Preview: Westfield FFA Cup Round of 32 MD 2

Hyundai A-League clubs make their Westfield FFA Cup debut in MD 2 with the Mariners in Melbourne, City in WA and Wanderers and Phoenix meet in Sydney’s west as the Cup continues on Tuesday night.

In a further incentive for the Member Federation clubs, Westfield FFA Cup partner NAB will give the club $2,500 for each goal they score against a Hyundai A-League opponent as part of NAB’s Golden Goals initiative.

Green Gully v Central Coast Mariners

Tuesday 2 August 2016

Green Gully Reserve, Keilor Downs (VIC) 

Kick-off: 8.00pm local (8:00pm AEST)

Referee: Daniel Elder

Assistant Referee 1Luke Brennan

Assistant Referee 2: Brad Hobson

Fourth Official: Jonathan Barriero

Tickets: Click here for ticketing details

TV Broadcast: 7.30pm (AEST) Live and exclusive on FOX SPORTS 3 (Channel 503)

Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #GRGvCCM #FFACup

Green Gully squad: 1.Sebastien Mattei (gk), 2.Mathew Reid, 3.Yohei Iwasaki, 4.Daniel Jones, 5.Rodrigo Vargas, 6.Callum Richardson, 7.Tomas Murphy, 8.George Lambadaridis, 9.Anthony Ragusa, 11.Evan Christodoulou, 12.Nicholas Krousoratis, 14.Aaron Ward, 15.Jay Davies, 16.Kliment Taseski, 18.Oner Kucuk, 19.Luke Walker, 21.Charlie McCormick, 23.Rani Dowisha (gk), 38.Liam Boland

Central Coast Mariners squad: 1.Ivan Necevski (gk), 2.Storm Roux, 3.Josh Rose, 4.Jacob Poscoliero, 5.Harry Ascroft, 6.Blake Powell, 7.Fabio Ferreira, 8.Nick Montgomery, 9.Roy O’Donovan, 10.Mickael Tavares, 11.Connor Pain, 12.Trent Buhagiar, 13.Kwabena Appiah, 14.Adam Berry, 15.Bradley McDonald, 16.Liam Rose, 17.Josh Bingham, 18.Matthew Fletcher, 19.Jacques Faty, 20.Paul Izzo (gk), 21.Michael Neill, 22.Jake McGing, 23.Jake Adelson, 40.Tom Heward-Belle

Bluffer's Guide

Arthur Papas’s Gully are thrown in the deep end facing Hyundai A-League opposition at their first chance.

At the same time, Keilor on a cold, windy night is nothing like the sunny Central Coast.

It all points to an intriguing main broadcast game on Fox Sports when the A-League pros head to NPL territory in Melbourne.

Papas' attack-minded side have gained plenty of admirers in the PS4 NPL with their high-intensity game plan.

And while Gully are Westfield FFA Cup debutants their coach knows all about Cup runs after his run to the last eight in 2015 with Oakleigh Cannons

With A-League experience in their squad - including former Victory man Roddy Vargas and George Lambadaridis - you sense the club have a sniff of Cup fever.

Attackers Liam Boland, Nick Krousoratis and Evan Christodoulou have been free-scorers this season.

What's more, Gully played Friday, giving enough recovery time for the big one (though it was a weakened side they put out that lost 3-0 to ladder leaders Bentleigh with keeper Rani Dowisha getting sent off). 

Tony Walmsley is in the middle of re-shaping his squad for next Hyundai A-League season and the early indications are the squad is gelling nicely.

Could a Cup shock be on the cards at Green Gully Reserve? It would be a massive boilover if the hosts disposed a Hyundai A-League club...and the Mariners know it.

They were dumped out at home 1-0 by Wellington Phoenix in last season's Round of 32 courtesy of a keeper clanger, but their defensive stocks are vastly improved these days.

Still, this will be a very tough test.


