The Westfield FFA Cup is back, and after last week’s extraordinary match day 1, who knows what will be in store as another four FFA Cup Round of 32 games are played with Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City playing in match day 2 on Tuesday night.
FFA Cup Preview: Balmain Tigers v Melbourne Victory
MATCH DETAILS
Tuesday, 4 August 2015
Leichhardt Oval, Leichhardt (NSW)
Kick-off: 7.30pm local (7:30pm AEST)
Referee: Steve Lucas
Assistant Referee 1: Lance Greenshields
Assistant Referee 2: Mitchell Clark
Fourth Official: Chris Young
Tickets: Click here for ticketing details
TV Broadcast: 7.00pm (AEST) Live and exclusive on FOX SPORTS 505
Radio Broadcast: ABC Grandstand Digital and online
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #BALvMVC
Balmain Tigers squad: 2.Thomas HYDE, 3.Joel COOK, 4.Leonardo DI GIULIO, 5.Ciaran MUIR, 6.James KIOIDIS, 7.Tatsuya NAKADAI, 8.Costa FIAKOS, 9.Jonathan GOWDY, 10.Andrew CASALI, 11.William DONATO, 13.Ahmed CHANDAB, 14.Sergej KUNST, 17.Jehan LOKE, 21.Gavin WENYON, 23.Anthony COSTA (gk), 25.Scott TONKIN, 29.Valentin BROEHL, 83.Levi VITALE (gk)
Melbourne Victory squad: 1.Danny VUKOVIC (gk), 2.Jason GERIA, 3.Scott GALLOWAY, 4.Nicholas ANSELL, 5.Daniel GEORGIEVSKI, 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 7.Guilherme FINKLER, 8.Besart BERISHA, 9.Kosta BARBAROUSES, 10.Archie THOMPSON, 11.Connor PAIN, 14.Fahid BEN KHALFALLAH, 16.Rashid MAHAZI, 17.Matthieu DELPIERRE, 18.Dylan MURNANE, 19.George HOWARD, 20.Lawrence THOMAS (gk), 21.Carl VALERI, 22.Jesse MAKAROUNAS, 23.Kieran DOVER, 24.Thomas DENG, 30.Lucas SPINELLA (gk)
BLUFFER’S GUIDE
A tie of truly David v Goliath proportions as part-timers Balmain Tigers, the “Battlers from the ‘burbs”, take on the behemoth that is Melbourne Victory – the reigning A-League champions and the biggest club in Australia. Leichhardt Oval will be rocking as this tightknit group of students, plumbers and office workers from the third tier of NSW football aim to bring down A-League royalty. While stopping the likes of Berisha, Finkler and Co. will be an unenviable task, the Tigers won’t die wondering. Could an FFA Cup boilover of epic proportions unfold live on Match Day 2? Surely not…
WHAT THEY SAY
Tass Fiakos (Balmain Tigers manager): “It’s the draw the boys wanted. They wanted a big team, and they certainly got that. They’re ready to go, it’s massive for the club and for the whole district. Our Facebook has been going off. We’ve had people from Germany and England and all sorts of places wishing us well and a lot of clubs from the area have been in touch. Victory doesn’t know much about us, so we hope that works in our favour. We’re certainly not going to lie down.”
Besart Berisha (Melbourne Victory striker): "We were very close last year. This year we will try to get better. We have the team. We want to continue being great in Australia, number one in Australia."
