Words: Michael Flynn
Image: Sunshine Coast FC

Sunshine Coast FC captain Reyze Kelly is hoping to make amends for last year’s shock Westfield FFA Cup exit when his side face Kawana SC on Tuesday night.

Fire were an early casualty of 2014 qualifying when they were defeated on penalties by third-tier community club Caloundra FC following a 3-3 extra time draw at Sunshine Coast Stadium.

This year’s opponents also play in Sunshine Coast Football’s McDonald’s Premier Men’s competition, however Kelly is adamant Fire have learned their lesson and are confident of becoming the region's last club standing in the Westfield FFA Cup.

“The big lesson that we took out of last year was understanding never to take your opposition for granted,” Kelly said.

“That first ten and fifteen minutes are important when you’re trying to get the game going your way and last year we had the momentum but we didn’t do much with it and we paid the price.”

Kelly admitted that not qualifying for the inaugural national Round of 32 meant Fire were more determined than ever to put their best foot forward in the competition in 2015.

“It was very upsetting to miss out on the first ever FFA Cup. It’s a big new cup in the country and something you definitely don’t want to miss out on.”

“We’ve got the club’s successful history behind us and we have a point to prove to the rest of Queensland and the country that we are a club that should be recognised as playing good football.”

“We are determined to get a result and determined to go as far as possible in the FFA Cup.”

He added the possibility of hosting a Hyundai A-League club at their Sunshine Coast Stadium home ground was also a big lure for the club and players in seeking to qualify for the Round of 32, with the venue previously hosting pre-season matches involving top flight clubs.

“We got great facilities and a good atmosphere and the FFA Cup is a great opportunity to get an A-League club back to the stadium and see the community respond to that as well.”

Fire have recorded mixed results in recent weeks - including two straight losses in PlayStation® 4 NPL Queensland - but Kelly said he didn’t believe that would have much impact on his side’s approach to the clash.

However, he conceded that two red cards in their past three outings for ill-discipline was something that had been addressed by the Fire playing group and coaching staff.

“We’ve had a discussion as a team about setting the standards and not losing our heads whether the result is going with us or not,” he explained.

“If someone gets under your skin then that’s just part-and-parcel of the game and something you have to deal with.”

“When you’re coming up against lower division teams they have a point to prove and in terms of physical challenges they are always up there. So it’s something that we have definitely addressed.”

Fire currently sit fourth in the league table, mocking pre-season predictions they would be amongst the also-rans in this year’s competition.

Kelly said, “A big thing for us has been that we heard the expectations that people had of us and we are out to prove them wrong.”

“We are out to try and rebuild the old Fire mentality and the results we got in the QSL days and we are here to play finals football,” he concluded.

Fixture Details:

Westfield FFA Cup Sunshine Coast Zone Round 5
Kawana SC v Sunshine Coast FC
Kawana Soccer Club
Tuesday, May 26
Kick-off - 7:30PM