St Albans Soccer Club has been drawn to meet Parramatta FC in Sydney in the first round of the inaugural national FFA Cup.
The cup is a 32-team knockout competition made up of the 10 A-League clubs and 22 clubs that play in the National Premier League (NPL).
St Albans qualified for the inaugural FFA Cup through its Dockerty Cup quarter-final victory against Northcote City two weeks ago.
Saints’ committee member Joseph Hovanjec says the club is excited by the concept.
“It was a bit of an unknown factor. You don’t know who you’re going to face. Half the people in our club were crossing their fingers for an A-League club. The other half were hoping for a smaller club so we might progress through the early rounds.”
Parramatta plays in the second division of the New South Wales NPL. It’s on top of the division, having lost just two games.
St Albans competes in the second division of the Victorian NPL and is sixth on the table.
Hovanjec is expecting a tough encounter.
“We regard ourselves to be of similar ilk to them. They’re an ex-national league side, so they have a bit of history behind them.
“They feel like they have the right to be there and will probably see themselves as the bigger club.
“We’ll certainly be up for the match.”
Not just content with qualifying for the FFA Cup, St Albans is also intent on making an impact in the competition.
“Videos of some of their [Parramatta’s] games have been put on websites, similar to what the Football Federation Victoria has done with NPL games,” Hovanjec said.
“We’ll do our homework and understand what their strengths and weaknesses are.
“We’re taking this seriously because we’re thinking beyond the first round.”
Hovanjec said the Saints were hoping to win their way through to a meeting against an A-League club.
The draw for Victorian clubs in the first round of the FFA Cup is:
Melbourne City v Sydney FC
Parramatta FC v St Albans Saints
Olympic FC v Melbourne Knights
South Springvale v South Cardiff FC
Blacktown City v Bentleigh Greens
Bayswater City v Melbourne Victory
