Fernhill one game away from a grand final after beating Oak Flats

It was neck and neck for the entire first half however it was Fernhill who opened the scoring. Kyle Del found himself away from the Oak Flats defence and made no mistake with the finish despite many protests from the Falcons' players that he was offside.

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The assistant referee said it was play-on and the score was 1-0 midway through the first half to Fernhill and that was how the score stayed for the break.

Fernhill continued on with it and 10 minutes into the second half had their second as Mitchell Turner made it 2-0 with another runaway goal.

It was a satisfying victory for the Foxes following their loss to the same opposition last week in the final round of the regular season.

"We lost against them last week so we knew it was going to be tough," Foxes captain Jordan Hughes said.

"But we changed the formation a bit and shut down their main man 'Bokky' [Bojan Caric] up front. We knew it was going to be a battle but we got the win so we're happy with that.

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"Even though there was nothing on the line last week just knowing that they could beat us [this week] gave us a bit of a shock. Coming back to get a result at their home ground was pleasing."

Fernhill finished higher than Oak Flats on the table in second but the qualifying final was played at the Falcons home ground Keith Bond Oval, despite them finishing third.

Hughes said that whilst it was a factor they had to consider heading into the match, he said it didn't make too much difference in the end.

"It was tough but every game is tough in the finals. We were looking for a tough game and we got it so we're just happy with the result."

A date with premiers Shellharbour awaits next week for the Foxes whilst the Falcons will now face Gerringong in a do-or-die contest.

The Foxes' skipper added it would be another massive challenge but one they were confident they could complete.

"They deserved to win [the league championship] this year. They were just too unstoppable but we're going to go and take it to them and see how we can go."

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