Danaskos confident of FFA Cup progression
Sydney Olympic will be the only New South Wales club that will hit the road in the Westfield FFA Cup Round of 32.
The boys from Belmore travel to Canberra to take on Capital Football’s PS4 Men’s Premier League outfit Gungahlin United and that prospect has Olympic defender Troy Danaskos excited.
“Definitely good to get an away draw out of the way early and hopefully we can get a home game in the next round or even the quarter finals and draw a big crowd.”
The trip to the nation’s capital will be far from an easy match as United currently sit in the top half of their competition.
They’ll look to shock Olympic on what will no doubt be a freezing cold Tuesday evening in Canberra.
The side is led by former PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 2 Championship winning Macarthur Rams coach Claudio Canosa and boasts former players from NSW’s top tier competition like ex-Sydney United 58 FC and Rockdale City Suns attacker Daniel Barac.
Danaskos is certain that the Cup tie will be difficult against a side they don’t know much about.
“We’re expecting a tough challenge as we aren’t too sure what they’re like.
“It will definitely be a tough encounter and the boys will be up for it.”
The Olympic youth product is extremely confident in the Blues’ ability and believes they can shock many and go all the way.
“I think we have the quality to go far and maybe even win it.
“It’ll be hard against the Hyundai A-League sides but we definitely have the ability in our squad to go far in the Cup.”
Danaskos believes the Westfield FFA Cup can help unearth some players as it continues to grow, now in its second season.
“The Cup is in its second season and it’s already got a lot of coverage.
“For the National Premier League clubs to have the opportunity to play and be involved in the Cup is great to get a bit of exposure for them.”
Last year, disappointingly, Olympic were knocked out in the round of 32 against Victorian top tier team Bentleigh Greens and Danaskos hopes that the same scenario doesn’t repeat itself.
“This year hopefully the scheduling of the Round of 32 is a bit further away from our Grand Final.
“That was a bit of a tough ask of us last season after playing 120 minutes over the weekend and then playing two days later.
“They were hard, a good squad but definitely we should improve this time around.”
Gungahlin United FC (NPL Capital Football) v Sydney Olympic
Tuesday August 4, 7.30 pm at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval, ACT
-By Nikola Pozder
