Thistle Into Final As Souths Must Battle It Out Again
Souths United 0
Grange Thistle 2 (C Mayberry 47'; Dimovski 86') HT 0-0
Played at Wakerley Park
Caleb Mayberry's strike early in the second half and a stunning free kick from Dennis Dimovski near the end, sent Capital League 2 runners-up Grange Thistle straight to the Grand Final with defeat of league champions Souths United. United chose to start key front men Harun Omerovic and Sasa Radulovic on the bench with the pair nursing slide niggles, but both were introduced in the second half as the champions went in search of an equaliser after Mayberry had put Thistle ahead shortly after the start of the half. United failed to clear their decks from a Thistle corner which saw the loose ball played into Mayberry who smashed it high into the back of the net from 10 yards out with keeper Marko Radovanovic stranded. Neither side truly tested either keeper in the opening period and despite Souths more refined play and dominance in the possession stakes, it was Thistle who looked the more dangerous.
Connor Parke (no5) sees his effort blocked by the Souths defence.
Connor Parke going close for the visitors just after the half hour mark when Souths again looked fragile at a corner. Even with Omerovic and Radulovic, United struggled to create any clear cut opportunities as Thistle dealt with everything that came at them, including the dangerous Jacob Alexander who's efforts down the left side failed to bear fruit. The decisive goal came shortly before the end. Thistle with a free kick some 35 yards out saw Dimovski despatch a sublime strike into the top left corner which Radovanovic could do nothing about. It capped off a fine performance for the visitors which sees them progress directly to the Capital League 1 Grand Final in two weeks time, whilst Souths will get a second bite of the cherry when they host Southside Eagles next weekend after Eagles defeated North Star away. Souths will need to improve. They may have dominated possession but they lacked their normal penetration in the final third. Radulovic in particular looking off the pace and devoid of the usual impact he provides. Thistle will enjoy a week off and will be buoyed by their momentum at just the right time having secured promotion to the Flight Centre Premier League on a final round catch up game and now this success over the Capital League 1 Champions.
FB Media Player Of The Match: #5 Connor Parke - Grange Thistle.
Was solid in the Thistle back line which helped deal with the league champion's forays, helping limit what chances they had and also posed a threat on corner set pieces, nearly scoring in the first half.
Team line-ups
Souths Utd: Radovanovic (gk), Alexander, Anderson, Avdic, Gjura, Edwards, Hodzic, Rodgers, Skehan, Stojakovic, Young. Subs: Cantanzaro, Omerovic, Radulovic, Purnell (rgk). Grange Thistle: Symonds (gk), Bailye, Bimrose, Clayton, Dimovski, M Hornby, R Hornby, C Mayberry, N Mayberry, Parke, Xinis. Subs: Bowden, Backstrom, Pereira, Somerville, Taylor.
FB Media Match Stats.
Possession: 1st Half 59% - 41% / 2nd Half 54% - 46%
Overall Possession: 56% - 44%
Shots on target: 2 - 8
Shots off target: 3 - 5
Free kicks: 15 - 7
Offside: 0 - 0
Corners: 3 - 8
Yellow Cards: 1 - 0
Red Cards: 0 - 0 Referee: Matt Skinner