Western Sydney Wanderers FC v Wellington Phoenix

Tuesday 2 August 2016

Campbelltown Stadium, Leumeah (NSW) 

Kick-off: 8.00pm local (8:00pm AEST)

Referee: Stephen Lucas

Assistant Referee 1: James Tesoriero

Assistant Referee 2: Andrej Giev

Fourth Official: Ben Abraham

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

Radio Broadcast: Hawkesbury Radio 89.9FM or online at hawkesburyradio.com.au

Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #WSWvWEL #FFACup

Western Sydney Wanderers FC squad: 1.Jerrad Tyson (gk), 2.Shannon Cole, 3.Scott Jamieson, 4.Nikolai Topor-Stanley, 5.Brendan Hamill, 6.Mitch Nichols, 7.Steven Lustica, 8.Dimas Delgado, 11.Brendon Santalab, 12.Scott Neville, 13.Bruno Piñtares, 14.Jumpei Kusukami, 15.Kearyn Baccus, 16.Jaushua Sotirio, 17.Aritz Borda, 18.Robert Cornthwaite, 20.Andrew Redmayne (gk), 21.Mario Shabow, 22.Jonathan Aspropotamitis, 23.Lachlan Scott, 25.Liam Youlley, 26.Jackson Bandiera

Wellington Phoenix squad: 1.Glen Moss (gk), 4.Roly Bonevacia, 6.Dylan Fox, 7.Guilherme Finkler, 8.Alex Rodriguez, 9.Kosta Barbarouses, 10.Michael McGlinchey, 15.James McGarry, 16.Louis Fenton, 17.Vince Lia, 19.Tom Doyle, 21.Roy Krishna, 22.Andrew Durante, 23.Matthew Ridenton, 24.Logan Rogerson, 26.Hamish Watson, 30.Oliver Sail (gk), 32.Sarpreet Singh, 46.Jack-Henry Sinclair

Bluffer's Guide

Another year, another rebuild for the Wanderers, with Tuesday night the first chance to have a good look at Tony Popovic's squad renovation (though they played behind closed doors last Friday on the Gold Coast, defeating Roar 2-1 at Cbus).

It will be interesting to get a look at new boys Uruguayan Bruno Pintares, Japanese Jumpei Kusukami and Spanish defender Aritz Borda.

For their opponents, they are also in a building phase after missing the A-League finals last season.

The FFA Cup hasn't been a great competition for the 'Nix over the last two seasons but coach Ernie Merrick will hope a good run in this competition will be the catalyst to an upturn in fortunes over the next 12 months.

New faces include ex-Melbourne Victory duo Gui Finkler and Kosta Barbarouses, while Dutchman Roly Bonevacia always has that ability to change a game on his own.

A rather low-key build-up means neither side will know much about how the other is travelling but you can be sure they'll want to make an early statement in this all-A-League battle.

They’ve won an ACL and an A-League Premiership, but Wanderers have yet to make their mark on this competition, famously being dumped out by NPL opposition two years ago in Adelaide.

Could 2016 be the year of the red and black in the Cup?


MetroStars v Bentleigh Greens

Tuesday 2 August 2016

Elite Systems Football Centre, Angle Park (SA)

Kick-off: 8.00pm local (8:30pm AEST)

Referee: Rick Schneider

Assistant Referee 1Paul Cetrangolo

Assistant Referee 2: Aaron Galanti

Fourth Official: Jarrod Muller

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

Radio Broadcast: 5RTI 531AM or online at radioitaliana531.com.au 3XY Radio 1422AM or online at greekmediagroup.com

Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #METvBGR #FFACup

MetroStars squad: 1.Isaac Carmody (gk), 3.Andrew Dyer, 4.Justin Davis, 5.Tim Henderson, 6.Anthony Solagna, 7.Michael D’Aloisio, 8.Rocky Callisto, 9.Jonathan Negus, 10.Liam Wooding, 11.Steven Savino, 12.Terry Theodorou, 13.Bailey Truscott, 14.Stefan Simic, 15.Yuki Nakaki, 16.Alex Jakob, 18.Fabian Barbiero, 19.Joseph Polisena, 21.Adam Van Dommele, 22.Matthew Crooks, 23.Christian Esposito, 24.Travis Dodd, 25.Callum Piantadosi (gk)

Bentleigh Greens squad: 1.Ryan Scott (gk), 2.Nick Apostolopulos, 5.Jack Webster, 6.Liam McCormick, 8.Wayne Wallace, 9.Chris Lucas, 10.Tyson Holmes, 11.Dion Kirk, 12.Josh Brindell-South, 14.Kamal Ibrahim, 15.Ross Archibald, 16.Troy Ruthven, 18.Matthew Thurtell, 19.Kieran Dover, 20.Marinos Panayi, 21.Daniel Neesham (gk), 22.Ryan Paczkowski, 23.Naim Delibajric, 24.Luke Pilkington

Bluffer's Guide

One of the most interesting match-ups of the round of 32, one-time semi-finalists Bentleigh takes on MetroStars at Elite Systems Football Centre.

