PlayStation® 4 NPL Capital Football giants Belconnen United and Canberra FC will go head-to-head in a blockbuster match-up in the Westfield FFA Cup Preliminary Rounds following the Round 5 draw.
Conducted at the Pavilion on Northbourne, the draw pitted the duo against each other with the Cup tie to be played at McKellar Park next week.
Whilst the perennial Canberra trophy battlers slug it out, rank outsiders Weston-Molonglo FC will entertain Tigers FC at Woden Park knowing that their chances of progression are in the hands of the Cup gods. But that doesn’t stop the Magpies Coach Chris Webb from dreaming big.
“It’s a nice easy draw!” Webb joked. “Tigers FC have had an alright start to the season in the Premier League, but we are already looking ahead to the Semi-Final!
“Seriously though, we are realists and we never thought we would win the competition and the only reason we entered the competition was to play against teams that are in a league higher than us, so we may as well play one of the top teams. Tigers FC look like being one of the favourites for the league championship in the Premier League so it will be a good test for us.
“I’ve watched them play a few times already this year and they are stocked full of attacking talent, so much so they can’t get them all on the park at the same time. So we think they will come out and really just try and hit us hard. We are a kind of team that will look to counter-attack and try and hurt them a little bit.”
Tigers FC player Goran Josifovski was equally respectful of their Quarter Final opponents whilst acknowledging that the PS4 NPL side know little about their opposition heading into the clash.
“You have to respect every opponent, that’s the reality but we are relatively happy with the draw and are looking forward to it,” Josifovski said. “To be honest, I don’t know what to expect [about Weston-Molonglo FC] but it will be a hard game. It’s a cup game and we have seen what’s happened elsewhere in the world, and in the local competition when Tuggeranong won, so there is a proven track record there of upsets and we don’t want to be the team that gets beaten.
“There’s no point in shying away from the fact that we will be favourites but the reason we will be favourites is that we have a track record of winning. We are not going to take anyone lightly. The reality is that we need to take each match at a time and firstly focus on Weston-Molonglo FC.”
Meanwhile current PS4 NPL League leaders Canberra Olympic will face a heavyweight match-up with the winner of the Belconnen United and Canberra FC tie in the Semi-Finals if they can negotiate a tricky outing against Woden-Weston FC. And that is not a given according to their Head Coach Frank Cachia.
“We are sitting at the top of the league so whoever we play are going to be worrying about us a little bit, but any game is going to be tough and it’s a cup tie so anything can happen,” Cachia commented. “No-one is going to hand away a trophy like this, not anymore, and whoever you get you are going to have to earn it whether it’s Woden-Weston or anyone beyond that.
“But we won’t be looking at that just yet, we have Woden-Weston and we will worry about that first. But we won’t be giving it away. Whoever we play, you need to be up for it and we want to win this trophy. It’s enormous if you do. You don’t get too many chances to put yourself on a national stage and this is one of them. Outside of playing A-League sides in pre-season games, or making the NPL Finals Series, this is your one shot at a national competition, to put your club on a national stage.”
The other Round 5 match-up sees Capital League Whites Eagles playing 2013 Federation Cup winners Tuggeranong United for the right to face the winners of the Tigers FC v Weston-Molonglo FC clash in Round 6. And with both sides in good form of late picking a winner from this match could prove a tough task.
ROUND 5 DRAW
Belconnen United v Canberra FC
White Eagles v Tuggeranong United
Woden-Weston FC v Canberra Olympic
Weston-Molonglo FC v Tigers FC
ROUND 6 DRAW
Belconnen United or Canberra FC v Woden-Weston FC or Canberra Olympic
Weston-Molonglo FC or Tigers FC v White Eagles or Tuggeranong United
All Quarter Final venues and dates to be confirmed with matches due to be played on week commencing Monday 30th May.
