The Central Victorian League one men’s clash between Shepparton South and Shepparton United could go either way, with both sides playing some great soccer to kick the year off.
For Shepparton South, a win is a must to keep the side’s undefeated mantle in tact and coming off an impressive 12-0 win against Golden City in Bendigo last weekend, the side is sure to be raring to go.
South coach Rob Harmeston said United would be pretty eager to right the wrong of last week’s defeat to Tatura.
“Everyone’s going to be on full alert and making sure we’re ready for this game at the weekend,” Harmeston said.
“We’re looking pretty good for players, we might be getting a couple back, we had a few sore bodies after the game (against Golden City) but we should have a couple more players coming back and hopefully we’ll be close to full strength soon.”
Sunday’s game will be an important one for United, with a win seeing them draw level on points with their arch-rival.
United will also be hungry to bounce back, with coach Lewis Coyle explaining that his side failed to show up against Tatura last week.
“We didn’t take our chances when we had them and obviously it came back to haunt us,” Coyle said.
“It was our first big game for the season so we didn’t really know what to expect; Tatura came off the back of the South game with a loss, so they needed a reaction and they got a reaction and I’m hoping for the same thing this weekend from my players.
“We’re going to approach it as a derby.”
Coyle said his side had had a big week on the training track, with United working on pressing and structure.
The side is also facing a number of injuries, however Coyle said he would rather have players go down now than at the end of the year.
“It’s just another game for us, another big game and I’m expecting a reaction from the players,” Coyle said.
Shepparton South will take on Shepparton United at 3pm on Sunday at McEwen Reserve.
In the weekend’s other league one men’s game, Tatura will travel to La Trobe University on Saturday night to take on La Trobe University at 6pm.
There are no Central Victorian League women’s league one or two games this weekend.
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