the second half proved the difference, with John Karatzas netting a hat trick whilst Tom Briscoe added a fifth.
For Birkalla, Kitto scored a second but they were unable to add any more despite creating numerous chances.