Three does not go into two and only one side’s dream of Steeline Limestone Coast Football Association Premiership Cup glory will stay alive after this weekend.
The hopes of Apollo, International and Gambier Centrals will be confirmed when the senior men and women fight off for grand final berths in the preliminary final.
Battle lines will be drawn between Inter and Apollo at the neutral venue of MGA Park this Sunday afternoon.
Inter will go in as favourite having not lost to the blue and white all year, but the reigning premier is not standing on completely firm ground.
The black and blue have been forced to take the more difficult route through finals after being overcome by the Lions at home last week.
Inter’s midfield was completely overwhelmed in the first half by a confident Centrals’ outfit.
But the disappointing start was masked by a last-gasp fightback during the thrilling final 15 minutes.
Connor Prior, Matt Bueti and Federico Pepa were the ones to stand tall in adversity, but could not do enough to overhaul the Lions.
Inter holds all the cards in the longstanding rivalry, but Apollo has closed the gap in 2021. James Stephenson’s men showed intent during a 3-2 classic at Webb Street.
A touch of Say Say Wah magic threw the blue and white into the lead before Inter secured a come-from-behind win in dramatic circumstances.
However, Inter could not break free of Apollo in the rematch at Casadio Park in round 8.
Adam Walker lifted his game among others to push the reigning premiers all the way from kickoff to full time in a tense 2-2 draw.
Apollo will use that fixture and its elimination final win over Naracoorte as inspiration, but it will take a monumental effort to topple Inter.
Gambier Centrals hopes to put on a show for the home crowd by knocking out minor-premier International in straight sets in Saturday’s Senior Women’s preliminary final.
The Lions will relish another shot at silverware after falling short of the Steeline Cup at the final hurdle, while Inter wants to prove its excellent finish to the home and away season was no flash in the pan.
The black and blue have held sway with 3-0 and 3-1 wins this season where Stephanie Gilbert stood tall.
However, finals are a different kettle of fish and Ricky McRobert’s unit is yet to win a knockout game in 2021.
The likes of Skye Robertson and Kiah Connolly will be determined to settle the score for Centrals and lock in a rematch of the Steeline Cup final with Blue Lake United in the game that matters most.
A lot of attention will centre around Tess Andrews, who made the mid-season swap from Centrals to Inter and now must defeat her old teammates to keep the premiership dream alive.
The A Graders are not the only stars on show with the Under 13’s and 16’s kicking off Saturday morning before the Under 12’s, 14’s, 17’s and Reserves join the Senior Men on Sunday.
