GSSA 2023: Caledonians gunning for a league-cup double to cap near-flawless division one men’s season

Caledonians player-coach Ben Harris is anticipating a red-hot challenge ahead of their tantalising Great Southern Soccer Association men’s division one cup final against Albany Bayswater on Saturday. The league winners are chasing the cherished league-cup double, advancing to the final after a comfortable 3-0 win over Stirling Rangers in the semifinal. Albany Bayswater are hot on their heels however after an upset win over reigning champions Rovers earlier this month, the 2-1 result in that semifinal keeping their hopes of an unlikely cup run alive. “We’re certainly not taking anything for granted, they have some really talented young players and are really starting to come into some form at the back end of the season,” Harris said. “It will be interesting, a couple of players that we regularly look out for have played out of position or played in slightly different positions in the last three or four weeks. “A lot of teams you can set up against and sort of pinpoint areas that you might be able to exploit, but Bayswater are such a mixed bag so we’ll have to be wary of them. “On their day they can beat any team and they proved that against Rovers in the semifinal, it’s going to be a ding-dong tussle.” A win on Saturday would cap a remarkably dominant year for Caledonians, having swept their entire 14-game league campaign without a loss. Bayswater coach Enzo Manera believes a strong core of youth could work in his side’s favour the longer the game drags on. Manera’s squad initially was set to play in the under-18 division in 2023 but opted to take on a challenge by playing up in the men’s division one competition. “We’re going to need a full 90 minutes of concentration because they’ve (Caledonians) recruited very well this season,” Manera said. “We’ll look to play a free-flowing style with a possession-based approach. “I know Ben (Harris) likes to play a similar style, we play well through the midfield and like to play wide to find our wingers. “They have some great players through their midfield that we’ll obviously have to keep an eye on. “We haven’t had our full squad across all the games this season but are expecting a full strength team on Saturday.” The two sides will square off at 5pm on Saturday night at the North Road sporting grounds.