St Albans Saints have some big-name support behind their shot at Westfield FFA Cup glory tonight in Sydney with a host of Richmond AFL stars backing the club, report the Herald Sun.
Tigers ruckman Ivan Maric, whose father played and was an official at the Saints, has been the club’s No.1 ticketholder for the last three seasons and hopes one day to play for the club.
And he has got some of his team-mates hooked as well with Ty Vickery, Jake King and Shane Edwards also reportedly Saints supporters.
They will be hoping Toby Paterson’s troops can get the job done on tonight when the round of 32 Westfield FFA Cup matches continue with the Saints in Sydney to take on Parramatta FC in one of four big clashes across the country.
It’s not just off the field where St Albans have some heavy-hitters, with former Scottish professional Ryan McGuffie in the line-up for the team in the second-tier in Victoria.
McGuffie has experience in Scottish football’s biggest day scoring a late equalizer for Gretna against Hearts in the 2006 Scottish Cup final, only to later lose on penalties.
Despite the heart-breaking ending, McGuffie still looks back on that Sunday in front of 51,232 fans at Hampden Park with some fond memories.
“Anybody who plays in a Scottish Cup final or an FA Cup final in England would say the same,” McGuffie told the Herald Sun.
“They’re hard to beat because the whole occasion just engulfs you. In the weeks leading up to it, it’s all you can think about and everybody in the street is talking about it.
“Then when it actually comes around, the atmosphere, the fireworks going off, it’s an amazing experience. To come so close was gutting, but it’s still so vivid in my memory.”
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Image courtesy Mark Avellino