MetroStars had a slow start to the season in the South Australian PS4 NPL but appear to be peaking at just the right time for a possible Westfield FFA Cup run.

They often saved their best for the Cup, claiming this year's spot by beating the Adelaide Comets in the SA decider.

The real strength of Robbie Saraceno's side is they don't rely on one or two players, with the likes of Adam van Dommele, Stefan Simic, Fabian Barbiero and Jonathan Negus strong contributors.

And any team with Travis Dodd can never be underestimated.

The Greens were the fairytale story of the inaugural FFA Cup and will be eager to replicate that dream run again.

Speedy striker Chris Lucas is the danger man for the visitors and has been banging in the goals in the PS4 Victorian NPL, where Bentleigh currently lead the ladder.

With Matt Thurtell and stalwart midfielder Wayne Wallace also in strong form, the Greens will be no easy-beats on the road.

And Bentleigh’s 3-0 win over fellow Cup side Gully last Friday night would’ve been another confidence boost for a side that’s having a fantastic 2016.


Floreat Athena v Melbourne City FC

Tuesday 2 August 2016

Dorrien Gardens, West Perth (WA)

Kick-off: 6.30pm local (8:30pm AEST)

Referee: Adam Fielding

Assistant Referee 1: Josh Mannella

Assistant Referee 2: Matthew Southern

Fourth Official: Tom Dowle

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 #FLOvMCY #FFACup

Floreat Athena squad: 1.Jason Saldaris (gk), 2.Shaun Timmins, 3.Blair Govan, 4.Andrew Scaldaferro, 5.Bobby Wilson, 6.Clayton Arnez, 8.Jonathan Stynes, 9.Spiro Dimitriou, 10.Kris Gate, 11.Dennis Galan, 12.Nathan Scully, 13.Aaron Delany, 14.Ludovic Boi, 15.Christopher Saldaris, 16.Steve Kantor, 17.Dean Evans, 18.Phillip Arnold, 19.Lewis McMahon, 20.Robert Gasper, 23.Jordan Barbas (gk), 33.Cameron Yorke

Melbourne City FC squad: 1.Thomas Sorensen (gk), 2.Manny Muscat, 4.Connor Chapman, 6.Osama Malik, 8.Neil Kilkenny, 11.Bruce Kamau, 12.Nick Fitzgerald, 17.Daniel Arzani, 18.Paulo Retre, 20.Dean Bouzanis (gk), 21.Ruon Tongyik, 22.Jack Clisby, 23.Bruno Fornaroli, 25.Jacob Melling, 26.Luke Brattan, 27.Fernando Brandan, 28.Steve Kuzmanovski, 29.Anthony Caceres, 30.Luke Gallo, 34.Denis Genreau, 35.Bradley Clarke, 36.Austin Wong, 37.Yusuf Ahmed

Bluffer's Guide

A gigantic task awaits the Westfield FFA Cup newcomers from the west.

Hyundai A-League powerhouse Melbourne City – with that man Bruno Fornaroli back in town - standing in the way of Floreat Athena.

City has been slamming in the goals in pre-season against similar opposition to Floreat. 

There are not many defenders in the country that have been able to handle Fornaroli over the last 12 months and the Uruguayan maestro is in cracking form.

A hat-trick against Melbourne Knights - including another stunning overhead kick - proves this superstar means business again.

A scary thought for the Floreat side.

But coach Glenn Grostate has his side playing an effective brand of football and they are hard to beat.

Floreat has lost just four times in 17 games in the WA PS4 NPL1 and just recently took out the Cool Ridge Cup Final thanks to Jonathan Stynes' late winner.

Stynes has racked up the goals for Athena this season while exotically named Ludovic Boi has chipped in with plenty from midfield.

This should be an epic tussle at Dorrien Gardens with the home side hoping the long flight and City’s lack of familiarity with this club gives them an edge.

It’d be an immense boilover if the WA boys won.