New signings Joe Lolley and Robert Mak are in line to make their Sydney FC debuts in Wednesday's Australia Cup Quarter Final against Oakleigh Cannons at Jack Edwards Reserve.
The Sky Blues face the Cannons in the only A-League v Member Federation Club tie of this year’s Quarter Finals on Wednesday night.
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Sydney also faced NPL Victoria opposition in the Round of 16 in Bentleigh Greens, who they defeated 2-1 thanks to goals from young guns Adrian Segecic and Aaron Gurd.
Since the sides Round of 16 win, Sydney have completed the signings of English duo Jack Rodwell and Joe Lolley, Slovakian forward Robert Mak as well as former Brisbane Roar attacker Alex Parsons.
Parsons and Rodwell are both cup tied after having played against each other in the Australia Cup Play-off Round for Brisbane Roar and Western Sydney Wanderers respectively, however Lolley and Mak are both in line to make a Sky Blue debut on Wednesday night.
Lolley arrives at Sydney having just helped Nottingham Forest gain promotion to the Premier League.
The winger was a hugely popular figure at Forest and lands in the country with over 230 appearances in England’s top two divisions, with over 60 goal involvements in that time.
73-time Slovakian international winger Robert Mak, who represented his nation at Euro 2016 and 20 is also in line for a debut on Wednesday night.
The 31-year-old has won eight titles across Europe after playing stints in Germany, Greece, Russia, Turkey and more recently Hungary, where he won the Hungarian title with Ferencváros in the last two seasons.
Speaking to media on Tuesday, Sydney FC midfielder, Patrick Yazbek said his side wouldn't underestimate the challenge posed by Oakleigh on Wednesday night.
“These NPL teams are the underdogs and are always up for a competitive match, so we are not going down there expecting it to be easy, we’re expecting a big fight from them. They’re currently doing well in the Victorian NPL, so it is going to be a difficult match, but we are going to be up for it too.
“It’s a new system that we are playing and we are slowly working toward perfecting that, so hopefully we can keep up the consistency, keep up the performances and go all the way in the cup” Yazbek said.
Opta Stats: #OAKvSYD
- Oakleigh Cannons FC have reached the Australia Cup quarter finals for the second time in as many attempts after losing to Hume City FC in the 2015 edition; however, this will be their first game against an A-League team in the competition.
- Sydney FC have won their last four games at the quarter finals stage of the Australia Cup, keeping three clean sheets and outscoring their opposition 10-2 across that term.
- Oakleigh Cannons FC have scored two goals within the opening 15 minutes of games this season, one of only two teams to have found the back of the net more than once in this period (Macarthur FC – 2).
- Sydney FC have made six shots at goal after a build up of 10 passes or more in the 2022 Australia Cup, two more than any other team in the competition; in fact, the Sky Blues also have the second-highest passing accuracy (87%) of any team in the competition.
- Joseph Knowles (Oakleigh Cannons FC) has made three assists in the 2022 Australia Cup, more than any other player; this is despite Knowles have just 0.4 Expected Assists for the tournament.
Oakleigh Cannons v Sydney FC
Date: Wednesday 31 August 2022
Time: 7:30pm AEST
Venue: Jack Edwards Reserve
Tickets: CLICK HERE
