Derby D-Day For NPL Clubs In Cup
Five NPL Queensland regional clubs are set for their first taste of competitive local derby football when the Football Queensland Cup fourth round starts this week.
FNQ FC Heat, South West Queensland Thunder, Sunshine Coast Fire, Northern Fury and Palm Beach Sharks are all set to make their debuts in the new knockout competition, which serves as Queensland’s pathway to the FFA Cup.
Four clubs from the Sunshine State will qualify for the national draw later this year, and for NPL Queensland sides the qualifying path is looming large in their calculations in coming weeks.
The clubs will compete in against the qualifiers from their local member zones before the winners from neighbouring zones face-off in the next round.
The first cab off the rank is Palm Beach Sharks, who line-up against Gold Coast Premier League club Murwillumbah on Wednesday night at Mallawa Complex.
Sharks defeated Murwillumbah in pre-season, however head coach Grae Piddick expects a tougher contest in the heady atmosphere of a knockout derby.
“We had a fairly convincing win but it was very early in pre-season and a lot of their key players weren’t playing,” Piddick explained.
“Whenever a team plays against one that is in a higher competition they lift and Murwillumbah have some good players ,so if they have a good go they can cause us a lot of trouble.”
Piddick’s Sharks side are currently undefeated in the NPL Queensland after five rounds and are hoping to maintain that form in the cutthroat cup format.
“The boys are pretty positive at the moment and we didn’t play on the weekend (due to the weather), so they will be very fresh,” he added.
“It will definitely be a different atmosphere compared to NPL. For the club it’s probably the most important game of the season from their point of view, and they want to certain we win.”
The Cairns-based Heat will face a familiar adversary, lining up against former Queensland State League club Mareeba Bulls at Borzi Park in Mareeba on April 20.
Bulls feature former A-League player Wayne Shroj and last year’s Heat captain Alex Plowman amongst their playing stocks in the battle for Far North bragging rights.
Heat head coach Peter Tokesi said he expected a tough battle against the side he previously guided in the QSL.
“I expect they are rubbing their hands with glee thinking they might get past us because our form in the early season has been pretty ordinary to say the least,” Tokesi conceded.
However, he stressed his charges were up for the challenge and explained the importance of the competition to regional clubs.
“I’m looking forward to the whole concept of the cup as everyone else is. Depending on who wins we get to play the winner from Townsville and then maybe go on to play against an A-League side (in the FFA Cup).”
“For the regions it’s a big thing, with the FFA Cup coming in we get to see where we really are on the football map.”
Sunshine Coast Fire will also renew acquaintances with former players and staff when they face-off against Caloundra FC on a date yet to be confirmed.
Caloundra are coached by former Fire QSL gaffer Richard Hudson and feature former Fire players Dale Hill, Rhys Roberts and Kayne Frew.
Fire head coach Kevin A’herne-Evans said he expected a tough match against the local club, who sit fifth in the Sunshine Coast top division.
“We can’t wait to be honest. We’ve been talking about it since the news came out about the FFA Cup.”
“Drawing Caloundra adds that extra spice with all some many ex-players who have been involved with the Fire set-up in some capacity amongst their ranks.”
“We’re not disillusioned about how hard it will be when we play against them because they have a lot of quality in there that we would love to have in our squad.”
“I watched them play in their game against Noosa. That’s how serious we are taking it for the technical staff to turn up there and analyse the game and identify their strengths and weaknesses.”
South-West Queensland Thunder will face Willowburn on April 15 at Toowoomba’s Clive Berghofer Stadium to determine which side can claim to be ‘king of the mountain’.
Willowburn, who were founded in 1949, are oldest football club in Toowoomba’s club competitions and currently hold the Premiership and President’s Cup titles.
The match will serve as a chance for Thunder to return to winning ways following a lacklustre start to life in the National Premier Leagues, including a 6-0 last up result at home to Brisbane City.
Northern Fury are awaiting the result of the upcoming Round 3 match between North Queensland club sides Brothers and Townsville Warriors ahead of their first cup fixture on April 16 at Townsville Sports Reserve.
Football Queensland Cup fixtures featuring NPL Queensland clubs:
Gold Coast Zone
2nd April 2014
Palm Beach Sharks v Murwillumbah FC
at Mallawa Complex, Gold Coast
South-West Queensland Zone
15th April 2014
South-West Queensland Thunder v Willowburn FC
at Clive Berhofer Stadium, Toowoomba
North Queensland Zone
16th April 2014
Northern Fury v (Winner of Brothers & Warriors)
at Townsville Sports Reserve, Townsville
Far North Queensland Zone
20th April 2014
Mareeba Bulls v FNQ FC Heat
at Borzi Park, Mareeba
Sunshine Coast Zone
Date to be confirmed
Sunshine Coast Fire v Caloundra FC
at Stockland Park Precinct, Sunshine Coast
Words: Michael Flynn (Football Queensland)
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