The top two in the NPLWA – Men’s competition do battle again to determine the winner of this season’s Top Four Cup final as Perth RedStar meet Stirling Macedonia at the State Football Centre on Saturday night.
RedStar will be looking to defend their top-four crown having won this fixture last year after coming from two goals down to defeat 2022 league champions Floreat Athena.
This year they face a familiar foe in Stirling, whom they defeated 1-0 last weekend in the major semi-final courtesy of Daryl Nicol’s first-half goal.
Callum Salmon’s side have ended this season in great form and are unbeaten in nine matches since a 2-1 reverse to Sorrento FC back in Round 14. The former Glory academy coach reflected on that turning point in the season where they suffered back-to-back defeats, admitting they addressed a few things in a bid to avoid suffering a repeat of 2022 when they were denied the league title in the final seconds of the season’s last game.
“I think we changed our goals and objectives when we got beaten away at Stirling and then at home to Sorrento. They were two really poor games from us and we had some honest chats about those games and what we wanted to do about it,” he said.
“What came out of those conversations was that we’ve played some excellent attacking football scoring lots of goals, but we weren’t quite respecting what we needed to do without the ball.
“That was things like pressure, competing defensively, shape, which was stuff other teams were doing well, so that had to change for us. And I think you’ve seen in the last eight or nine games we’ve drawn three and won the rest. It’s a direct result of the work the team has put in to make sure it wasn’t a wasted season and the league didn’t slip away again.
“We work hard on our possession but also on our counter-attack and also in the Inglewood game when we were 3-0 down we had to be a bit more direct to draw that one.
“So adding those strings to your bow is really important and it’s complemented well with a wonderful playing group who can figure things out themselves on the field, and they’ve been able to execute that in what has been a tight and competitive league.”
The champions will be aiming to join Perth SC and Bayswater City in winning the league and Top Four Cup in the same year in the NPLWA - Men’s era. Salmon says that opportunity will be a big motivating factor going into the weekend’s game against a Stirling side they are very familiar with.
“You look at those teams coached by the likes of Chris Coyne and Ramon Falzon who won the league and top-four competition, they were sensational sides,” Salmon said.
“We’d like to think we have a group on that level but we’ve got to prove it and to do that you’ve got to win games and go back-to-back. That’s definitely the aim for us and the boys are super hungry to try and achieve that.
“We know what we will be up against with Stirling in the final. They’re a super competitive team who have had the better of us head-to-head since they’ve returned to the league. But it was a big step for us at the weekend to have beaten them, and we’ll have taken plenty of belief from that, so our challenge is to do that again.”
Stirling set up Saturday’s decider by prevailing 4-3 on penalties over Perth on Tuesday night after a thrilling preliminary final at Macedonia Park had finished 2-2. Alex Da Rocha struck first for Perth on 18 minutes, but the lead was soon cancelled out by Gyles Davies’ header. A defensive mix-up allowed former Azzurri man Calvin Whitney to put Stirling ahead on 66 minutes, only for Jeremie Mba to send the tie into extra-time and ultimately penalties with a late leveller.
Stirling goalkeeper James Bosdet was excellent on the night, including pulling off a vital double stop in second-half stoppage time and keeping out Zayd Farah’s twice-taken spot-kick during the shoot-out.
“Mixed emotions. We didn’t play too well (on Tuesday), but we were 2-1 up with around five minutes to go and I’m sitting there thinking if we can hold on we have probably nicked one as I thought they were probably the better side over the 90 minutes,” he told Perth Football Podcast.
“They score towards the end and then they had a big chance with the double save, so I was obviously happy with that. Penalty shoot-outs are kind of the moments I live for, to be honest, and are what I’m all about.
“I made the first save, but knew I was going to be called for being off my line, but thankfully I was able to save the retaken one. It’s a good feeling. It’s been a long season. We’ve got one more game and it would be nice to go out with a win.”
Looking ahead to Saturday’s decider, Bosdet highlighted Nicol and Chok Dau as RedStar’s obvious threats.
“Saturday will be a tough game. know their two danger men but if we can keep them quiet and we take our chances then there’s no reason we can’t go and beat them.”
In all, there are five finals taking place at the State Football Centre on Saturday.
First up is the NPLWA - Men’s U18s decider between Perth Glory and Sorrento FC at 9.30am. Sorrento booked a repeat of last weekend’s major semi-final with a 1-0 win over Bayswater City at Percy Doyle Reserve on Wednesday night.
Then it’s the NPLWA - Women’s U21s final which sees Perth RedStar facing Balcatta Etna (11.45am).
This is followed by the NPLWA - Men’s U20s final as Perth Glory take on Bayswater City at 2pm. Bayswater got past Perth RedStar on penalties at Percy Doyle Reserve in midweek following a 1-1 draw.
The first of the two first-team finals is at 4.15pm, with Perth RedStar meeting Perth SC in the NPLWA - Women’s final.
Then at 7pm comes the NPLWA - Men’s final between Perth RedStar and Stirling Macedonia.
All five games will be shown live and free on the Streamer platform.
Note for spectators attending the venue on Saturday:
- Gates open at 8.30am
- The State Football Centre is a CASHLESS venue. All payment is by EFT only. Entry on Saturday is $15 per person with all under 16s free
- Maniana Park will be unavailable for parking
- The State Football Centre will have limited car bays available for parking. The cost for using these bays will be $10 each. EFT payment only
- To minimise the number of cars, we recommend car-pooling
- It is advisable for attendees to arrive early to secure parking spots on nearby roads
- Attendees should be mindful and respectful of no parking zones and private property in the vicinity. Please be wary of blocking driveways and other access points
- Please be aware that traffic management will be active along Welshpool Road to ensure smooth traffic flow and safety. Always follow the directions from traffic management and security personnel