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
BALMAIN TIGERS
· League: NSW State League 1 (third tier)
· Current ladder position: 4th: won 9 / drawn 2 / lost 8
· Latest result: Defeated Dulwich Hill 2-0
· Who to watch out for: Scott Tonkin
· Official site: www.balmainsoccerclub.com
MELBOURNE VICTORY
· League: Hyundai A-League
· Current ladder position: 1 st in last season’s A-League and reigning champions
· Latest result: Friendly v Young Socceroos (behind closed doors, July 31)
· Who to watch out for: Besart Berisha
· Official site: www.melbournevictory.com.au
FFA Cup preview: Edgeworth FC v Melbourne City FC
MATCH DETAILS
Tuesday, 4 August 2015
Magic Park, Broadmeadow (VIC)
Kick-off: 7.30pm local (7:30pm AEST)
Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones
Assistant Referee 1: Ryan Gallagher
Assistant Referee 2: Glen Peterkin
Fourth Official: Trent Nash
Tickets: Click here for ticketing details
Online Broadcast: Streamed online at www.foxsports.com.au/football/ffa-cup/ffacupondemand and Apple TV via FOX SPORTS Now
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #EDGvMCY
Edgeworth FC squad: 1.Jim FOGARTY (gk), 2.Cameron HUGHES, 3.Aaron MCLOUGHLIN, 4.Ayden BRICE, 5.Patrick WHEELER, 6.Luke WALKER, 7.Bren ABBOT-HAMMEL, 8.Josh EVANS, 9.Brody TAYLOR, 10.Keanu MOORE, 11.Dylan HOLZ, 12.Brenton OLZOMER, 13.Lachlan PASQUALE, 14.Justin TANNOCK, 15.Domenico BIZZARI, 16.Aaron PRITCHARD, 17.Liam SPURWAY, 18.Bray SMITH, 19.Josh CARROLL, 20.Ben SMITH (gk), 21.Samuel MAXWELL, 22.Jake FAIRHALL (gk), 23.Brady CARR, 24.Jordan JACKSON, 25.Beau WILKINS
Melbourne City FC squad: 2.Mahmut Ali EYIGUN, 3.Aaron HUGHES, 4.Connor CHAPMAN, 5.Ivan FRANJIC, 6.Erik PAARTALU, 8.Aaron MOOY, 9.Harry NOVILLO, 10.Robert KOREN, 11.Michael ZULLO, 13.Jonatan GERMANO, 15.Stefan ZINNI, 17.Wade DEKKER, 18.Paulo RETRE, 19.Philip PETRESKI, 20.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 21.Stefan MAUK, 22.Jack CLISBY, 24.Patrick KISNORBO, 26.Marc MARINO, 27.Luka PRELEVIC, 28.Steve KUZMANOVSKI, 40.Yaren SOZER (gk)
BLUFFER’S GUIDE
Home side Northern NSW NPL leaders Edgeworth FC are at Magic Park for a daunting clash against financially powerful Melbourne City FC - part of the global City Football Group. The Hyundai A-League club warmed up for this with a friendly behind closed doors against the Young Socceroos. Prior to that a friendly with ‘sister’ club Manchester City where they more than matched the EPL giants in a 1-0 loss on the Gold Coast. But the Eagles have shown an eye for goal in their domestic competition where they are sitting on top of the ladder (and are yet to draw this season). This should be another fascinating David v Goliath battle as NNSW meets Victoria for a spot in the last 16.
WHAT THEY SAY
Damien Zane (Edgeworth FC coach): “We’re pretty solid defensively. That’s where we see we can stay in the game. We’re quite quick and positive going forward. We have some dangerous guys in the front third. I think we suit this type of game. I’m confident we can stay in it for a fair chunk of the match and hopefully frustrate them a little bit. Who knows, maybe we can grab something that we can defend.”
John van ‘t Schip (Melbourne City coach): “The game against Man City was great, a great experience, but it was a friendly. The game against Edgeworth is an official game and for us it can mean we can play more and go for a prize. Every game counts but this game will count more as we prepare for the season...for us, [Edgeworth] is more important."
