Pursuit of the Cup
WHERE THE SMALLEST TEAMS
CAN STEP ONTO THE BIGGEST PITCHES
Weekend Preview by Numbers
21st-23rd March, 2014
FFA Cup Qualification is now getting towards the business end of things, with the NPL clubs from most States getting ready for their first Cup tie. The week just gone also marks an important point, because over half of the original 620 clubs vying for an FFA Cup berth have now been eliminated. This weekend involves games from Round 2 of the NSW Waratah Cup, Round 4 of Victoria's Dockerty Cup, Round 2 of Tasmania’s Lakoseljac Cup, and various rounds of both Queensland's FQ Cup, and the NNSW State Cup. This weekend also sees the first games involving NPL clubs from Victoria and Tasmania.
This is how the weekend ahead looks:
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There are 300 clubs left fighting for 21 spots in the FFA Cup Round of 32 (Tuggeranong United have already been allocated ACT's spot). By the end of the weekend that number will be down to 235, and the qualification rounds will be 64% complete.
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A total of 65 FFA Cup Qualification games will be played between Friday and Sunday:
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- VIC - 29
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- NSW - 15
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- NNSW - 10
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- TAS - 8
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- QLD - 3
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Of the 65 games to be played, 29 involve two clubs from different tiers of the football pyramid, meaning there are plenty of chances for some Cupsets, and more admissions to the Pursuit of the Cup Honour Roll.
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More NPL clubs from around the country are getting involved in FFA Cup qualifying for the first time this weekend.
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- Twenty one NPL clubs are involved in 16 games this weekend (VIC and TAS), including five NPL vs NPL games:
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In Victoria:
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Green Gully Cavaliers vs Ballarat Red Devils
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Oakleigh Cannons vs Werribee City
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Port Melbourne vs Northcote City
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Dandenong Thunder vs Heidelberg United
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In Tasmania:
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Northern Rangers vs Olympia FC Warriors
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More details of these games can be found here - FFA Cup Qualification
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- Of the 87 NPL clubs around Australia eligible for qualification to the FFA Cup, 13 have already been eliminated.
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- By the end of the weekend a minimum of five more NPL clubs will have been eliminated, and possibly up to 16.
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From the Honour Roll:
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Eight clubs who have already knocked out higher-tiered opponents (hence admission to the Honour Roll) are involved in games this weekend:
- St Kilda (State League 4) are having a dream run at the moment, already having knocked out State League 2 side Seaford United and State League 1 side Diamond Valley United. They face an even tougher test against NPL side Bentleigh Greens in Round 4.
- Eltham Redbacks (State League 5) have also pulled off more than one upset victory, beating both Endeavour United (SL4) and Old Camberwell Grammarians (SL4), but will pull of an even bigger shock if they can beat Fawkner Blues (State League 1) on Saturday.
- St Kevins Old Boys, North Sunshine Eagles, Corio SC and Preston Lions are all in action, and will be looking to keep their cup run alive, while moving up the Honour Roll.
- In NNSW, University Mens FC (Zone League 2) will face New Lambton Eagles (Zone Premier League), while Beresfield United (Zone League 1) faces Medowie FC (Zone League 2) and will be expecting to progress to the next round.
Good luck to all Honour Roll clubs this weekend!
If there are any other stats or figures you'd like to see, please let us know at pursuitofthecup@gmail.com.
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