Olympic Kingsway have already raised the roof. Now they are out to raise the bar.
The Green Machine will become the first Football West team to make the Hahn Australia Cup quarter-finals should they get past NPL Queensland side Brisbane City tonight (kick-off 5.30pm WST).
The WA club are hosting a watch party at their Kingsway Reserve home, where a fortnight ago over 3,000 supporters roared the Green Machine to glory against A-League giants Melbourne Victory in one of Perth football’s great nights.
Tonight the roles are reversed for David Tough’s side, with a sell-out crowd expected at Imperial Corp Stadium for the Round of 16 tie.
“It is something new and exciting and it’s all part of being successful in this competition,” said Tough.
“It is the first time we’ve been drawn away (on the national stage), so it’s good that we have a few players who have done this kind of thing before with other teams. Mitch Oxborrow is one and he has been incredible as captain looking after the squad.
“We flew over on Sunday and I’m glad we came a day early. We’ve had a heavy schedule and the extra day has made a difference.
“We are training at Olympic FC who have allowed us to use all their facilities, including video and analysis. They’ve been brilliant, very accommodating, and we’re very grateful for it.”
It was Olympic FC that Brisbane City defeated in the previous round to book their meeting with Kingsway. City are currently seventh in the 12-team NPL Queensland competition, but Tough says that does not reflect their quality.
“They are a good side. The first half of the season they struggled, but they’re now in form and mid-table is probably a false position,” he said.
“They signed a striker big number nine, (Marcus) Barnes, who's a bit similar to Oli La Galia at Bayswater, and he’s in good form. They’ve also got Corey Brown at left-back, who had a long A-League career with Brisbane Roar and Melbourne City, so there’s no doubt they have quality in their team.”
Brisbane are coming off a free weekend after their league game against Roar was postponed. In contrast, Kingsway took on Fremantle City on a heavy pitch at Hilton Park, which at least meant the reigning champions were able to get last week’s loss at Balcatta Etna out of their system.
“It was massive to get the win at Fremantle,” Tough said. “We were very disappointed last week with how we went at Balcatta, especially after we had just beaten Bayswater to get back in the title race. That defeat means we’ve probably blown the league, although you never know.
“But we wanted to come here on a positive which is why it was important to bounce back against Fremantle on the weekend. Now it’s all about this game."
Tough, whose team reached this stage 12 months ago, added: “It’s great to get all the good wishes from for people in WA and elsewhere, and we know there will be a lot of people watching the game. We don’t want to let anybody down and if we can become the first Football West club to get to the last eight, it’ll be incredible.”
Tonight’s match will be broadcast live on 10Play and the Football Australia YouTube channel, with the winners away to either Melbourne side Avondale FC or Sydney’s APIA Leichhardt in the last eight.