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
EDGEWORTH FC
· League: PS4 NPL Northern NSW
· Current ladder position: 1 st - won 12/ drawn 0 / lost 4
· Latest result: Defeated South Cardiff 2-0
· Who to watch out for: Brenton Olzomer
· Official site: www.edgeworthfc.com.au
MELBOURNE CITY FC
· League: Hyundai A-League
· Current ladder position: Finished fifth last season
· Latest result: Lost 1-0 to Manchester City in a friendly
· Who to watch out for: Harry Novillo
· Official site: www.melbournecityfc.com.au
FFA Cup Preview: Gungahlin United v Sydney Olympic
MATCH DETAILS
Tuesday, 4 August 2015
Gungahlin Enclosed, Gungahlin (ACT)
Kick-off: 7.30pm local (7:30pm AEST)
Referee: Rebecca Durcau
Assistant Referee 1: Greg Taylor
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Powers
Fourth Official: Matthew Cropper
Tickets: Click here for ticketing details
Online Broadcast: Streamed online at www.foxsports.com.au/football/ffa-cup/ffacupondemand and Apple TV via FOX SPORTS Now
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #GFCvSOL
Gungahlin United squad: 1.Jason DENHAM (gk), 2.Alex MOSCARITOLO, 3.Dustin WELLS, 4.Jack GREEN,5.Nathan TIDMARSH, 6.Stephen DOMINICI, 7.Regan WALSH, 8.Shane MURRAY, 9.Daniel BARAC, 10.Josh GASPARI, 11.Jeremy HABTEMARIAM, 12.Danny KRAJACIC, 14.Liam WALSH, 15.Adam DE FRANCESCHI,17.Josh PARISI, 18.Tony MADAFARI, 20.Hassan KAMARA, 21.Costandi FALLAS (gk), 22.Michael JOHN,24.Josh LAGUDAH (gk), 55.Tal EVANS
Sydney Olympic squad: 1.Paul HENDERSON (gk), 2.Brayden SORGE, 3.Troy DANASKOS, 4.Brendan HOOPER, 5.Yianni SPYRAKIS, 6.Ryan KEIR, 7.William ANGEL, 8.Jason MADONIS, 9.Dimitri HATZIMOURATIS, 10.Harris GAITATZIS, 11.Scott BALDERSON, 12.Daniel SADAKA (gk), 14.Peter MARKOVIC, 15.Leigh EGGER, 16.Howard FONDYKE, 17.James ANDREW, 18.Taiga SOEDA, 19.Go SHIRAI, 21.John DIMITRAKAS (gk), 22.Michael GAITATZIS, 26.Jack GREEN, 27.Oliver GREEN, 33.Nikolas TSATTALIOS, 44.Cohan MORRIS, 60.Tolgay OZBEY
BLUFFER’S GUIDE
The national capital is back on the national stage as local club Gungahlin United make their Westfield FFA Cup round of 32 debut. In their way, PS4 NSW NPL 1 side Sydney Olympic – a club with lofty ambitions and full of confidence after blasting NPL NSW league leaders Blacktown City 4-0 on the weekend. The ex-NSL club made the last 16 in 2014 – beaten by eventual semi-finalists Bentleigh Greens – and are striving to make an impact on the national stage again. But getting a result on a cold winter night in Canberra is easier said than done, especially against a Gungahlin outfit which has made a habit of defying the odds under wily former NSL defender-turned-coach Claudio Canosa.
WHAT THEY SAY
Claudio Canosa (Gungahlin United coach): “They [Olympic] are one of the big clubs from the NSL and we will have a lot of respect for them. It’s probably a good opportunity for both clubs to put their best foot forward in the competition. We recognize Olympic is a club with good players and strong history but we are excited by this challenge. Whenever the players have had a challenge this year they seem to be able to overcome it.”
Grant Lee (Sydney Olympic coach): "It’s a cold, winter night in Canberra and with Olympic’s history, this is a big match for Gungahlin. It will be a bit of a grand final for them. I know a bit about them...looking at their list, there are some good young players and some of them I’d had trial for Olympic too. Hopefully we can get up there and try and kill it off early, but we’ll be prepared for a tough game.”
