Marulan FC charge into Champions League finals after Workers drubbing

Its thunderous 9-0 victory over a tepid Goulburn Workers outfit on the weekend backed up another strong 6-0 showing against Stags FC in the first round.

"To be honest, we were expecting a performance like that," Marulan stalwart, Dan Cooper, said.

"We're all out there to have a bit of fun, but we also train hard, do all the rights things leading up to each match, and I feel like the Workers were half-expecting to lose and their attitude wasn't great.

"They haven't got a bad team, but once we got a few goals on them, they dropped their heads a bit."

The most pleasing aspect of both of Marulan's wins, as far as Cooper is concerned, has been their ruthlessness in defence.

While the fourth team in the Champions League Pool A, Bowral, has also scored two wins from its two matches, Marulan's superior goal differential has been enough to ensure the side a comfortable lead on top of the ladder.

"Defence is always the key for us," Cooper said.

"If we find ourself behind in the scoreline, we can panic. We work hard on our defence first and foremost, and tell the guys the opportunities will come.

"We are focused on attacking, because we're not scoring as many goals as we'd like, but at the end of the day you only need to score one goal to win."

Marulan's top-spot finish has also reignited another rivalry, as they are set to play long-time Highlands Soccer Association rivals, Yerrinbool, this weekend in the semi-final.

Both teams have a storied history, and which was most recently revisited during the Darryl Kill Cup final in May, where Marulan claimed a 1-0 win.

They are yet to play in the HSA regular season, and Cooper is eager for another opportunity to get one over their old foes.

"We're looking forward to playing them, and the rivalry has probably gone back a decade now," he said.

"We've shared the spoils a few times. They've got the wood over us in the grand final before ... so we're looking forward to seeing them in the finals."

But Yerrinbool is not the only target Marulan is eyeing off. The Goulburn Strikers have finished on top of Pool B, after a similarly unbeaten campaign, and Cooper wants to see who emerges on top if both sides should meet in the final.

"The Strikers are probably the team we want to play the most," he said.

"Because they're new into the Goulburn competition, we haven't played them before and don't know what to expect. They're obviously competing well."

Marulan, as the first-ranked side in Pool A, is scheduled to play Yerrinbool, the second-ranked team from Pool B, in this weekend's semi-final.

The other semi-final will feature second-ranked Bowral and top-ranked Strikers. Both games will be played on Saturday, July 17, with exact details yet to be confirmed.

Did you know the Goulburn Post is now offering breaking news alerts and a weekly email newsletter? Keep up-to-date with all the local news: sign up here.