Elaine Watson Cup & Pig'N'Whistle Canale Cup Finals Preview
Cup Final fever hits Underwood Park on Saturday as we look ahead to the Elaine Watson Cup and Pig 'N' Whistle Canale Cup Finals. Underwood Park will likely be awash with the blue of Peninsula Power with them likely to dominate the crowd presence with both their Mt Franklin Women's Premier League and Flight Centre Premier League sides featuring in each final. Meanwhile, Buderim Wanderers FC (Orange) make the hefty trip down from the Sunshine Coast having made the final at the first attempt during their inaugural appearance in the Elaine Watson Cup. So what can we expect from both games? Let's take a closer look at each one…
Elaine Watson Cup Final Peninsula Power (MFWPL) v Buderim Wanderers Orange (Sunshine Coast McDonald's Premier Women) 4.00pm - Sat 26 Aug at Underwood Park. It will prove to be an interesting match-up and an unpredictable one. Both sides were fortunate in drawing a BYE for the opening round of the competition, entering the fray in the last 16 stage. Power got off to a resounding start with a 14-0 win over Women's Capital League 1 side Caboolture whilst Buderim made the trip to The Gap, just edging through to the Quarter Finals with a 2-1 success. Power caused the upset of the season in the Quarter Finals when they came from behind to defeat eventual Mt Franklin Women's Premier League Champions Mitchelton, in a 3-2 win which has proven to be Mitchie's only defeat of 2017 to date. Buderim progressed courtesy of another road trip win when they travelled to Heath Park, defeating Eastern Suburbs 3-1. In the semi-finals, Power comfortably saw off Annerley with a 3-0 win to book their place in the final whilst Buderim, further increased their winning margin with a convincing 4-1 win at Logan Lightning. Interesting fact… Peninsula have enjoyed home ground advantage in every round whilst Buderim had to take to the road in each of theirs. By virtue of the fact Buderim must again travel and that Power must now head away from AJ Kelly Park for the Final, you'd expect the Sunshine Coast side to continue with their away form. Players to watch for: Power have a wealth of experience in Brittany Whitfield and Melissa Limov which can turn games in a flash when the pair click. Whitfield is Power's top scorer with 25 league goals this season as well as 10 in this competition. Limov has a powerful strike on her and can hit the target from distance. With both players spearheading Power's attack, Buderim will need to be mindful of them. It's another striker that should have a major influence on this final with Buderim's Samara Christmas highly prolific in front of goal in the Sunshine Coast McDonald's Premier Women's League, netting an incredible 97 goals in the league, in 22 games. That's 4.4 goals per game for the former Sunshine Coast Fire NPL forward. One could argue that the depth of competition isn't the same as in Brisbane but Buderim Wanderers Orange flew through their league season winning all 22 games and scoring a gargantuan 244 goals in the process - that's 11 goals per game. Undoubtedly Wanderers will be looking to Christmas to bring home the gift of the Elaine Watson Cup title. Prediction: You can expect plenty of action and goals. Buderim have travelled extremely well and they've improved on each occasion. Wanderers to take home the lollies with a 3-2 win. Pig 'N' Whistle Canale Cup Final Peninsula Power (FCPL) v Rochedale Rovers (FCPL) 6.30pm - Sat 26 Aug at Underwood Park. It's possible this game will be a rehearsal for the Flight Centre Premier League Grand Final with the 2017 Champions Rochedale Rovers the away team on their own turf against league runners-up Peninsula Power. It should be an entertaining encounter and a close one too. Both sides have claimed victory over one another in the league on their own grounds. Rovers will have the advantage of playing in front of their own home support but there's no doubting Power will have bus loads of fans at Underwood Park and the atmosphere should be good. Rovers claimed the league title on the final day of the league season when beating Mitchelton 2-0 last weekend. It could serve as a catalyst for them to enter this final with a level of confidence but their opponent's have been one of he form sides over the last few weeks, having come from behind in their recent semi-final clash against Albany Creek on Tuesday night. Power's route to the final came courtesy of a RD5 3-1 win away to Capalaba before a nervy 2-1 win over Capital League 1 opponents Southside Eagles in the Quarter Final with Charles Mendy netting the winner in the 90th minute which led to their meeting with Albany Creek which ended 3-2. Rovers route to the final has been an anxious one for Coach Scott MacNicol. They too entered the competition at the RD5 stage where they avenged their Westfield FFA Cup exit at the hands of Grange Thistle, by defeating Thistle 4-2. Then came consecutive penalty shoot-out wins in the Quarter Final and Semi Final, with Capital League 1 opposition stretching the Flight Centre Premier League Champions every step of the way. In the Quarter Final Capital League 1 Champions Taringa Rovers hd the chances to defeat Rovers but were held to a 1-1 draw after extra time, before Rovers won through the dread penalty shoot-out 4-2. This was followed by an equally as close Semi Final showdown away to 2017 Giant Killers Brisbane Knights. Knights equalising in the 90th minute to take the tie to extra time where neither side find a winner. Rover prevailing 4-1 on penalties to make it through the Final. Players to watch for: Without question, the stand out for Power in 2017 has been Englishman Dean Briggs. Since joining Power from Holland Park Hawks at the start of 2017, Briggs has proven to be their biggest asset with his creativity and a penchant for finding the back of the net on the big occasion. It was a Briggs double that saw his side to victory over Albany Creek in the Semi-Final. He impressed in Power's Westfield FFA Cup Round of 32 appearance against Melbourne City recently and was unlucky not to score against the Hyundai A-League giants, striking the cross bar late on. Rovers boast a number of key players but it's midfielder Lewis Cameron who holds the key to their success. In both their Quarter Final and Semi Final ties, the Scotsman came off the bench and turned the game in Rovers' favour on each occasion, and he is without doubt a big game player. One thing is for sure, both sides will likely become very familiar with one another as they play out this Final before facing each other again a week later in the first of the semi finals in the Flight Centre Premier League. Prediction: Rovers have scraped through in each of their previous two ties in the cup. Can they ride their luck a third time and claim a league and cup double? Very hard to predict the outcome of this game but home ground advantage may prove the difference. Rovers 2-1 after extra time.
