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Thursday, July 2, 2009

Lew's Predictions



The end of the qualifying rounds of the Shadows/Belgiornos cup is almost upon us and there are many outcomes possible.

In group A Inter have already qualified and are on top of their group with two wins, however Naracoorte and the Sharks are on one win apiece, with Millicent yet to register. Unfortunately for Naracoorte they play Inter at Cassadio Park and unless they can cause a major boilover they will bow out. The other game is between the Sharks and Millicent and Millicent needs a win to finish second whereas the Sharks will go through with a win or draw as long as Inter win.
In group B it is just as close with Apollo guaranteed of qualifying if they at least get draw against the winless Portland (who cannot qualify). The Blue Lake Centrals game looms as the game of the round. Blue Lake currently leads the group on four points and Centrals are third with three points so a win or draw for Blue Lake will see them through while Centrals need a win.

GROUP A
Inter v Naracoorte
Inter go into this game as the raging favourites and only have Manfrin unavailable from last week. Inter have had the luxury to rest players recently and may well do the same here and give other players an opportunity to impress. They will not take the visitors easy though especially after their good win against Millicent last week. Even though Millicent were missing some key players take nothing away from Naracoorte and they will b fired up to cause a huge upset and qualify for the semi finals. They have Marshall, Espisito, Amos and Smitherman all in good form, however Inter have class all over the park and with Redfern, Osman and Bonner in good form I cannot see Naracoorte holding them. New recruit Morris made his debut last week and it will be interesting if he gets a start this week. Prediction Inter to win 7-1


Millicent v Sharks
It is more than likely that the winner of this game will advance to the semi finals although a draw will see the Sharks progressing. Even though there were undermanned last week in their loss to Naracoorte Millicent would still have thought they would have won this game. Thankfully with Inter trouncing the Sharks they are still in with a show. Both of these teams are up and down but will be delighted that their fate is in their own hands. I think it will be a physical game with good match ups all over the ground. Millicent will rely on getting Gregetic, Rebellato and Berlin back from injury. The Sharks are also relying on too few including Da Rocha, Weistra, Widdison and Lennon working tirelessly week in week out and they need others to stand up. Not knowing who the ins and outs will be makes it difficult to predict however I lean towards Millicent to prevail. Prediction Millicent to win 3-2

GROUP B
Blue Lake v Centrals
It has been some time since Blue Lake has defeated Centrals, but this week could be a great chance to do just that. Centrals are missing Morale with an injury and Gordon with suspension. With Cam Harts departure their stocks will be tested. They do have both Heemskerk and Mitchell coming back. Blue Lake wont be at full strength either with Armandi still out and the in form Kyle Reiner also unavailable.
When these two teams met in the regular season it was Centrals who came out on top 5-2 however Blue Lake has improved quite a bit since then and the main destroyer that day was Hart. The midfield battle will be fierce with Kennett Robbins and maybe Estevez against Ferguson, McRostie, Strachan. Guess and Thomson are working well up front along with Chatindiara who scored a hat trick last week. Centrals inspirational captain Wenham, young gun Bissel and Heemskerk along with Koop in goals will need to be on their game. The Blue Lake back four have been very good of late but with Tidy up front they will also need to be on their toes. All in all this should be a terrific game which could go either way. Prediction-Blue Lake to win 3-2.

Apollo v Portland
Although Portland have struggled this year they do seem to be getting stronger each week and will hopefully have coach Taylor available this week against Apollo. Even though they cannot qualify they will be determined to push Apollo all the way. They have some good players in Fitzgerald, Skinner, Gates and goalkeeper Arthur , however I don’t think that they can beat the strong Apollo line up including Odgers, Bytheway and Johnson at the back Prentice and Stenner in the middle and Hodge up front. These two teams did not meet up in the regular season due to Portland forfeiting and Apollo will want to get some revenge for not having the chance to increase their percentage in that game. Prediction Apollo to win 6-0

Cheers
Lew Fergsuon

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