John Didulica
07Mar08
07Mar08
THE most closely contested Century 21 Cup ever reaches its climax this Sunday when favourite Geelong SC takes on rank outsider Hoppers Crossing from at Bell Park Sports Centre.
When the two sides met earlier in the competition, Hoppers served up an lucklustre 1-0 win which was in no way a sign of the dream runs the sides more recently had into the final.
Since that match, the youthful Geelong has emerged as the best team of the tournament scoring three times against both the Breakwater Eagles and the North Geelong Warriors, while matching the undefeated Geelong Rangers in the semi-final.
Hoppers Crossing built on its shock first-up win, remaining unbeaten throughout the Cup with its combination of combativeness and capacity to score the wonder goal.
Geelong president Will Talev said the appointment of new coach Bob Stojcevski had been the major factor in Geelong having its best chance to lift the trophy in six years.
``He ruffled a few feathers when he arrived (and) shook the squad up a bit by making every player fight for his spot in the side,'' Talev said.
``Some of the guys that had been around the club for a while weren't used to that.
``The fact that only one player from last season's squad, captain Steve Nikolovski, is guaranteed a place in the starting 11 is testament to Stojcevski's approach.''
Three of last season's regulars in Nik Bosevski, Andrew Longo and Oktay Yilmaz are likely to compete for the spots left vacant because of suspensions to Zoran Ristevski and Matios Gorosito.
Geelong has a nervous wait on the availability of its two leading goalkeepers.
Regular number one keeper Bobby Gjorsevski and loyal lieutenant Romeo Purlija both have pre-existing, but unrelated personal commitments.
If both miss, Geelong's Cup chances will rest on the fragile shoulders of 16-year-old Alek Kitanovski, with the final doubling as his senior debut.
When the two sides met earlier in the competition, Hoppers served up an lucklustre 1-0 win which was in no way a sign of the dream runs the sides more recently had into the final.
Since that match, the youthful Geelong has emerged as the best team of the tournament scoring three times against both the Breakwater Eagles and the North Geelong Warriors, while matching the undefeated Geelong Rangers in the semi-final.
Hoppers Crossing built on its shock first-up win, remaining unbeaten throughout the Cup with its combination of combativeness and capacity to score the wonder goal.
Geelong president Will Talev said the appointment of new coach Bob Stojcevski had been the major factor in Geelong having its best chance to lift the trophy in six years.
``He ruffled a few feathers when he arrived (and) shook the squad up a bit by making every player fight for his spot in the side,'' Talev said.
``Some of the guys that had been around the club for a while weren't used to that.
``The fact that only one player from last season's squad, captain Steve Nikolovski, is guaranteed a place in the starting 11 is testament to Stojcevski's approach.''
Three of last season's regulars in Nik Bosevski, Andrew Longo and Oktay Yilmaz are likely to compete for the spots left vacant because of suspensions to Zoran Ristevski and Matios Gorosito.
Geelong has a nervous wait on the availability of its two leading goalkeepers.
Regular number one keeper Bobby Gjorsevski and loyal lieutenant Romeo Purlija both have pre-existing, but unrelated personal commitments.
If both miss, Geelong's Cup chances will rest on the fragile shoulders of 16-year-old Alek Kitanovski, with the final doubling as his senior debut.
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