Stakes high for Bell Park
THE equation is simple for Bell Park.
Defeat the Western Eagles on Saturday and its hopes of participating in next season’s State League 3 are kept alive.
Draw or lose and its season is over.
The All Whites go into tomorrow’s vital State 4 catchup round clash at the Polish Sports and Recreation Complex in Ardeer knowing a win will get them to within one point of second placed Sebastopol Vikings and two points within new competition leader Point Cook, which annihilated Park on its home turf last weekend.
Regarded as the toughest State League division to gain promotion to, only the topplaced team earns automatic promotion, with the second placed outfit required to endure an arduous playoff process against the second placed team in State 4 (North) conference — the winner of that game then plays off against the 10th-placed team in State 3 for a spot in the following season’s State 3 competition.
Bell Park coach Ivan Biscan remains at a loss to explain what happened last Saturday that led to the humiliating 0-4 loss against the Jets.
“I cannot put it down to why we capitulated like that. It has never happened to us before, we just seemed to fall into a hole, which we couldn’t get out of,” a perplexed Biscan said on the eve of the do-or-die clash with the Eagles.
With just two rounds re- maining, Biscan’s team is sitting in fourth spot on the ladder. A win tomorrow will thrust it into third spot with one eye on the top two promotion spots.
“It definitely is a do-or-die game for us, as far as salvaging anything out of this season. Having said that, regardless of what happens this weekend, we have already started planning for next year,” Biscan said.
“That doesn’t mean we have closed the lid on the current season, success is still achievable.’’
Local rival Surf Coast could do Park a huge favour next week, with the fifth-placed Torquay side set to host the Vikings at Banyul Warri Reserve.
If the All Whites win their next two games — and assuming the Coasters can uphold their end of the deal — they will jump into outright second spot and a subsequent stab at promotion.