The Western Sydney Wanderers take on Queensland NPL club Palm Beach Sharks in the FFA Cup Round of 16.
The Western Sydney Wanderers travel to Queensland buoyed by a 2-0 win against Brisbane Roar in the last round of the FFA Cup. Still in the grips of pre-season, the performance from the Wanderers was rusty to say the least. As the A-League inches ever closer, Western Sydney will be keen to make a statement against the Sharks and banish memories of its shock early exit from the tournament last year.
Led by manager Grae Piddick, the Palm Beach Sharks survived a penalty shootout against South Melbourne to advance to the FFA Cup Round of 16. The Queensland NPL club is no stranger to the competition, qualifying for last year’s quarter-finals before losing 5-0 to the Central Coast Mariners.
Key Battle – Brendon Santalab vs Kristian Rees
After a lengthy shoulder injury, Wanderers goal poacher Brendon Santalab will make a return to the Wanderers starting line-up for this FFA Cup clash. Palm Beach central defender Kristian Rees will be the man dealt the job of blunting Santalab’s influence in the attacking third. The 35-year-old central defender has plenty of A-League experience and will be well up for the challenge of keeping Santalab quiet.
Team News
Palm Beach Sharks Squad: 1.Shane VIITAKANGAS (gk), 2.Matthew JONES, 3.Jason CAMPBELL, 4.Tim JACKSON, 5.Martin VAZQUEZ, 6.Lochlan REUS, 7.Justyn McKAY, 8.Florian MATK, 9.Rees DUNCAN, 10.Adam ENDEAN,11.Nikola MIRKOVIC, 12.Nikki FELIZATTO, 13.Joshua RIIS, 14.Ethan GRIMLEY, 15.Eoghan MURPHY, 16.Jack BOXELL, 17.Kristian REES, 18.Roman HOFMANN, 19.John COSTELLO, 20.Andrew PURNELL-WEBB (gk), 21.Ben LITFIN
Western Sydney Wanderers Squad: 1.Dean BOUZANIS (gk), 2.Shannon COLE, 3.Scott JAMIESON, 4.Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 5.Brendan HAMILL, 6.Mitch NICHOLS, 7.Romeo CASTELEN, 8.Dimas DELGADO, 9.Federico PIOVACCARI, 11.Brendan SANTALAB, 12.Scott NEVILLE, 14.Golgol MEBRAHTU, 15.Kearyn BACCUS, 16.Jaushua SOTIRIO, 17.Alberto AGUILAR, 19.Mark BRIDGE (c), 20.Andrew REDMAYNE (gk), 21.Jacob PEPPER, 22.Jonathan ASPROPOTAMITIS, 32.Daniel ALESSI, 33.Josh MACDONALD, 36.Liam YOULLEY
Prediction
The unpredictability of the FFA Cup is half its appeal and one would be naive to assume that the Wanderers will comfortably prevail in this match. No matter the outcome, expect Palm Beach set up in its traditional counter-attacking system.
Western Sydney Wanderers 1 Palm Beach Sharks 0
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