Nichol battles ‘wall’ Rachita
BEST mates off the field, fierce rivals on it.
In a State of Origin-style contest, Kyle Nichol and Andrei Rachita will throw friendship out the window for 90 minutes tonight in the most anticipated FNQ Football clash of 2018 between Marlin Coast and Southside Comets.
What’s more, the pair will be marking each other and Nichol knows just how tough a task he will have to continue his remarkable goalscoring run of nine goals in five games.
“I like to call Andrei a bit of a brick wall and it’s hard to get past,” he said. “We’re just making sure we’re both ready for the game and it should be fun trying to get a goal or two past him.”
Nichol said his form was down to simply enjoying the game with the belief of the coach and a strong team behind him providing impeccable service. He expected the midfield battle to be the deciding factor in the match.
“The level of play is definitely going to step up this weekend, but I think if we go about things how we’ve been doing it for the past five games, I think we’ll give them a good push,” Nichol said.
Rachita said bragging rights would come down to the bestprepared team, but he was ready to improvise to stop his mate.
“He’s very gifted technically, so we have to watch out for those little plays and little combos where they make something out of nothing,” he said. “I managed to stop him last season and in the FFA Cup this year, so what I’m doing seems to be working. “I always have a plan.” He said the Comets looked to lift the standard every week and were keen for the challenge at Pennell Field as they looked to remain “invincible”.