Defending champions Wollongong United will charge onto Crehan Park for their fourth Cup Final in five years as they battle Wollongong Olympic for the right to raise the 2016 MCR Bampton Cup.

Both teams are currently nestled in the Illawarra Mercury Premier League top five and will cherish the opportunity to prepare for the finals with such a high stakes match in front of a large vocal crowd expected at Crehan Park.

Wollongong United are a club that is built on the big occasion and are the most successful Bampton Cup club in recent times as they go searching for their third consecutive Cup triumph.

They hold the 2016 Fraternity Cup after out-blazing Kemblawarra Fury 2-0 in March and now the opportunity presents itself to add an additional highlight to season 2016 amidst the backdrop of a controversial Premier League campaign with the threat of a point deduction looming ominously all season.

United’s Cup campaign began by a comfortable 2-0 victory against Cringila Lions, then dispatching a depleted South Coast United 3-0 in the quarter finals, with a brace to Johnny Martinoski. A clutch performance in the semi-final after trailing at two stages in the opening half saw United come from behind and beat the determined District League outfit Warilla Wanderers 5-3 to rise to the Final.

The enigmatic Wollongong Olympic have limped into the final on the other hand, with the opportunity only available to enter the final dance after Albion Park White Eagles were removed due to playing an ineligible player in the semi-final.

Wollongong Olympic stared elimination in their opening game after trailing until the 84th minute against Port Kembla to eventually close it out 3-2 winners. A convincing 3-0 result over District League Kiama Quarriers in the quarter finals and Albion Park’s ineligible player mishap has seen Olympic reach the final.

Wollongong Olympic are a Jekyll and Hyde side, brilliant one day but ordinary the next but you can never look away. They come into the final losing their two most recent Premier League fixtures against formidable opposition in the White Eagles and Fury but you can never underestimate Coach Rob Birkin’s Olympic outfit.

Wollongong United have not fared much better recently, leaking five goals against Bulli FC only last weekend which will have Wollongong Olympic ‘player to watch’ Yusuke Ueda licking his lips. Ueda has score two goals in Olympic’s Bampton Cup campaign along with 10 in the Premier League in season 2016.

Wollongong United’s ‘player to watch’ is none other than the diminutive Johnny Martinoski who has also scored two goals in this years Cup campaign. Martinoski has form in finding the back of the net on the big stage, scoring in the 2016 Fraternity Cup final along with the 2015 Bampton Cup final.

It will be a tight clash and will have all the elements that make a great final - goals, drama, passion and a vocal crowd. I'm tipping Wollongong United in a close one.

Report by Daniel McGookin

Photo by Pedro Garcia