Waratah Cup Quarter Final Draw announced
The stage has been set as eight teams are primed for battle to win the right to take part in the inaugural Westfield FFA Cup as the Waratah Cup Quarter Final draw has been officially announced.
Wednesday 21st May - Sydney Olympic v Sydney United 58 FC – Venue TBA (7:30pm)
It will be a classic IGA NPL NSW Mens 1 affair as two historical heavyweights of the Australian game Sydney Olympic host Sydney United 58 FC in what will be a fantastic match up.
Grant Lee’s side have had a good start to 2014 managing a string of wins which has currently perched the Blues in the top six but will know that they will have their work cut out when they face the Reds.
The Blues have had Harris Gaitatzis and Evan Kostopoulos to thank as the pair have been in dynamic form and have both been lethal in front of goals. Along with the pair, experienced goalkeeper Paul Henderson has steadied the ship really well.
One such player that knows his opponents inside out will be midfielder Petar Markovic who spent almost his entire football life with the Reds. He will be out to prove a point with Mark Rudan’s men hoping Cup success can add some spark in their indifferent league campaign.
The Reds have struggled for consistency in 2014 but were hit with a number of injuries to key players earlier in the year.
That said, the Reds have recently recruited rather well with the likes of Kaz Patafta, Alec Urosevski and Daniel Petkovski donning the United 58 strip. Club Captain Luka Glavas will be pushing his team in more ways than one as the 2013 NPL Champions go in search for that elusive Westfield FFA Cup spot.
2014 Waratah Cup results:
Round 4
Sydney United 58 FC 4 Spirit FC 0
Central Coast Mariners Academy 1 Sydney Olympic 1 (2-3 on penalties)
Round of 16
Fraser Park 1 Sydney United 58 FC 8
Sydney Olympic 6 St George FC 0
Wednesday 21st May - Manly United v Northern Tigers – Cromer Park (7:15pm)
Cromer Park will set the scene for the local derby between IGA NPL NSW Mens 1 side Manly United take on SUPA IGA NPL NSW Mens 2 side Northern Tigers.
Paul Dee’s men have really impressed in the Cup after knocking out the Bonnyrigg White Eagles in extra time courtesy of a Nathan Sim winner at the death.
Dylan Mitchell will be one to look out for as the big custodian throws his presence in the mix while the likes of entertainers such as Scott Balderson, Brendan Cholakian and of course Chris Payne will be players the Tigers need to be very weary of.
Make no mistake, Jason Eagar will be pumping up his men for battle at Cromer Park.
Talk is that they’d love nothing more than to knock over their IGA NPL NSW Mens 1 opponents and the Tigers do have players that can unlock Manly United.
The tricky skills of Shervin Adeli as well as Aram Tayebi and Max Glanville will be on show for all to see while the much experienced trio of keeper Stuart Page, midfielder Steve Baveas and defender Daniel Cunningham will be out to enforce the Mens 2 outfit that they want that chance to mix it with Australia’s best.
The Tigers have already claimed a huge scalp in current unbeaten IGA NPL NSW Mens 1 league leaders Blacktown Spartans with a crushing 4-1 win in Round 4 of the Cup so make no mistake, they will be out to cause yet another headline.
Local derbies always bring the best out of players but something tells me that there will be some bite in this contest.
2014 Waratah Cup results:
Round 4
APIA Leichhardt Tigers 0 Manly United 2
Blacktown Spartans 1 Northern Tigers 4
Round of 16
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 1 Manly United 2
Sans Souci FC 0 Northern Tigers 3
Wednesday 21st May - Parramatta FC v South Coast Wolves - Melita Stadium (7:30pm)
The high flying SUPA IGA NPL NSW Mens 2 Parramatta FC side will have home ground advantage as their opponents, a rejuvenated South Coast Wolves make the trip from down South.
Parramatta coach Frank Cosentino has assembled a very talented squad but will be ready for a different Wolves outfit ever since the club appointed Nahuel Arrarte as the new manager.
Parramatta will have the likes of club captain Patrick Gatt as well as Shayne Ardle, Domenic Trimboli, Daniel Rezo, Frank Martey and Wandi Jajaw on hand to push for a major upset at Granville.
The Wolves understand they will be in for a fight against a team that play attractive football but under Arrarte, things have changed for the club.
