Busselton City fly flag for regional WA in Australia Cup

Football West \\ Photo Credit: Busselton City 1682031450,1682031732

WA’s remaining regional side will aim to make a splash in the Australia Cup WA Preliminary Round 4 when Busselton City travel over two hours north to face State League Division One side Gosnells City.

Busselton celebrated their 100-year anniversary in 2022 by winning the league in undefeated fashion. While winless in two league games this campaign, the South West Soccer Association side defeated Port Kennedy in the previous round and can take heart from last year’s third-round tie against Joondalup City and a narrow 3-2 loss.

Former South West Phoenix coach Nick Carter leads City into this year’s edition of the competition and says Saturday’s experience will be valuable for his young side.

“We are trying to bring through some younger players which is great for the community and give them a taste of learning from some of the experienced guys who had success last year and remain at the club,” Carter said.

“Our focus is on the development side and giving players the best chance of progressing going forward. That’s where I’d say the passion in the region comes from.

“Obviously we all want to win games, but nothing makes you prouder than seeing someone you’ve worked with play in the A-League. We’ve seen Josh Risdon and Tash Rigby go on and have good careers, so we understand our role, but even this weekend I’ve said to our side that this is an opportunity to impress and showcase your talents.

“It’s a good chance to play different opposition and test ourselves and it’s great for the young players to travel away with the senior guys and build that camaraderie. I think Gosnells are beatable and they’re obviously still looking to get their structures in place with the new coach there, so it’s a game I feel we can win and there’s no pressure on us.

“There’s a bit of banter going on in the group chat that we can go on to play Melbourne City away, but that’s the magic of the cup. Gosnells will have their way of playing and they’ll try to attack us I’m sure, but if we can stay tight as a unit and pounce on their weaknesses there’s no reason we can’t go and get a result.”

The next lowest-ranked team still involved are Perth AFC, who face NPL opposition for the second successive year when Inglewood United go to Len Packham Reserve on Sunday.

Perth AFC won the Belt Up Amateur Division Three last season to earn an undefeated promotion under first-year head coach Nathan Thorp, a former State League player with Kingsway.

This time last year Perth AFC went out to eventual winners Cockburn City and Thorp hopes they can learn from that experience and ride the momentum from last year’s excellent campaign.

“I was very proud (of the season). From day one, the belief and confidence was there to trust in the way we wanted to play every week, and the results showed that,” Thorp said.

“It was definitely achievable to earn promotion last year and everyone at the club worked super hard as a collective to help us get to those goals. It was a great moment and credit to the players for their performances.

“I don’t think there’s any hangover from last year and we’re really looking forward to testing ourselves in Division Two. We’ve got goals for the league and the cup and one of them was getting to this stage again.

“It’s luck of the draw that we’ve ended up getting an NPL team again. Last year we were underdogs, but the learning for us is maybe not to sit back for long periods and go in this with a bit more belief off the back of what we achieved last year. We will have to wait and see in terms of mixing it up.”

Australia Cup Fremantle City UWA Cat Bryant Photography

In-form Division One side Fremantle City beat UWA Nedlands at Perth SC's Dorrien Gardens in the previous round to set up a clash with the NPLWA - Men's leaders on Saturday. Photo by Cat Bryant Photography

Also looking to continue their feel-good factor are North Beach, who make a short trip to NPL heavyweights Stirling Macedonia.

North Beach were promoted to the Belt Up Amateur Premier Division last season and have since gone on to lift the Night Series trophy following their recent 2-1 win over Kelmscott Roos. Head coach Nick Di Carlo said he was proud to walk away with the pre-season title.

“We went into the competition with the notion of wanting to gauge the level of intensity we will need to bring into the league season against Premier League opposition,” he said.

“We’ve continued to learn and adapt each week which grew our belief that we can really compete. Kelmscott threw everything at us in tough conditions and to be able to hold on mentally and physically was a huge achievement.

“Based on the results last year, we know how vital each point is in regards to the title race. The squad has grown in confidence from our achievements last season in Division One and this has only grown after our pre-season campaign.