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
GUNGAHLIN UNITED
· League: PS4 NPL ACT
· Current ladder position: 6 th - won 6 / drawn 3 / lost 5
· Latest result: Lost 2-0 to Tigers FC
· Who to watch out for: Daniel Barac
SYDNEY OLYMPIC
· League: PS4 NPL NSW
· Current ladder position: 4th – won 11 / drawn 3 / lost 6
· Latest result: Defeated Blacktown City 4-0
· Who to watch out for: Go Shirai
FFA Cup Preview: Sydney United 58 v South Hobart
MATCH DETAILS
Tuesday, 4 August 2015
Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park (NSW)
Kick-off: 7.30pm local (7:30pm AEST)
Referee: Luke Withell
Assistant Referee 1: Owen Goldrick
Assistant Referee 2: Kearney Robinson
Fourth Official: Adrian Arndt
Tickets: Click here for ticketing details
Online Broadcast: Streamed online at www.foxsports.com.au/football/ffa-cup/ffacupondemand and Apple TV via FOX SPORTS Now
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #SUNvSHO
Sydney United 58 FC squad: 1.Justin PASFIELD (gk), 2.Guiseppe CAMERA, 4.Nathan SHERLOCK, 5.Anthony TOMELIC, 6.Mitchell STAMATELLIS, 7.Richard CARDOZO, 9.Robert MILESKI, 10.Chris TRIANTIS, 11.Daniel DRAGICEVIC, 12.Koen BOSMA, 15.Mark CINDRIC, 16.Stjepan PARIC, 17.Theo KOFINAS, 18.Peter TRIANTIS, 19.Matthew BILIC, 20.Ibrahim HAYDAR, 21.Chris ZUVELA, 22.Luke BABIC (gk), 23.Panagiotis NIKAS
South Hobart squad: 1.Kane PIERCE (gk), 2.Connor SCHMIDT, 3.Kobe KEMP, 4.Liam QUAILE, 5.Hugh LUDFORD, 6.Hugh UNDY, 7.Darcy HALL, 8.Oscar THOMAS, 9.Brayden MANN, 10.Alex WALTER, 11.Joseph STEVENS, 12.Christopher HUNT, 13.Alexander LESZCZYNSKI, 14.Matthew LEWIS, 15.Alfred HESS, 16.Daniel BROWN, 17.Christopher DOWNES, 21.Mark MONCUR (gk)
BLUFFER’S GUIDE
With two canny coaches in Mark Rudan and South Hobart’s Ken Morton, this looms as the hardest clash to pick on Match Day 2. Though what we are to make of United’s calamitous 5-0 loss to Manly on the weekend in the NPL NSW, it’s hard to know. Minds elsewhere perhaps? The dominant Tassie club fell at the first hurdle in 2014 but return to the national stage wiser for last year’s experience. Two clubs with previous experience in this competition, will United’s talent-laden squad prevail or can South Hobart’s free-scoring approach bear fruit at the Sydney United Sports Centre?
WHAT THEY SAY
Giuseppe Camera (Sydney United): “I didn’t get the chance to play [against Sydney FC] last year…but it was an incredible atmosphere. The crowd was unreal, especially for the players. The boys still talk about it in the dressing room. I don’t know a lot about them [South Hobart] so we’re expecting a tough game against tough opposition.”
Ken Morton (South Hobart coach): “When we played them [United] here in Hobart in 2013, we sat off them, had a look at them and they destroyed us on a couple of set-pieces. Once we started to push up and press a little bit higher up the field, we got ourselves back into the game and we done quite well. I think we'll go there with confidence, we've got nothing to lose.”
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
SYDNEY UNITED 58
· League: PS4 NPL NSW
· Current ladder position: 9 th - won 8 / drawn 1 / lost 11
· Latest result: Lost 5-0 to Manly United
· Who to watch out for: Chris Triantis
· Official site: www.sydneyunited58fc.com
SOUTH HOBART FC
· League: PS4 Victory League
· Current ladder position: 1 st - won 13 / drawn 1 / lost 4
· Latest result: Defeated Launceston City 3-2 on Saturday
· Who to watch out for: Brayden Mann
· Official site: www.southhobartfc.com
FOX SPORTS will have a full broadcast of the Match of the Day and will stream all other non-broadcast matches online at www.foxsports.com.au/football/ffa-cup/ffacupondemand and Apple TV via FOX SPORTS Now.
* ** For any goal kicked by an amateur or semi-professional club against a Hyundai A-League team during the Westfield FFA Cup, NAB will kick-back $2,500 to the goal-scorer's club.
