MILDURA United are the David compared to Mildura City’s Goliath, but they are not counting themselves out of slaying the beast.
It has been more than a decade since United last featured in an S-League senior men’s grand final, but they have a chance to win silverware and end City’s unbeaten run in the process on Sunday.
United already caused somewhat of an upset last week as gun striker Tien Dat Nguyen scored in extra-time to secure a 3-2 semi final win over Irymple Knights to make Sunday’s decider.
Mildura United lives by its name with at least two dozen different nationalities and cultural backgrounds represented across the club, all coming together under the one banner.
The senior men’s outfit has a strong Vietnamese presence, as well as players from Burundi, Iran, Iraq and Zimbabwe among others.
Captain Xuan Kien Nguyen said his squad is thrilled about Sunday’s clash with the winners of the last four S-League titles.
“Very, very excited about this weekend,” he said.
“As a team they are very strong but I think we can win.
“I feel very happy and proud of my teammates (from the Irymple win).
“As captain I feel a little bit nervous about it this season but it’s good now.”
Co-coach and club president Jon Koutlis said the team’s solid back half of the season has set them up for the opportunity.
“We always thought that could be the case with a lot of new faces coming in,” he said.
“I’ve had Evan Kamvisis join me in the coaching this year and he’s taken a lot of responsibility of the senior team. Through that extra set of eyes and different energy coming into the team I think it’s something we’ve built on throughout the year and we’ve found what clicks and what doesn’t.
“We know we’re going into the game as underdogs and City are a very, very good team, they’ve been the benchmark for years. We’re happy if can be competitive and push them, but we still believe we can win.
“It’s going to take a lot of heart on the day.”
The speed of the attacking line, led by Dat Nguyen, will be the team’s main weapon.
For Mildura City co-coach Nichols Woods, Sunday is about ending the season in the best possible manner.
Already the season’s title winners, an extra trophy would be the icing for the fearsome outfit.
“That would be the plan, we’ve had a really good season this year and we’d like to try and finish in the same way,” he said.”It’ll be a good contest with United in the final which we’re looking forward to. It’s something different because it’s been us and Knights in the last few years.
“Credit to them, they’ve come a long way over the last couple of years with constant improvement, and this year they’ve been really handy. It will be good contest.
“(Our success) definitely comes from the club. The back end of the club is a really important thing, everyone behind the scenes really helps things to run well.
“As a team I think we’ve grown up together, kept a core group and have been together for a long time, so I guess now we’re just having our patch of success.”
Sunday’s grand final begins at Aero Ovals at 3.30pm.