“Although the Premier Division is new territory for us, we have every desire to continue our progression up the divisions, and hopefully find ourselves playing State League football in the near future.”

Di Carlo said the club was relishing the challenge against formidable opponents.

“This week’s match-up with Stirling Macedonia is a really big occasion for the club. We are under no illusion that it will be a momentous task to match them on the pitch,” he said.

“They are a WA football powerhouse who have strengthened their squad in the off-season. As coaches, we see this as an opportunity for our players to be exposed to a level of intensity on the pitch that displays what it takes to play at NPL level.

“We will only learn from this regardless of the outcome and watching Emerald defeat Balcatta last season just shows anything is possible in cup competitions.”

It will also be a big night for in-form Kingsley Westside when they host Perth RedStar at 6pm on Saturday.

The State League Division Two leaders have had a 100% start to 2023 and hope to be in the mix for promotion again after fourth-placed finishes in the past two seasons.

Having joined the club for the 2017 Amateur Premier League season, coach Steven Dimitrovich has guided Kingsley through a recent era of success, which includes promotion to the State League in 2019. Off the pitch, Kingsley have had upgrades to Chichester Park, and being back at home has given the club a boost according to Dimitrovich.

“The first few years was unreal in getting promotion and now we’ve really established ourselves as a State League club,” he said.

“The mood is pretty good, particularly this year with the new clubhouse and being back at our home at Chichester. It also helps when you’re winning too, to keep that buzz going around the club, and to welcome RedStar on Saturday will be a big moment for the club.

“To get the keys in early April and play our first home game last Saturday was exciting. It went to script in the end with a 3-2 win over Maddington-Kalamunda with 10 men and the boys dug really deep.

“We’re pretty confident we’re ready for the next step in terms of challenging for promotion to Division One. We feel like we’re in a good spot, but we’re only four games into the season and there will be more challenges ahead.”

Kingsley Westside’s run in last season’s competition came to a shuddering halt when they lost 10-1 to Bayswater City, but Dimitrovich insists the club is ready for a second shot at top-flight opposition.

“There was a buzz around the club from the moment the draw was made and we were at home to an NPL side,” he said.

“We’ve been really looking forward to it and this week you can really feel it. Training on Tuesday was really sharp with the boys wanting to put their hands up for a start on Saturday to see if we can cause an upset against a very good RedStar side.

“We definitely spoke about it (last year) on Tuesday, but this is a new challenge and we’re a different side, in a different phase of our development to when we played Bayswater. It’s exciting and we’re going to give a really good account of ourselves on Saturday. We won’t be trying to eke out a draw or a respectable loss.”

Round Four begins on Friday night when defending NPLWA – Men’s champions Floreat Athena host Amateur Premier League side Jaguar.

Athena won the State Cup in 2019 and 2021, but Josam Muwowo’s side were in the thick of the Amateur Premier title race last year and will eye off an upset to begin an intriguing weekend of cup football.

The NPL and State Leagues then collide in five Saturday afternoon meetings.

Balcatta Etna are looking to avoid another cup upset after last year’s early exit to Amateur side Emerald when they welcome Division Two Joondalup City to Grindleford Reserve.

NPL leaders Perth SC face a potential banana skin at in-form Division One Fremantle City, while Armadale go to Gwelup Croatia in a repeat of the 2018 State Cup final which John O’Reilly’s side won 2-0.

Division Two Ashfield picked up their first three points against Canning City last week and face three-time winners Sorrento in a game moved to E&D Litis Stadium. Holders Cockburn City meanwhile travel to Division One’s bottom side Rockingham City.

Division One Murdoch University Melville host Amateur Premier League South Perth United at Besteam Stadium. Taki Nicolaidis’ side reached the preliminary quarter-finals in 2022, while South Perth know what it takes to succeed in knockout competitions having won the Belt Up Amateur Cup last season.

Elsewhere, there are several all-Division Two ties as Curtin University host Balga, Maddington-Kalamunda White City meet Quinns and Swan United welcome Carramar Shamrock Rovers.

Second-tier promotion hopefuls Western Knights and Mandurah City do battle at Nash Field, while the only all-NPL encounter sees Olympic Kingsway host Bayswater City.