Quote:Wolves win the perfect Mother's Day gift
BY JOEL RITCHIE
08 May, 2010 04:00 AM
He's bought the flowers and chocolates, now all South Coast Wolf Mark Picciolini has to give mum Giovanna for Mother's Day is a win over APIA.
The Wolves (10th, nine points) host the eighth-placed Tigers (10 points) at WIN Stadium tomorrow - a win would allow South Coast to stay within reach of the top five, but a loss could plunge them to last.
Picciolini - the Wolves' leading scorer with five goals - labelled the round-11 tussle a must-win.
"It's a do-or-die match for us, if we lose and teams below us win, we'll be last," Picciolini said.
"If we win we're a couple of points out of the top five. We've got to stay in that mix."
While the Wolves have secured just one point from their past three outings, APIA have won three of four after a horrid start to the campaign.
"They're going to be a bit tough, I don't know if it's a bad time to get them, they might be a bit cocky and we could catch them off guard," Picciolini said.
"We're just not getting the results, last week (a draw with West Sydney) we should have won, we dominated towards the end and should have got a penalty."
Picciolini also called on the Wollongong-based club to enter the second half of the season on a positive note as they will face the top five sides in the following six weeks.
"We've got to get a win this weekend because we'll go into Bonnyrigg and the big teams on a high, a loss and we might be down on confidence," Picciolini said.
With Greg Valic battling a groin strain, Nick McInerney is set to switch to centre-back, with youngster Chris Nathaniel to start at left fullback.
Coach Trevor Morgan also plans to elevate Andres Gomez to the starting side.
Tomorrow's encounter is the start of a hectic period of five games in 13 days, including a McDonald's Cup tie away to Bonnyrigg on Wednesday night.
Illawarra Premier League champions Dandaloo have been drawn against State League One outfit Hills Brumbies.
Mother's Day will also be a big one at JJ Kelly Park, where the Illawarra Stingrays will host the Inter Lions.
The NSW Women's Premier League leaders will don pink jerseys as part of their push to raise $3000 for the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation during May.http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/news/local/sport/football-soccer/wolves-win-the-perfect-mothers-day-gift/1824066.aspx