Two PS4 NPL Victoria clubs with a Westfield FFA Cup semi-final as the prize - this is the biggest night of their respective histories. Who will write another fabulous chapter in their Cup fairytale?
MATCH DETAILS
Hume City v Oakleigh Cannons
Tuesday, 22 September 2015
ABD Stadium, Meadow Heights (VIC)
Kick-off: 7:30pm local (7:30pm AEST)
Referee: Adam Fielding
Assistant Referee 1: Luke Brennan
Assistant Referee 2: Ryan Gallagher
Fourth Official: Wilson Brown
AAR 1: Jonathan Barreiro
AAR 2: Patrick Chaplin
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
Click here to go to the official match centre
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #HCIvOAC
Hume City squad: 1.Chris OLDFIELD (gk), 3.Shaun TIMMINS, 4.Isyan ERDOGAN, 7.Jai INGHAM, 8.Theodore MARKELIS, 11.Ivan PAVLAK, 12.Daniel CLARK, 13.Shane REXHEPI, 15.Liam NEWMAN, 16.Matthew HENNESSEY, 17.Marcus SCHROEN, 20.Tom BANFIELD (gk), 21.Nikos JACKSON, 23.Josh MARKOVSKI, 34.Jordan FAHIM, 39.Nicholas HEGARTY
Oakleigh Cannons squad: 2.Rowan McNAMEE, 4.Theo PAPAGEORGIOU, 5.Aron WILFORD, 6.Steve PANTELIDIS, 8.Dusan BOSNJAK, 10.Dean PIEMONTE, 11.Kofi DANNING, 12.Tremayne SADLER, 14.Mirjan PAVLOVIC, 15.Jake McLEAN, 16.Sean ROONEY, 18.Adam LE CORNU, 19.Goran ZORIC, 22.Matthew FOSCHINI, 35.Carlos LOAIZA (gk), 76.Lajos HUN (gk)
BLUFFER’S GUIDE
Victoria has become an FFA Cup powerbase with five clubs in the last eight from the southern state.
Here, two ambitious PS4 NPL outfits meet and, on paper, you’d say Hume at home would be favourites to make a dream semi final.
It’s become a Cup fortress the ABD Stadium as the team rides the Cup wave all the way.
Schroen, Markelis, Ingham, Clark, Hegarty... they're becoming household names around the Cup's traps these days.
Hume only lost 4-3 to Victory in a friendly last week with the result in the balance till very late.
It all adds up to Hume being clear favourites.
But the reality is, Oakleigh are peaking at just the right time. Never mind their underwhelming league record this year – not to mention an 8-0 drubbing by Melbourne City in a recent friendly – they will be hugely difficult to knock off.
In the Westfield FFA Cup Round of 16, the Cannons had arguably the result of the round going to SA and knocking off MetroStars, No easy feat.
They’ll have players back in key positions and a core of former Hyundai A-League names (Danning, Pantelidis, Rooney and Foschini) to call upon when the pressure ramps up on the big night (not to mention a smart coach in Arthur Papas).
In their way is the attack-minded Hume who’ve wowed fans with their show-stopping displays. At home they'll ride the emotion of the night and look to score more than the Cannons.
Who'll hold their nerve on this the biggest night in their respective histories? This could be a spectacle of epic proportions.
WHAT THEY SAY
Arthur Papas (Oakleigh Cannons Coach) " On Cup night with all the pressure and crowd, what’s happened prior is irrelevant. And unlocking their back four… they are weakened in the back four right now. They are missing two key defenders and in my front line and I have the likes of Sean Rooney, Pavlovic, Danning to name just three. I’d like to put their back four under pressure and see how they cope."
Jai Ingham (Hume City striker) – “A huge amount of confidence,” Ingham said of the Victory match which they lost 4-3. “To be leading 3-2 into the 90 th minute was huge against the best club in Australia. For us to do that, we were very happy.”
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
HUME CITY
League: PS4 NPL Victoria
Current ladder position: Finished fifth in PS4 NPL Victoria
Latest result: Lost to Melbourne Victory 4-3 in a friendly
Who to watch out for: Theo Markelis
Official site: http://humecityfc.com/
OAKLEIGH CANNONS
League: PS4 NPL Victoria
Current ladder position: Finished 11 th in the NPL this season
Latest result: Lost 8-0 to Melbourne City in a friendly
Who to watch out for: Dean Piemonte
Official site: www.oakleighcannonsfc.com.au