Balmain Tigers may have lost 6-0 to Melbourne Victory but they were victorious in other ways after their memorable Westfield FFA Cup tie with Melbourne Victory on Tuesday night.
Balmain Tigers captain Tom Hyde paid tribute to the almost 5000 fans who flooded into Leichhardt Oval on a chilly Sydney night to see the David v Goliath battle in the FFA Cup Round of 32.
He said the crowd was a result of the hard work put in by the Tigers to promote the biggest game in their history.
And he hopes the exposure and feel-good factor has put the Tigers even more on the map in Sydney.
“Unbelievable… 5000 people. It was just incredible,” Hyde told Fox Sports after the game.
Catch up on what happened on match day 2 right here
“That’s easily the biggest crowd we’ll play in front of. At 2-0 at half-time we were doing really well and then the fitness really told in the second half.
“When Gavin [Wenyon] had that header the place erupted. It was incredible. It gave us a bit of a taste of what the Victory players go through week-in-week-out.
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After the FFA Cup excitement, mid-table Tigers now return to their league campaign in NSW State League 1, playing struggling Inter Lions on Sunday.
“It was magical. To get 5000 fans and to hear everyone cheering us was incredible and [despite the loss] hopefully we can use this as a platform to move forward. But a great experience for the guys," he said.
