The eyes of Australian football will be on Coopers Stadium on Tuesday night when Adelaide United and Perth Glory vie to capture the first silverware of the season and write their name into the history of the sport in this country by claiming the inaugural Westfield FFA Cup.
Josep Gombau and Eugene Galekovic have reaffirmed Adelaide United’s desire to win the inaugural final of the Westfield FFA Cup against Perth Glory on Tuesday night, stating the match is set to be as thrilling as any.
Head-coach, Josep Gombau, said that not only would triumph against Perth be an important milestone for the club in general, but also a just reward for the tireless efforts of the players he has worked with for close to a season-and-a-half.
“We need to think that for us as a club this game is very important because we can win a trophy and it’s not every year that you can win one,” Gombau said.
“The players also deserve this for all of the hard work they are doing in the last two seasons that I have been here. I wish that the people from Adelaide can enjoy the game and that we can win it.”
The Spaniard went on to say that although the Reds are set to come up against Hyundai A-League competition in the Glory, the final won’t be like a normal Hyundai A-League match because something more valuable than three points will be up for grabs.
“A final is different (from domestic games). A final is just one game and it’s all, or nothing. You can’t expect anything (but to win) and that’s the mentality that you need.
“The small (things) will change the game. Mistakes, set pieces, other small things in football that sometimes you don’t take care with that tomorrow will all (decide the winner).
“They have a good squad and what I like from them is that they play as a team. In the end they can score with (any) man and if you see them playing it’s a compact team and normally those who play like a team have an advantage.
“But we’re also more of a team than individual players. We’re a very close group and now we’re hungry to win this trophy. Tomorrow is a good opportunity and it will be a good game for sure.
“They are on fire, they’re on top (of the Hyundai A-League), and they’re winning a lot of games. We’ll respect them a lot.”
And United’s captain, Eugene Galekovic, was in total agreement with his manager, declaring Perth’s success so far in this A-League campaign to not be by accident. He also noted the influence a sold-out Coopers Stadium will have on the tie, but said his side can not become complacent with having home-support, as perseverance and hard work will be as important as ever.
“The final is in Adelaide and we don’t really get this sort of opportunity to have a big game here (often),” Galekovic said.
“It’s a great chance for the boys to show what they can do tomorrow night in front of the home crowd and potentially bring a trophy home.
“Perth are on top of the Hyundai A-League table for a reason. They’re a very good team, but the big advantage for us is that we’re playing on home soil.
“(But) if we think we’re just going to rock-up (to the game) and win just because we’re playing at home, it’s not going to happen. We’re going to have to fight and do everything right to win.
“(The match) is in Adelaide, in front of our home supporters and we’re very good at Coopers, so it’s going to be a good game and the best team will win on the day.”
Touching on the recent injury-cloud that has surrounded duo Marcelo Carrusca and Nigel Boogaard, Gombau said both trained with the team in their final session before the big game, with Carrusca set to be in the starting XI for the clash, but a final decision regarding Boogaard’s availabilty is yet to be made.
MATCH DETAILS
Tuesday, 16 December 2014
Coopers Stadium, Hindmarsh
Kick-off: 7:00pm local (7:30pm AEDT)
SQUADS
Adelaide United squad: 1.Eugene GALEKOVIC (GK) (c), 2.Michael MARRONE, 3.Nigel BOOGAARD, 4.Dylan McGOWAN, 7.PABLO SÁNCHEZ, 8.ISAÍAS, 9.Sergio CIRIO, 10.Marcelo CARRUSCA, 11.Bruce DJITE, 14.Cameron WATSON, 15.Ben WARLAND, 17.Awer MABIL, 18.Jimmy JEGGO, 21.Tarek ELRICH, 22.Fabio FERREIRA, 24.Bruce KOMAU, 30.John HALL (GK), 32.Nathan KONSTANDOPOULOS **two to be omitted**
Perth Glory squad: 1.Daniel VUKOVIC (GK), 2.Jack CLISBY, 3.Brandon O’NEILL, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 8.Ruben ZADKOVICH, 9.Andy KEOGH, 10.Nebojsa MARINKOVIC, 11.Richard GARCIA, 14.Chris HAROLD, 15.Jamie MACLAREN, 16.Sidnei SCOILA, 17.Mitch NICHOLS, 18.Jack DUNCAN (GK), 19.Josh RISDON, 20.Daniel DE SILVA, 21.Scott JAMIESON, 23.Michael THWAITE (c), 24.Rostyn GRIFFITHS **two to be omitted**
Hashtag: #FFACupFinal
TV broadcast: LIVE and exclusive on FOX SPORTS 505
Radio broadcast: 891 ABC Adelaide, ABC South Australia, FIVEaa 1395AM, Grandstand Digital around the country, online at www.abc.net.au/grandstand and on the ABC Smartphone app
Referee: Chris Beath
Assistant Referee 1: George Lakrindis
Assistant Referee 2: Anton Shchetinin
Fourth Official: Jonathan Barreiro
AAR 1: Kris Griffiths-Jones
AAR 2: Shaun Evans
