Western Sydney Wanderers boss Tony Popovic was pleased to have another competitive game to look forward to after progressing to the final eight of the Westfield FFA Cup on Tuesday night.
The A-League powerhouse ended Palm Beach Sharks’ FFA Cup run with a solid 2-0 win in the round of 16 at Cbus Stadium on the Gold Coast.
Wanderers now face Perth Glory in WA in the Cup quarter finals.
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“Full credit to our opponent [Palm Beach], they did very well. They made it very difficult for us. But in the end it was a comfortable win,” Popovic told Fox Sports.
The only downside to the Wanderers win was an apparent groin injury to key forward Mark Bridge, who came off in the second half.
“The doctors are checking him as we speak. We’re hoping for a favourable result. But when a player goes off it’s always a concern," said Popovic, who was crowned AFC Coach of the Year late last year following Wanderers' Asian Champions League triumph.
Wanderers now will fly across Australia to face Glory in the FFA Cup quarter finals.
After racking up hundreds of thousands of air miles last season during the ACL and subsequent CWC, Popovic was comfortable with the trip away as he beds in a large number of new faces in his reenergised squad.
“With such a new squad experiencing going away to Perth is great for our squad and gives us another chance to bed in our new players and the way we want to play," he said.
"And we’re delighted to go through.”
