South Melbourne FC has the chance to bury the disappointment of last Sunday’s NPL Victoria Grand Final defeat when it meets Tasmanian Champions Olympia FC in the Australian PS4 NPL Elimination Final on Saturday afternoon at Lakeside Stadium.
The Australian NPL Finals Series gives all of the 2015 NPL Premiers (the teams across the country that finish on top of the ladder after the regular home & away season) the opportunity to become Australian NPL Champions. The NPL Champions also receive automatic entry into the 2016 Westfield FFA Cup, providing another big incentive for all eight clubs.
2015 Premiers South Melbourne (VIC), Blacktown City (NSW) and Canberra FC (ACT) all lost their respective Grand Finals last weekend. Moreton Bay (QLD), West Adelaide Hellas (SA) and Edgeworth FC (Northern NSW) all won their Grand Finals after finishing as Premiers. Bayswater City (WA) and Olympia FC (TAS) did not have a Finals Series and won both the Premiership and Championship via first past the post.
Olympia FC will compete in the Australian NPL Finals Series for the first time, after South Hobart represented Tasmania in the 2013 and 2014 editions. Olympia won 4-0 on the final day of the League season on 22 August to finish two points ahead of South Hobart on the League table and confirm their meeting with South Melbourne on Saturday. In 21 League matches in 2015, Olympia scored a phenomenal 83 goals and conceded only 14.
The players to watch for Olympia are Emmanuel Tsakiris (23 goals in 21 matches), Luke Eyles (14 goals in 20 matches) and Nicholas Mearns (10 goals in 20 matches) and Gavin Hoy. South fans will want to keep an eye on left sided midfielder Eyles in particular, with the 2015 Tasmanian Young Player of the Year having signed for South Melbourne ahead of the 2016 PS4 NPL Victoria season.
The winner of Saturday’s Elimination Final plays their Semi Final next weekend against the winner between West Adelaide Hellas and Bayswater City. The host team will be decided based on accrued points in Elimination Finals this weekend. Winning teams are awarded more points for winning inside 90 minutes, not conceding and having a good disciplinary record.
Saturday’s match between South Melbourne and Olympia FC kicks off at 4pm at Lakeside Stadium. For those unable to attend, there will be live updates on the Club’s social media pages on Facebook and Twitter with the handles #PS4NPLFINALS and #SMFC.