SA club Campbelltown City advances to National Premier Leagues soccer playoff final
CAMPBELLTOWN City coach Joe Mullen says his side has the quality and focus to advance to the National Premier Leagues playoff final, despite its marathon season approaching 11 months.
CAMPBELLTOWN City coach Joe Mullen says his side has the quality and focus to advance to the National Premier Leagues playoff final as its marathon season approaches 11 months.
The Red Devils made light work of Canberra FC on Saturday night, downing the ACT champion 3-0 at Deakin Stadium in their last eight clash.
A late Lui Ditroia brace, after Alex Mullen’s early opener, sealed a comfortable triumph for the SA club and booked this weekend’s semi-final date with Sydney Olympic.
Mullen said the victory was reward for the commitment and hunger of his semi-professional squad, which began pre-season training on December 1 last year.
“The players have really got such a strong belief in what they can achieve,” the mentor said.
“Their focus this year has been excellent and it’s got stronger and stronger as each week has gone on.
“Myself and Vas (Parhas), my assistant coach, have got them fit and organised, and we’ve given them a bit of a blueprint.
“But now we empower them to run it and they are coaching each other on the ground.
“They are keeping each other fuelled and it just makes the job of the coach so much easier.
“We don’t know if we’re going to win this thing (NPL playoffs), but we won’t die wondering with the effort and attitude these boys have got.”
City arrived in Canberra just three hours before kick-off and was forced to give its players their pre-match meals on the flight.
It mattered little as Alex Mullen powered in a header from a corner in the sixth minute to get the visitors off to a flyer in a clash played in windy conditions.
Campbelltown controlled the fixture, but had to wait until Ditroia’s strike 12 minutes from time to double its advantage.
The lightning forward, who trialled earlier this year with A-League side Central Coast Mariners, iced the triumph with a close-range finish in injury-time.
“We were very disciplined and it was a good all-round performance,” Joe Mullen said.
“The game started off well and we scored early which settled us a little bit.
“Until Lui (Ditroia) put the nail in the coffin, there was always the danger that they could counter and score.
“But on the balance of play and certainly the chances created, there was certainly only one team that was going to win the game.
“He (Ditroia) scored two, but what people don’t see is that he works hard.
“We’ve been keeping some good defensive records of late and it all starts from that first line of defence led by him.”
The Red Devils would now face former National Soccer League club Olympic, which saw off Perth SC 1-0 in Sunday’s quarter-final.
Mullen predicted a tough test for his charges.
“We know that Sydney Olympic ... will be another level again above Canberra and so it should be in the last four of the NPL series,” the coach said.
“We need to be ready and prepared because nothing is going to be easy. But bring it on.”