Marulan survive early deficit against Mittagong to earn grand final berth

The tournament, which pitted the best teams of the Southern Tablelands Football Association against the best of the Highlands Soccer Association, started in late June.

After several rounds were interrupted by the current COVID-19 outbreak in Greater Sydney, it seemed unclear if the competition would conclude.

But both associations decided to press on, and the semi-finals last weekend featured a pair of dramatic matches in which all four teams involved were pushed to the edge.

Marulan faced the ever-dangerous Mittagong side on Saturday, and going down 1-0 early provided the team with a much-needed reality check.

"Mittagong came out faster than us, and it took us a good 20 minutes to warm into the match," Marulan stalwart, Dan Cooper, said.

"It was the contest we needed. In our previous matches, we'd scored 20-odd goals and hadn't conceded any. We were 1-0 down, so it was a positive result to come from behind and get the win."

Marulan emerged victorious from the encounter, 4-2, and awaited the result of the second semi-final which was held between Bowral and the Goulburn Strikers on Sunday.

Though the Strikers had gone unbeaten throughout the year prior to the weekend, Bowral's wealth of experience prevailed on the day to snare a 2-1 win.

Though, in the eyes of many, the Strikers might have been the favourites to win the semi-final on paper, Cooper was unsurprised to see the HSA team come out on top.

"I picked Bowral to go through," he said.

"Just because the competition they're in and how they stand at the moment. I haven't seen the Strikers play, but they've only ever played in the Goulburn competition and I think Bowral were a step up for them.

"The game could've gone either way, from what I heard, but we were always expecting Bowral to win."

As can often happen during finals series, Cooper believes Marulan has already faced its toughest test.

Mittagong was highly competitive in its only match with Marulan in the HSA competition, which was decided by just one goal.

Bowral, on the other hand, went down 6-1 to Marulan in round five of the regular season, and Cooper believes his side shapes up well against their upcoming opponents.

"We've found Mittagong to be the toughest competition this year," he said.

"That was a big result for us to get over Mittagong. They're very fast, well-drilled, and have one of the best midfield combinations in the comp.

"Whereas Bowral, I think they've got a few older heads, which sometimes works in your favour, but I think their fitness is down on ours in some regards."

The grand final between Marulan and Bowral will take place this Sunday, August 15, from 3pm at Cookbundoon.

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