Clash of the State League Titans
The opening night of the Westfield FFA Cup Round of 16 will see the rekindling of a classic old rivalry as two proud former NSL clubs, Sydney United 58 FC and Heidelberg United, take centre stage as the headline match across all matches.
The two old foes will trigger memories of the old glory days as they battle it out at the Sydney United Sports Centre for a spot in the last eight and it will be an intriguing battle as both teams will go at it like they’re lives depended on it, so much is at stake for this huge match.
Sydney United 58 have finished its season and although disappointingly missing out of the top five finishing sixth, the club has rallied behind a positive Westfield FFA Cup campaign led by interim coach Tomi Vidovic. With new manager for 2018 former Socceroo Jason Culina watching on, positions will be at stake as well as progression towards the next round but a lot will hinge on the likes of playmaker Panny Nikas as well as Matty Sim and Chris Payne up-front with skipper Nick Stavroulakis marshalling his troops from the get go. Yianni Fragogiannis will look towards keeping the backline compact alongside Michael Neill while look out for the darting runs and enthusiasm from Japanese import Yutaro Shin.
Their opponents will be coming from a weekend of highs as the Bergers took out the PS4 NPL Victorian Premiership title for the first time after a pulsating 5-3 victory over FC Bulleen Lions.
Coached by the wily George Katsakis, the ‘People’s Club’ is littered with dangerous players but none more so than striker ‘King’ Kenny Athiu. Along with Athiu the likes of bustling midfielder Harry Noon, Sean Ellis as well as former A-League player Adrian Zahra and tough tackling defender Steven Pace.
All in all a massive match for both teams and one not to be missed.
Sydney United 58 FC v Heidelberg United
Wednesday 23 August 2017
Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park (NSW)
Kick-off: 7:30pm local (7:30pm AEST)
Referee: Kurt Ams
Assistant Referee 1: Lance Greenshields
Assistant Referee 2: Owen Goldrick
Fourth Official: Kris Griffiths-Jones
Tickets: Click here for ticketing details
TV Broadcast: 7.00pm (AEST) Live and exclusive on FOX SPORTS (Channel 505)
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tags #SUNvHFC #FFACup
Sydney United 58 FC squad: 1.Thomas Manos (gk), 2.Petar Markovic, 3.Michael Neill, 4.Yianni Fragogiannis, 5.Anthony Tomelic, 6.Chris Payne, 7.Yutaro Shin, 8.Matthew Sim, 9.Adrian Vranic, 10.Panny Nikas, 11.Yianni Perkatis, 12.Anthony Vrlic, 13.Nathan Bertolissio, 14.Nick Stavroulakis, 15.Tomislav Uskok, 16.Stjepan Paric, 17.Nicholas Olsen, 18.Glen Trifiro, 19.Matthew Bilic, 20.Lucas Pervan (gk), 21.Liam Ivancic
Heidelberg United squad: 1.Christopher Theodoridis-Petropoulos (gk), 2.Joshua Wilkins, 3.Leslie Doumbalis, 4.Jordan Wilkes, 6.Lewis Hall, 7.Reuben Way, 8.Andrew Cartanos, 9.Adrian Zahra, 10.Jack Petrie, 11.Kostas Kanakaris, 12.Ken Athiu, 13.Luke Byles (c), 14.Harry Noon, 15.Paul O’Brien, 17.Steven Pace, 19.Sean Ellis, 22.Alexander Schiavo, 23.Christian Pavlidis (gk)
