THE Tenterfield Thunder will be strongly represented in this Saturday’s round of preliminary finals with the senior colts booking their place in dramatic fashion.
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Tenterfield supporters were left to bite their nails to the final whistle as the young Thunder side overcame Stanthorpe United 2-1.
The third and fourth placed teams faced off in the minor semi-final with Warwick too strong for International in the other semi-final clash.
It means Warwick will contest the grand final with Tenterfield to play International this Saturday for the other spot.
A strong contingent of Thunder supporters sat pitch-side on Sunday to watch the senior colts.
Both sides had been evenly matched throughout the regular season and it took two stunning goals from Josh Gower and Jayden Ash to win the game.
United took an early lead in the encounter thanks to a Joshua Crestani header but Tenterfield showed character by bouncing back.
“They’re a very tight bunch,” coach Stan Hickey said of his side.
“I’m really, really pleased for the boys – it was always going to be a tough match.”
Hickey was forced to hand the reigns over for the weekend owing to other commitments with Phil Spence taking control of the side for the game.
The Thunder staved off a late United onslaught after the Stanthorpe side made a number of positional changes to try nick an equaliser.
Tenterfield will now play International and Hickey said if his side are at full strength he’s confident they can get a positive result.
“We beat them last round. If we are at full strength we’ll match them,” he said.
The Tenterfield ladies side were left to rue missed opportunities as they were beaten 2-0 by Ballandean in the girl’s major semi-final.
“It was more frustration than anything else – they know they played better but just couldn’t get the goods.”
Tenterfield controlled the majority of play but it was Ballandean that capitalised on the few chances they were gifted.
In the minor semi-final United beat Warwick on penalties and Tenterfield will now have to overcome the Stanthorpe side if they want another chance to out-do Ballandean.
The preliminary finals will be played at International Club, Stanthorpe on Saturday with the senior colts game from 1pm and the ladies at 2.45pm.
Stanthorpe United will play Ballandean in the men’s game after Warwick qualified for the grand final.