The goal scoring exploits of Ricky Zucco will be looked at while the leadership skills of Jacob Timpano as well as the experience of players such as Chris Price, Michael Robinson, Matt Bailey and Peter Simonoski amongst others will hope to bring the South Coast Wolves side closer to glory.
2014 Waratah Cup results:
Round 4
Dulwich Hill 0 Parramatta FC 2
South Coast Wolves 6 Hurstville FC 0
Round of 16
Parramatta FC 3 Macarthur Rams 0
South Coast Wolves 0 Sutherland Sharks 0 (1-1aet/4-3 penalties)
Thursday 22nd May - Hakoah Sydney City v Blacktown City – Hensley Athletic Field (7:30pm)
The final match to complete the Waratah Cup Quarter Finals will feature the only remaining State League One side Hakoah Sydney City tackle IGA NPL NSW Mens 1 side Blacktown City at Hensley Athletic Field.
Hakoah have been labelled as the fairytale story in this Cup competition as they remain as the only side to represent that competition.
You would assume that this would be a push over for the high flying Blacktown City side but Mark Crittenden’s men will need to be at their best to beat a very talented outfit.
Coach and former Sydney FC player Mark Robertson has a number well known players at his disposal with the likes of former Adelaide United striker Lloyd Owusu amongst others such as former Sutherland Sharks pairing of Mike Katz and Neil Jablonski as well as a familiar surname in Kosmina.
Former Sydney FC coach John Kosmina will be a proud father as he will watch his sons Nathan and Justin line up against a team that have asserted their authority on this Cup competition.
Blacktown City have been in decent form especially up front with the likes of current IGA NPL NSW Mens 1 top scorer Travis Major alongside Japanese import Ruyji Miyazawa causing havoc in NSW’s top tier competition.
Having the services of Kearyn Baccus in midfield along with Yianni Fragogiannis, Sasa Macura and Matt Lewis as well as the defensive qualities of Zach Cairncross – this team will be out to spoil the Eastern Suburbs based club’s party.
Will the dream run continue for Hakoah? Only time will tell.
2014 Waratah Cup results:
Round 3
Dunbar Rovers 0 Hakoah Sydney City 2
Round 4
Hakoah Sydney City FC 2 v Sydney University 1
Blacktown City FC 5 Bankstown City 0
Round of 16
Hakoah Sydney City East 3 v Granville Rage 1
Blacktown City 2 v Marconi Stallions 0
Mechanics of the Waratah Cup feeding into the Westfield FFA Cup
The Quarter Final cup stage (8 teams) will act as the qualification fixtures for the Westfield FFA Cup; the winners of the respective matches (4 teams) will gain eligibility for entry to the Westfield FFA Cup.
The losers of the respective fixtures (4 teams) will play off in a fixture for two spots into the Westfield FFA Cup.
The losers of the two playoff matches (2 teams) will play off in a further playoff match for the final position that is available for the Westfield FFA Cup.
The playoff teams will be seeded prior to the Waratah Cup commencing through the pre cup draw procedure.
The match schedule will confirm the FNSW FFA Cup representatives by Thursday 12 June 2014.
The deadline for nominations to be presented to FFA for the FFA Cup is 22 June 2014.
To maintain the historical value and the prestige of the Waratah Cup competition the match schedule would continue through to the Cup final that is scheduled for Sunday 6 July 2014, this date will have no adverse impact on the Westfield FFA Cup round of 32 as it is scheduled to kick off July 22 2014.
Key Dates of the Westfield FFA Cup 2014
Event - Date
Live Draw of Westfield FFA Cup 2014 Round of 32 - Thursday, 26 June 2014
Westfield FFA Cup 2014 Round of 32 matches commence - Tuesday, 29 July 2014
Live Draw of Westfield FFA Cup 2014 Round of 16 - Thursday, 21 August 2014
Live Draw of Westfield FFA Cup 2014 Quarter Finals - Thursday, 25 September 2014
Live Draw of Westfield FFA Cup 2014 Semi Finals - Thursday, 6 November 2014
Westfield FFA Cup Final 2014 Activities W/C Monday - 8 December 2014
Westfield FFA Cup Semi Final 2014 (1) - Tuesday, 11 November 2014
Westfield FFA Cup Semi Final 2014 (2) - Tuesday, 25 November 2014
Westfield FFA Cup Final 2014 Tuesday - 16 December 2014
-By Mark Stavroulakis
