Words: Michael Flynn & Matt Dorman

Hume City will feature a pair of former PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland stars when they face Brisbane Strikers in the Westfield FFA Cup on Wednesday night.

Former Olympic FC and Brisbane Roar Youth winger Jai Ingham and former Moreton Bay United attacking midfielder Daniel Clark will both line up in the club’s traditional red strip for the Round of 32 clash at ABD Stadium in Melbourne.

Ingham made a combined total of 34 appearances in PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland in the competition’s first two seasons and scored 27 goals, and made his Hyundai A-League debut for Roar in early 2014.

The 21-year-old has carried that form to PlayStation 4 NPL Victoria since joining Hume City in the off-season, delivering 5 goals in 16 appearances to help his club to sixth place in the league standings.

Ingham said he and his teammates were not afraid of taking the game to the current PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland league leaders on Wednesday night.

“Our team is very confident at the moment. We want to make it into the top 16. That’s our goal, to play an A-League club at our ground which would be huge for the club and huge for the community,” Ingham said.

He said while the quality of football wasn’t markedly different in the higher profile Victorian competition, the hype certainly was.

“It’s a lot more professional (in Victoria). The facilities, the coaches, it’s full on here. Football is huge in Melbourne and I think that’s why it’s a bit bigger and a bit stronger here,” Ingham explained.

“In terms of the standard, they’re similar in some ways but I think it’s just a bit more physical here. There’s a lot of quality players in each team that can cause havoc at any given moment.”

Clark wasn’t part of the Moreton Bay United team that was eliminated by Strikers earlier this year in the preliminary stages of the Westfield FFA Cup, meaning he isn’t cup-tied for the match.

However, the 25-year-old attacker, who netted four goals in nine matches as Jets soared to the top of PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland standings earlier this year, said Wednesday’s clash wasn’t about avenging that defeat.

“I was a bit disappointed with that result. That will definitely be in the back of my mind. But I play for Hume now and it will be first and foremost about winning the game and hopefully we can,” Clark said.

Clark also downplayed his status as a potential ‘x-factor’ in the match, explaining that to defeat Strikers every member of the Hume squad will need to be at the top of their game.

“It’s eleven men on the field and obviously your substitutes as well. It’s your squad that gets you through on the day.”

“If enough of us perform on the day we can beat anyone. It’s about everyone performing, doing the right thing and we should see the results,” Clark concluded.

Fixture Details:
Westfield FFA Cup Round of 32
Hume City FC v Brisbane Strikers FC v
ABD Stadium, Melbourne
Wednesday, July 29
Kick-off: 7:30PM

*This match will be live streamed by official broadcast partner Fox Sports (www.foxsports.com.au)