Andy Keogh’s players will be “relaxed and calm” for tomorrow’s final, and defining game of their 2017 National Premier Leagues campaign.   Inglewood United travels to Litis Stadium sitting on top of the competition ladder and knowing that victory over Floreat Athena will see them crowned league champions.

But gaining those three points is not going to be an easy task as Floreat are themselves needing the win in order to sneak into the top four.   And should Inglewood slip up then second-placed Bayswater City, who are home to Stirling Lions, may just nip in and steal the trophy.

Nonetheless Keogh, whose team have won twelve of their last thirteen games, insists a pre-match call to arms isn’t going to be required.   “The lads have been relaxed and calm for all of the big games we’ve had this season and I expect they’ll be the same this Saturday,” Keogh said.

“It’s been a normal week for us.   We’ve had a good week at training and we’re ready to play.   At this point in time I can’t teach the lads anything new or different, and I can’t implement anything that’s going to make them better players.   They know their roles and the structure of the team, it’s how we’ve played the season.”

Floreat have hovered around the top four for much of 2017 before an erratic run of results threatened to bring their season to an early end.   Their hopes of qualifying for the finals series were renewed by a spirited 3-1 win over Joondalup United last weekend.   “Floreat are a tough team to play against,” Keogh commented.

“They’ve been up there all season and they’ve got good players.   A lot of things have to click into place for us to win the league.   Since day one we have tried to conduct our business the right way and our football has gotten better and better as the season has gone … hopefully, it keeps on going that way.”

National Premier Leagues, Round 26

Floreat Athena vs Inglewood United
Saturday 26 August @ Litis Stadium

Kick-off times

First team 3.00pm
Under-20s 1.00pm
Under-18s 11.00am