The shackles will be off at the State Football Centre on Saturday evening for both Inglewood United and Floreat Athena as the pair look to end a season of relegation worries on a high with silverware in the Men’s State Cup final (6.30pm kick-off).
Both teams sat bottom of the league during the final month of NPLWA – Men’s competition but were able to rally and stay up on the final day with draws against Stirling Macedonia and Perth Glory respectively.
Inglewood in particular found a four-game unbeaten run when it mattered most to finish the season in ninth place. Skipper Alex Dunn said it was a crazy way to end the campaign and admits there was plenty of relief when safety was confirmed thanks to Michael Domfeh’s header in the final 10 minutes.
“We were all a bit nervous and the lads were conscious of not making mistakes against Stirling who we know are a good team. We obviously copped an early goal in the second half but then had a lot of opportunities,” he said.
“I didn’t really know what was going on, but I could see the body language on the bench wasn’t too good with a lot of hands-on-heads. But then Domfeh got up and equalised and we had it relayed to us to sit on what we have and keep it safe.
“There was a few nervy moments and there was a lot of relief when the whistle went. The mood of the lads was a bit more relaxed with the worry and concern of going down being lifted, but obviously we know there’s a big game this weekend and we need to turn our focus to that quickly.”
Despite the rollercoaster nature of Inglewood United’s season, Dunn knows there have been positives to take out of the campaign and says there is still an opportunity to make it a memorable one, as they look to win the State Cup for the first time since 1999 when they were known as Inglewood Falcons.
“Winning trophies is what everyone plays for. The league season wasn’t the greatest and we look back thinking if we had won two or three more games here and there, we’d be in finals contention. So it was such a fine line with the league being so tight,” he said.
“Obviously we made the Night Series final at the start of the year, which was a good accomplishment. But now we will focus on getting the win this week and trying to end a stressful year with a reason to celebrate.
“Floreat have got experienced players in their camp who have been there and done it all and have the ability to turn it on in the big moments. We’re conscious of that and need to make sure we rise to that level of intensity on the day.”
Saturday’s final will be Dunn’s last game as he calls time on a 20-year playing career in the top flight of WA local football. The 37-year-old believes the nature of this weekend’s game at the State Football Centre is a fitting way to finish his career.
“The decision to retire has been in the pipeline for most of the year but there hasn’t really been an opportune moment to make the announcement with everything going on with fighting relegation and being in the Australia Cup,” Dunn said.
“The first game I played was in 2003 for Floreat and Andres Oliveira was in my team back then. Now I’ll be playing my final game against Floreat in the final and Andres is now my coach, so it’s funny how things work out – and the last time I won the cup (in 2009) was for Floreat against Inglewood.
“It would be great to go out with a win and I couldn’t think of anything better than to finish my career on a high note by winning a trophy. I’ve enjoyed my time in the league but playing in two finals, and in the Australia Cup this year, it just seemed like the right time to step aside and spend some more time with my young family.”
Floreat will also be breathing a sigh of relief as they ended the year one place above the dotted line, after starting Round 22 in the relegation play-off spot.
Forward Bayley Brown-Montgomery said it was a challenging final month of the season for the club to navigate, but that the experience and character within the squad was key in getting them through.
“There was a massive sense of relief. Everyone has felt a lot of pressure over the past few weeks and it was pretty overwhelming. But we sat down in the changerooms after the game and you could see the weight was released off the shoulders for the players and the club,” he said.
“It was difficult and also pretty frustrating as well. There was a lot of questions in terms of what was going on and what had changed, but there was just no answer. Sometimes that can happen in football, but we were able to bounce back in the end and now we will look to try and finish off the year with a trophy.
“It’s a very mixed squad in terms of experience with a lot of older boys but also some younger players as well. I felt like everyone held up their end of the bargain at the end of the season when it mattered and we were able to keep a level head and a clear mind.”
The 2022 NPLWA – Men’s champions have been specialists in this competition in recent seasons having won two of the last three State Cup finals. Brown-Montgomery says cup success would be a positive way to end 2023.
“It was one of the reasons I wanted to join the club because of their history of winning. We’ve won the Night Series and the league since I’ve been here but missed out on the Top Four last year to RedStar,” he said.
“It would be great to finish off this slightly clouded season with a cup win on Saturday, especially for all the staff and the people who work hard behind the scenes, who have had to put up with all the stress over the last few weeks.
“I feel like this week, now that the league season is done, that everyone is going to be raring to go. There’s nothing to lose, it’s a one-off game, and we’ll go out there, leave everything out on the pitch, and hopefully come away with some silverware to end the year.”
Inglewood reached the final with a 3-0 win over Sorrento FC in the semi-final in June, while Floreat won 2-1 at Cockburn City. The four semi-finalists filled the bottom four spots in the NPL at the end of the season, with Cockburn relegated and Sorrento facing a play-off.
Floreat will also be represented in the first game of the day when they take on Perth SC in the Men’s U18s State Cup final (11am). Floreat, who finished the NPLWA – Men’s U18s league season in third behind champions Perth Glory and Sorrento FC, were six points ahead of Perth, who came fifth.
Perth Glory’s U20s will then look to build on their NPLWA – Men’s U20s league triumph when they face Armadale in the Men’s Reserves State Cup final (1.15pm). Glory finished the year six points clear of the field to lift the U20s title for a third successive season, while Armadale were winless in their final four matches to end 2023 in ninth.
The Hyundai Women’s State Cup final between Hyundai NTC and Murdoch University Melville kicks off at 3.45pm.
All four matches will be streamed live and free on Streamer.
Match-day details
- The State Football Centre is located at 305 Welshpool Road, Queens Park. Google maps link HERE
- There is no public parking at the venue. Parking can only be accessed by designated permit holders
- There is limited overflow public parking at Maniana Park which is adjacent to the State Football Centre and has a dedicated footpath to lead you to the venue. Access to Maniana Park is off Whitlock Road. The parking fee is $5 per vehicle with all proceeds going to Rotary WA
- A traffic management plan will be in place to manage the high volume of traffic in and out of the venue. Please be patient if there are delays and follow the instructions given by those managing this process
- The State Football Centre is a cashless venue. Entry cost is $15 per person ($5 concessions and free for under 16s)