The race to secure an automatic spot in next year’s Westfield FFA Cup Round of 32 continues this weekend when Western Australia and New South Wales play host to the Semi Finals of the PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues (NPL) 2016 Finals Series.
The first PlayStation 4 NPL Semi Final sees Perth SC at home to Northern NSW Champions Edgeworth Eagles on Saturday 24 September, with the second Semi Final featuring Sydney United 58 FC against Brisbane Strikers on Sunday 25 September at the Sydney United Sports Centre.
Of the four Semi Finalists, only Sydney United 58 FC have previously reached a PlayStation 4 NPL Finals Series Grand Final when they won the inaugural edition of the competition back in 2013.
Perth SC have the luxury of not having to travel for the second straight week after they scored a comprehensive 6-1 win over the Devonport Strikers in the Elimination Finals, Gustavo Catarcione and Matthew Milenkovic both scoring twice in the rout.
Adding to the impressive result was the fact that it was done without key central defender and former Socceroo Adrian Madaschi, who should be in contention to return for the Semi Final.
But the side from the west are unlikely to have it all their own way on Saturday as Edgeworth head into the contest brimming with confidence after their extra time defeat of the highly fancied Bentleigh Greens in Melbourne last weekend off the back of a brace from substitute Aden Gardner.
Led up front by Central Coast Mariners’ Hyundai A-League championship winning striker Daniel McBreen, Edgeworth’s young brigade will be determined to claim another big scalp as they aim to become the first team from Northern NSW Football to reach a PlayStation 4 NPL Finals Series decider.
Then on Sunday, Sydney United 58 FC face another former NSL club when they welcome Brisbane Strikers to Edensor Park.
Sydney United 58 FC prevailed in a nine goal thriller over Adelaide City to secure their place in the last four, while Brisbane Strikers proved too strong for Canberra Olympic in their Elimination Final.
Panny Nikas put on a masterclass with a stunning hat-trick against Adelaide City and Mark Rudan’s side has no shortage of quality across the park to come out in front again.
However, Brisbane Strikers showed in their Elimination Final win over Canberra Olympic and narrow loss to Hyundai A-League outfit Melbourne City FC in the Westfield FFA Cup Round of 16 that they know how to create goal scoring opportunities and match it with the best.
Both Semi Finals will be LIVE streamed via PlayStation 4 consoles and on www.nationalpremierleagues.com.au. Tickets for both matches will be available at the venues on match day.
The winners of the two PlayStation 4 NPL Semi Finals will progress to the Grand Final, with the host club to be determined by the total accumulation of points using the points system outlined below.
Perth SC sit in the box seat to host the decider if they can win on Saturday night, as they currently hold a nine point lead over Sydney United 58 FC and ten point advantage over Brisbane Strikers.
Unless Sydney United 58 FC or Brisbane Strikers can win by a considerable margin, a Perth SC victory would see the PlayStation 4 NPL Final Series Grand Final held in WA for a second straight year after Bayswater City took on Blacktown City in 2015.
Edgeworth are also not without a chance of hosting the Grand Final if they can beat Perth SC and hope for a low scoring affair between Sydney United 58 FC and Brisbane Strikers.
The current points tally of the four clubs heading into the Semi Finals are as follows:
| Club | Points Total |
| Perth SC | 20 |
| Edgeworth Eagles | 10 |
| Sydney United 58 FC | 11 |
| Brisbane Strikers | 9 |
PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues 2016 Semi Finals Preview
MATCH 5 – Perth SC v Edgeworth Eagles
Saturday 24 September 2016
Dorrien Gardens, West Perth WA
Kick-off: 6:00pm local (8:00pm AEST)
Referee: Adam Fielding
Assistant Referee 1: Josh Mannella
Assistant Referee 2: Matthew Southern
Fourth Official: Tom Dowle
Ticketing information: Tickets will be available at the venue
Coverage details:
Click here to go to the official match centre
LIVE stream: Watch the LIVE stream at www.nationalpremierleagues.com.au
Twitter handles to follow: @PerthSoccerClub @EdgeworthFC @FootballWest @NNSWF
Join in the conversation using the hashtag #PSCvEDG
Perth SC squad: 1.Francis Soale (gk), 2.David Filippou, 3.Andreas Theodosiades, 4.Adrian Madaschi, 5.Nathan Diaz, 6.Clark Keltie, 7.Aleksandar Jovic, 8.Tom King, 9.Gustavo Catarcione, 10.Nicholas Ambrogio, 11.Matthew Milenkovic, 12.Jordan De Leo, 13.Rocco Pizzata, 14.Dino Topcagic, 15.Harley Orr, 16.Thomas Jebb, 17.Francesco Furfaro, 18.Alex Silla, 19.Vasco Da Silva, 20.Paul Zimmarino, 22.Anthony Topini, 23.Daniel Passarelli (gk)
Edgeworth Eagles squad: 1.Jim Fogarty (gk), 2.Daniel McBreen, 3.Domenico Bizzarri, 4.Patrick Wheeler, 5.Ayden Brice, 6.Lachlan Pasquale, 7.Bren Abbott-Hammel, 8.Daniel Minors, 9.Brody Taylor, 10.Keanu Moore, 11.Dylan Holz, 12.Aden Gardner, 13.Liam Spurway, 14.Chris Fayers, 15.Josh Evans, 16.Samuel Maxwell, 17.Keigo Moriyasu, 18.Will Bower, 19.Aaron McLoughlin, 20.Joshua Low (gk), 21.Kieran Hayes, 22.Bailey Garland, 23.Jackson O’Sullivan
MATCH 6 – Sydney United 58 FC v Brisbane Strikers
Sunday 25 September 2016
Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park NSW
Kick-off: 2:30pm AEST
Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones
Assistant Referee 1: Scott Edeling
Assistant Referee 2: Andrej Giev
Fourth Official: Samuel Grasso
Ticketing information: Tickets will be available at the venue
Coverage details:
Click here to go to the official match centre
LIVE stream: Watch the LIVE stream at www.nationalpremierleagues.com.au
Twitter handles to follow: @SydUtd58FC @BneStrikers @NPLNSW @nplqld
Join in the conversation using the hashtag #SUNvSTR
Sydney United 58 FC squad: 2.Kristopher Vlismas, 3.Masato Mochizuki, 4.Eddy Bosnar, 5.Nathan Bertolissio, 6.Chris Payne, 7.Yutaro Shin, 8.Peter Triantis, 10.Robert Mileski, 11.Nikola Taneski, 12.Anthony Vrlic, 13.Daniel Dias, 14.Nicholas Stavroulakis, 15.Jack Stewart, 17.Theo Kofinas, 18.Glen Trifiro, 19.Matthew Bilic, 20.Tomislav Uskok, 21.Thomas Manos (gk), 22.Yianni Fragogiannis, 23.Panagiotis Nikas, 24.Jacob Tratt, 30.Luke Babic (gk)
Brisbane Strikers squad: 1.Sebastian Usai (gk), 2.Chris Maher, 3.Tomas Ross, 4.Jake Marshall, 5.Greig Henslee, 6.Fraser Hills, 7.Felli Sheriff, 8.Michael Angus, 10.Fraser Stevens, 12.Shaun Carlos, 13.Sam Knight, 14.Jake McLean, 15.Ryan Palmer, 16.Lachlan Weier, 17.Hiroki Omori, 18.Trent Clulow, 19.Luke Marsh, 20.Michael Weier (gk), 21.Sam Johnson, 22.Jayden Hewitt, 23.Samuel Ball
