Brimbank Stallions breezed into the second round of the FFA Cup despite missing seven first-team regulars.
The Stallions fired seven goals past Balmoral in a 7-3 rout at the Club Italia Sporting Club on Saturday.
It was a victory that allowed the Stallions to showcase the depth of their playing roster.
“We had seven main players out, but the boys did well,” Stallions’ president Sam Raniolo said.
“It gave a chance to a lot of guys … they took the opportunity with both hands.
“The FFA Cup is always a good chance for the youngsters and the fringe players to get into the team and try and cement a spot.”
Brimbank was on the back foot early, conceding the opening goal shortly after kick-off. But this was a mere hiccup for the Stallions.
They hit the back of the net on five occasions before the break to lead 5-2 at half-time.
“They didn’t worry about the scoreline, they just kept going and going,” Raniolo said.
“Even when they started scoring goals, they wanted more, they were hungry. That’s good to see at this time of the year.”
If there was one negative in the game for Brimbank, it was the concession of three goals.
But the Stallions were lethal in attack, with Kemel Irdem, Alonzo Kang and Hayden Formosa scoring doubles.
It was Irdem’s first game for the Stallions since crossing from the Essendon Royals.
With more than a month still until the start of the regular season, this time of the year is a lot about gaining match fitness and executing team plans, and the Stallions did that.
“Our fitness showed we’re getting to a level where we need to be for the season, which was good to see at this early stage of the year,” Raniolo said. “We’ve been training hard for the past eight weeks.
“The negative was that we let in three goals, so there’s still a little bit of work to be done.”
It’s said of every cup campaign that the battle is for ‘the magic of the cup’.
For Brimbank’s players, getting their club’s name back into the bowl for another round, and potentially drawing a club from a higher league or a different part of Victoria, is exciting.
“The FFA Cup is fantastic,” Raniolo said. “The boys always look forward to it.
“We don’t know who we’re playing; we’re not playing the teams in our league, and it gives them the opportunity and the belief that we can go further.
“Some of these clubs have reached the quarter-finals and the semi-finals of the cup when they weren’t expected to reach that level, and it gives our guys a sense of ‘can we go to the fourth or fifth round?’,” Raniolo said.
“To match yourselves up against better teams in higher leagues is good for them – it motivates them to get going.”
Meanwhile, Keilor Wolves advanced to the second round of the FFA Cup after a 1-0 win over Casey Panthers.
