They're two of the Illawarra Premier League's fiercest rivals, and will be on the line when Wollongong United face the Lions in Sunday's preliminary final.
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A ticket to next weekend's grand final against Olympic is on offer for the winner in front of an expected bumper crowd at Macedonia Park.
Minor premiers United will enter the game as favourites, however, coach Billy Tsovolos will be sweating on the fitness of his attacking weapons Dinko Terzic and Mason Versi for the game.
Terzic and Versi both limped off during last week's 2-0 extra time defeat to Olympic, and the pair remain under an injury cloud.
"I thought we were exceptional after halftime last week. We were a little bit unlucky to lose 'Maso' and Dinko, we just lacked a bit of firepower towards the end of the game," Tsovolos said.
"I thought we had enough possession to maybe win it, with the quality to break them down in the end. We had a lapse of concentration which was understandable after playing for 110 minutes and haven't played for three weeks. But I thought we were good for the most part.
"We're just wait and see on Maso and Dinko [for Sunday] we're not really sure yet."
Standing in United's way is a young Cringila side that is looking to continue their fairytale run late in 2022. The Lions snuck into the IPL finals for the first time in 14 years after upsetting United 1-0 in the last round, but have since proven they belong there, mustering back-to-back wins against Coniston and Bulli.
The Lions are now just 90 minutes away from a grand final appearance, with the likes of Anthony Krsteski, Peter Simonoski and Stefan Dimoski in great touch.
"Since they've made a few massive signings during the middle of the season, they've hit a good run of form and they've been sharp up top, they've been energetic and they work hard for each other," Tsovolos said.
"Anthony and Michael Mendes have been exceptional players around the league for a long time now, and they've taken a real step up this year. And then getting guys like Stefan in the middle of the year has helped them go to another level.
"For us, it's about trying to shut down their front four, I think that's the key to stopping Crini."
The conductor of Cringila's sharp improvement has been head coach Icko Atanasoski, who has enjoyed great success in his first season back with the club. Unfortunately, the Lions legend will be unavailable on Sunday, with assistant coach Jorge De Matos taking over the reins.
"We've been on a great run of form and the boys have all been putting in, and they've all been locked in for a while now. We knew what we needed to do just to make the finals, and thankfully we did that on the last day of the season," De Matos said.
"On Sunday, I expect a massive crowd and it's going to be fiery on both sides, being the Macedonian derby and local rivals - it doesn't get any bigger than that. It's going to be one hell of a game and we're really looking forward to it.
"United have been the benchmark and their Australia Cup run was great, and they took out the minor premiership. But leading into the game, we've just got to keep doing what's made us so successful, and that's focusing on us and what we need to do."
Illawarra Sports Awards
The Mercury, in partnership with the Illawarra Academy Of Sport and presenting sponsor Illawarra Credit Union, is hosting the Illawarra Sports Awards, to be held on Thursday, November 10 at the Fraternity Club.
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NOMINATE: Get your nominations in for the Team Of The Year, Coach Of The Year and Local Hero Volunteer Of The Year
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
