The AAAA final will be an interesting contest of two teams who have reached the final through very different paths. Wando have a record, indicating easy wins over lowly ranked State teams. Mauldin’s record shows highly contested wins over highly ranked teams.
At the beginning of the season Wando beat Mauldin in the Viking Cup on penalties, but the pattern was already in place. In this competition Mauldin played all their games, excluding the one against Wando, on a rutted undersized field and on a field aptly but disparagingly nicknamed “The beach”. Wando played this competition on a better-prepared field; it still had a poor playing surface. It appeared nearer to full size field and their schedule looked easier. The game result was a tie with Wando winning on penalties. Mauldin survived fields that prevented them from playing their style of game and probably fatiguing and exasperating them
Through the rest of the season Maudlin have beaten all the top ranked teams, excluding Wando. Riverside was beaten home and away, Dorman was beaten home and away and Hanna has been beaten twice at Hanna. Wando excluded, these are the top teams in the State. Mauldin has a battle-hardened team, players have knocks and bruises and some starters will not play in the final. Mauldin through out the season has shown depth and resilience. In Tuesday evenings semi final against Dorman the game became similar to the Wando final last year. In last years game Wando scored from a penalty, Mauldin took the ball straight down the field, scoring within less than 20 seconds of the Wando score, Mauldin dominated the rest of the game. The DVD game commentator said after their goal, the field was tilted five degrees in Mauldin’s favor.
Last night Dorman equalized with 13 minutes to go, their raucous supporters had hardly got through the first line of their song, which I think went along the lines of “Your not singing, because we are singing now” when Mauldin took the lead through a brilliant goal. That was the decisive factor Dorman could not raise their spirit and game to make a come back.
Will a relatively untested Wando be able to beat a battle harden and well tested and proven Mauldin, I doubt it.
