KEY POINTS:
There will be no place for faint hearts at Govind Park in Ba this afternoon when the local side, seen by many as the Fijian national side in disguise, meet Waitakere United in the first leg of the O-League play-offs.
Like Waitakere, Ba won through from Oceania group B unbeaten to the two-leg final, with the winner going to the Fifa Club World Cup in Japan in December.
Waitakere coach Steve Cain is under no illusions that it will be a battle royal, with the champion Fijian club expecting around 15,000 fans to spur them on.
"I have watched a couple of DVDs which confirmed what I had already thought," Cain said from Lautoka yesterday. "They will be very physical and very direct. One thing in our favour is that they have lost their influential midfielder and captain Peni Finau to suspension but that won't change much.
"They are a very good side. You could probably throw a blanket over them and the national side. That's how many internationals they have. I'm sure they have players who have played more games for Fiji than Ba."
While he would like to return with three points, Cain would be happy with a draw, especially if it involved a couple of goals.
"In the end, away goals might prove crucial so that has to be at the back of our minds," said Cain, who has named a strong starting XI, including first-choice strikers Commins Menapi and Daniel Koprivcic.
Menapi, clouted early in Monday night's NZFC final, will play with eight stitches in a head wound. Cain hopes he will be joined by Koprivcic, who was injured in the last of the O-League pool matches, the 2-2 draw with Auckland City on April 4, and has not played since.
"Hopefully he will start and give us at least an hour," said Cain of his striker. He and Menapi have scored four goals each.
In winning through to the showdown, Waitakere have scored 13 goals and conceded five.
Ba have found goals harder to score, managing only seven but conceding just three.
Oceania have appointed Job Ponis from Papua New Guinea as referee.
The second leg will be at Mt Smart Stadium on April 29, with the winner guaranteed a US$500,000 ($672,000) pay day.
O-league final, first leg
* Ba (Fiji) v Waitakere United
* Govind Park, Ba Today 3pm (live SS1/Radio Sport)
( Referee: Job Ponis (Papua New Guinea)
Waitakere: Michael Utting, Graham Pearce, George Suri, Danny Hay, Craig Wylie, Allan Pearce, Jeff Campbell, Hoani Edwards, Jakub Sinkora, Commins Menapi, Daniel Koprivcic. Substitutes: Simon Eaddy, Hone Fowler, Rupesh Puna, Michael Gwyther, Sam Jasper, Pedro Santos, Prince Quansah,.
Road to final
* Ba bt Marist FC (Solomon Island) 2-0 (a); bt Marist 3-2 (h); drew AS Temanava (Tahiti) 1-1 (a); AS Temanava 1-0 (h).
* Waitakere drew Auckland City 2-2 (h); bt AS Mont Dore (N Caledonia) 6-1 (h) bt AS Mont Dore 3-0 (a); drew Auckland City 2-2 (a).
* Second leg: Waitakere v Ba, April 29, Mt Smart Stadium 2pm.
