Adelaide City v Playford Patriots
Westfield FFA Cup Qualifying Competition – Round 1

When: Saturday, April 2^nd, kick-off 2:30pm
Where: Adelaide City Park, Fosters Road, OAKDEN

Preview:

Playford City will look to cause a massive upset in Round 1 of the Westfield FFA Cup qualifying competition as they take on Adelaide City.

The enormous gap between the two sides is no secret, with Playford sitting bottom of the State League, while Adelaide City are the giants of the cup competition holding the record for most wins with 16.

The patriots will surely go into the contest with the odds firmly stacked against them, given that City have played in three of the last four Cup finals and have won it twice after going back to back in 2013 and 14.

It will be even tougher for Playford, having cut ties with head coach Gerard Ambassa Guy midway through last week after a poor run of early results.

Playford’s Scott Bice said the decision was unexpected, but it has not halted the clubs task on the field.

“To be honest the impact hasn’t been too big,” he said.

“The departure came as a shock to the playing group but we haven’t really had time to think about it as we have had to focus solely on trying to improve our season.

“Bill Davidson (Reserves coach) has handled the new role very well, it hasn’t taken long for him to put his stamp on the team and we are starting to see a change already.”

The underdogs will be coming up against a rampant City who put seven past Raiders in round 5 of the PlayStation 4 National Premier League.

Though league form does not necessarily add up to much when it comes to the Cup, Josh Mori said his teammates had faith in their abilities in front of goal.

“Last week’s game has given us a lot of confidence coming into the game this weekend.

“It showed that we can put the ball in the back of the net, so hopefully this week we can keep putting them away.”

City fell at the final hurdle last year in their quest for a three peat, going down to Croydon Kings 2-0 in the final.

Mori said that the black and whites would be looking to get their revenge this year and put another trophy into the cabinet at Oakden.

“We are looking to win everything this year and to rectify our loss last year in the cup.

“With the quality we have this year and with the signings we have made, we can do that.

“It’s been seen that we are a great cup team and we will be looking to replicate what we have shown in the last three cups, starting on Saturday.”

Bice said last weeks improved result, a two all draw with Sturt Lions, had given the side confidence heading into the cup round, but were weary none the less given the quality City possess in their squad.

“The confidence of the team has improved a lot after our last performance against Sturt on Saturday, and we look forward to a big test against City.

“Adelaide City area very good side, so I’m expecting them to come out strong and pressure us from the start.

“They have very good players, they are smart players as well so it will be a big test for us.

“I think if we are up for the battle and bring the right intensity then you never know what can happen in a game of soccer.”

City have little, if any at all, knowledge of the way Playford play and the players they have given the difference in leagues, but Mori said he was expecting the game to be hard fought.

“I think we can expect a hard working team that’s going to put us under a lot of pressure.

“To be honest, I haven’t seen much of them, but we approach every game the same way.

“We need to play our style of play that we have showed these last few rounds, if we do this we will get the win.”

Written by Brendan Simpkins - @TheRealSimpkins