A local rivalry will be rekindled when Curl Curl host Harbord at Abbott Road on Saturday with both sides desperate for a long-awaited victory.
After a tight 1-0 defeat to Brookvale last week Anthony Seminara’s side are now winless in their last four encounters and have dropped to seventh position.
Harbord on the other hand are yet to find their feet upon their return to the Premier League for the first time since 2008 – their solitary victory this season arrived with a 1-0 win over Manly Vale back in July.
Paul Mulligan’s men have their sights set on avoiding the wooden spoon, with fellow newly-promoted club Manly Vale sitting just three points ahead of them.
However their defensive midfielder Edward Goodall knows the fierce fixture that awaits them this weekend against a team Harbord battled it out within the AL/1s division a few seasons ago.
“Pretty much every game against Curl Curl at the time we played them finished within one goal of each other,” he recalled.
“It always has a grand final feel to it and it is usually a war out there. We’re definitely not on a winning streak at the moment so Curly would be a really good place to start that.”
Goodall has represented Harbord for 17 seasons.
While he admits this year has sprung up its fair share of challenges, he is confident that it will prove to be invaluable for their development in the long run.
“The pace is definitely a lot quicker (in Premier League) but the boys are up for a challenge and it’s been a good learning experience so far,” he said.
“Obviously, your goal is to play the highest standard of football possible and Premier League is as good as it gets.
“We have quite a young side and we’ve definitely progressed from day one. We’ve had a couple of hiccups along the way, but I think definitely when we seem to excel the most when we play the top teams because we always love being the underdogs.”
In other fixtures this week, CC Strikers host Manly Vale, Seaforth visit Mosman, Wakehurst clash with neighbours BTH, Narrabeen meet Pittwater and Brookvale face St Augustines.
