All eyes will be on Western Springs and Northern Rovers this weekend to see which of the Auckland clubs will earn the right to face Eastern Suburbs in the Grand Final of the Women’s National League.
By rights, Springs should get there — they can guarantee a spot in the big game with a win this weekend against bottom side Central Football.
If Springs slip up — and they showed they can succumb to lower-rated opposition with last weekend’s loss to Capital Football — they’ll need to beat Eastern Suburbs in their last round of the regular schedule.
For Northern Rovers to make the showcase game, they need wins against Canterbury United Pride on Saturday and against Southern Rovers in their last fixture.
It’s an unlikely but not impossible route to the final for Rovers … and all will become clearer by late afternoon on Saturday.
Main photo: Rina Hirano … can she and her Western Springs teammates clinch a place in the Grand Final?
Here are the fixtures for the weekend of December 3-4:
Games to be played on Saturday December 3, 2022
Western Springs v Central Football
Seddon Fields, Westmere, 12pm
Northern Rovers v Canterbury United Pride
McFetridge Park, Glenfield, 1.30pm
Games to be played on Sunday December 4, 2022
Auckland United v Capital Football
Keith Hay Park, Mt Roskill, 1.30pm
Southern United v Eastern Suburbs
Dunedin Artificial Turf, Dunedin, 12pm
Standings
Remaining fixtures
Game to be played on Friday December 9, 2022
Eastern Suburbs v Western Springs
William Green Domain, Pakuranga, 7.30pm
Games to be played on Saturday December 10, 2022
Canterbury United Pride v Capital Football
Venue TBC, 2pm
Northern Rovers v Southern United
McFetridge Park, Glenfield, 2pm
Game to be played on Sunday December 11, 2022
Central Football v Auckland United
Massey University, Palmerston North, 12pm
Grand Final
To be played on Sunday December 18, 2022
Eastern Suburbs v Western Springs or Northern Rovers
Venue to be confirmed
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