Down to the wire

By Stuart Teather
STATE League soccer will reach fever pitch this weekend with the final round to determine the fates of many of the local clubs for 2010.
Berwick City seemingly has a simple equation in front of it: defeat North Caulfield and earn promotion to State League Two, or lose and spend another year in League Three. But the club might already be safe, with a tribunal decision to be made Wednesday night (after the time of print) on whether it should get the points from the round 20 clash against Springvale City.
Berwick trailed 1-0 in that game but had a penalty kick in the 84th minute, however before the side could take the kick Springvale’s bench invaded the pitch, forcing the referee to abandon the game.
Should Berwick be awarded the points from the clash, it will have done enough to secure a promotion spot, regardless of the result against North Caulfield.
Berwick coach Joe Carrol said given his side did not know what would happen at the tribunal, his charges would approach the weekend’s match as though it was do-or-die. Berwick will at least carry plenty of momentum into the game, having thumped Sandringham City 3-0 last Saturday.
Meanwhile the Casey Comets are not out of danger, and could still face relegation from State League Two South East if they do not defeat bottom side Kingston City on Saturday. The Comets are a game clear of relegation at the moment, but if they lose and South Springvale pulls off an unlikely win against Dandenong City, the Souths move past the Comets, resigning Tony Saunders’ charges to a season in State League Three.
In Provisional League One South East, the fates of Doveton and Endeavour United both hinge on Doveton knocking off Ashburton this Saturday. The two teams sit in the relegation spots heading into the final round but if Doveton knocks off Ashburton, it will move into 10th place, clear of the relegation zone.