Two unbeaten sides face off in Saturday’s Men's State League Night Series Final as Olympic Kingsway and Murdoch University Melville meet at Frank Drago Reserve (5pm).
The MUM FC men's side have had to take a back seat to the club's all-conquering NPLWA - Women's team in recent years. But they are now looking to add a first piece of silverware of their own after clinching promotion from Division Two via the play-offs.
The Murdoch-based club won eight of their final 10 league games before defeating Swan United on aggregate to take their place in Division One alongside Kingsway this season. Head coach Taki Nicolaidis engineered that run of form and praised the buy-in from the players which helped them to achieve their success.
FINAL TICKET AND RESTRICTIONS DETAILS
“When I went to MUM FC it was a fresh start. Everyone started believing in themselves and I just kept reinforcing the positives and telling them they were good enough. One result led to another and it went through until the end,” Nicolaidis said.
“The balance and buy-in from the players is always important. This season we’ve recruited some really good players and we’ve been working on system and style through the whole pre-season. We’ve already seen in patches it can work and has worked.
“The belief in the playing group has been first class and what’s pleased me more is everyone is playing their role to the best of their ability, supporting their team-mates, whether it be as a starter or someone on the bench.
“The new boys have settled in exceptionally well alongside the majority of those who have stayed on from last year and the camaraderie both ways has been really good.”
MUM FC defeated 2021 Division One Top Four Cup finalists Quinns 3-0 last week to go five from five this pre-season in impressive fashion, and Nicolaidis is hopeful that form will continue as they look ahead to the season proper.
“Like all clubs, in pre-season you put squads together and we’re all ambitious and positive, but then you get to the Night Series and you don’t always know what to expect,” he said.
“But for me it’s nice to get off to a good start, build momentum into the season and we want to be hitting the ground running in Round One. I’d rather be banking the points early and competitive pre-season games can only help with that over friendlies.
“This game on the weekend will be our biggest test so far this season. I’m expecting it to be a tight one either way with whoever makes the most of their chances probably coming out on top.”
For Kingsway, Saturday's game offers an opportunity for third time lucky after defeats to Western Knights and Mandurah City in the past two Night Series finals.
The Green Machine went on to complete a league and Top Four Cup double in 2020. But last season’s seventh place finish was their lowest since promotion to Division One in 2018 following a challenging start to the campaign after their 1-0 loss to Mandurah.
Former ECU Joondalup Assistant Coach David Tough arrived in late April to steady the ship, and they have further freshened things up in 2022 with only three first-team regulars still remaining at Kingsway Reserve.
“We wanted quality to come into the team and the guys who have signed for us have bought into the style and into the system we want to play,” Tough said.
“We watched a lot of 20s game and brought in some talented lads, but one thing I learned last season is it’s a real man’s league and there’s teams who will put you under a lot of pressure with set-plays, so we brought in some experienced bodies to deal with that.
“I’d been offered other positions to leave ECU but when they Kingsway job came along the ambition was second to none. It’s a great club and the people there have driven it to a point where they’re not messing around and want to push for promotion. The structure behind the club is there and is that of an NPL club with great support staff and volunteers.”
Tough has guided Kingsway to four wins in five in the Night Series, including last week's 3-0 semi-final victory over Knights in which new striker Ciaran Byrne scored two against his former club.
“We’ve done well in pre-season and have played excellent at times. With the new players, it took a bit of time to gel and to get the systems in place. I feel we haven’t gotten out of third gear yet in the Night Series and there’s still more we can give,” Tough said.
“It’s a good start but we’re not getting ahead of ourselves. We know it’s what we do in the league which matters, but don’t get me wrong, we’re definitely going out there to win .
“Taki is a highly experienced and successful coach is a massive pickup for MUM FC and you could see his influence from when he took over last season with promotion and now getting to a Night Series Final. I expect his team to be well-drilled and he won’t leave anything to chance, so we’ve got to make sure we go there with the right attitude."
Saturday's match precedes the NPLWA - Men's Night Series final between Floreat Athena and Perth SC (7.15pm). Both matches will be live streamed on Football West Facebook and YouTube pages.
Filed Under: Men's State League