By Bill Roumeliotis
South Melbourne FC will face rivals Oakleigh Cannons FC in the National Premier Leagues Victoria Grand Final on Saturday, September 7 from 6pm at The Home of The Matildas.
South Melbourne is competing in a Grand Final for the third consecutive year. This may create greater “hunger,” but also more pressure. In football, you always want to win, and what makes it unique is that it’s unpredictable. Surprises are always around the corner.
South Melbourne will try to achieve the magical “treble” after winning the Premier title and the Dockerty Cup. To reach Saturday’s final, Esteban’s “Sky Blues” had to eliminate Hume City in the semifinals, winning 1-0 in extra time.
Meanwhile, Oakleigh, finishing third in the standings, played two playoff games, winning 4-1 against Dandenong City and 0-3 against Avondale.
Certainly, South Melbourne has all the conditions to win. They have an excellent team, a great coach, top players, and their performance this season has been truly successful across all competitions. They have the momentum and also know they must not repeat the mistakes made in the 2022 final at Olympic Village against Oakleigh, where they suffered a crushing 5-0 defeat.
