Bankstown Berries looking forward to MetroStars fixture
The flashing lights of the Westfield FFA Cup national rounds will be a welcome reprieve from a tough PS4 NPL 2 NSW Men’s season for the Bankstown Berries.
A heroic 1-0 win over PlayStation 4® National Premier Leagues New South Wales Men’s outfit Sydney Olympic booked the Berries spot in the national rounds of Australia’s premier cup competition, where they will take on South Australian heavyweights Metrostars FC.
It has been over 30 years since the Bankstown Berries, flirting with relegation from the state’s second division, have been represented on the national stage, but finally the famous Berries are back on the Australian football agenda and club stalwart Kyle Ewart says the boys are buzzing.
“It’s been our biggest achievement in my five or so years at the club,” Ewart said.
“The club has a lot of history, maybe not so much in the past five years or so, but it’s good for the club to be back on the national stage.”
The Berries competed in the 1986 National Soccer League campaign and have been represented by the legendary likes of Johnny Warren and Leo Baumgarner, boasting five NSW 1st Division Championships between 1957 and 1985.
Those days will seem like a long time ago for the likes of Ewart, but he hopes that the club can call on the giant-killing spirit that inspired it to that famous 1-0 win over Olympic in May when the Metrostars visit Bankstown.
“That Sydney Olympic game was a massive boost for us,” Ewart said.
“The FFA Cup in general has been great for us because our normal season has not been going great. We’re in a relegation battle but for these cup games we’ve really stepped up.”
Olympic was by far the biggest scalp of the Berries’ qualifying run, but former Newcastle Jets youth player Ewart knows his side will have to perform even better than on that famous night to beat an in-form Metrostars.
Currently riding high in the PS4 NPL South Australia Men’s 1 competition, Metrostars are no strangers to the national stages of the FFA Cup and in particular New South Wales opposition.
In 2015, they knocked off NSW heavyweights Blacktown City FC and have become something of a fixture in the nationals rounds of the FFA Cup.
“We did not know much about them before the draw, but since the teams came out of the hat we’ve had a bit of a look at them and it’s obvious they’re a very good team,” Ewart said.
“I spoke to some of the Blacktown boys that played them a few years ago and they’ve all spoken about how good they are as a unit. It’s going to be a massive test for us.
“But they are coming to Sydney and I know from experience how hard it is to play after travelling, so I hope that gives us a slight advantage.
“We will certainly have plenty of confidence, especially after the Olympic game. We got our defensive structures spot on that night and if we can do the same against Metrostars, we’ll only need to score one.”
Match Details
Bankstown Berries (NSW) v MetroStars (SA)
Wednesday 26th July – 8pm
Jensen Park, Sefton
*Official hashtag #BERvMET
-By Matt Galea
