Sydney set to fire big guns at cup minnows

Tuesday, 18 September 2018:

DANIEL DE SILVA of the Mariners in action during the A-League match between the Central Coast and the Western Sydney Wanderers at Central Coast Stadium in Gosford, Australia.
DANIEL DE SILVA of the Mariners in action during the A-League match between the Central Coast and the Western Sydney Wanderers at Central Coast Stadium in Gosford, Australia.


Sydney FC are set to unleash some of their heavy new attacking artillery against aspiring FFA Cup giant-killers Avondale FC on Wednesday.

The Sky Blues have included new imports Adam le Fondre and Siem de Jong in a near full strength squad for the quarter-final tie in Melbourne.

Playmaker Daniel de Silva is the only frontline player unavailable, as he continues to train after recovering from a hamstring injury.

Sydney's two former English Premier League players have played in a couple of behind-closed-doors practice matches.

Striker le fondre scored three times across those games, bagging a brace against Newcastle, while Dutch international de Jong has also shown up well.

'"They are great guys, they've fitted in really well," Sydney coach Steve Corica said.

He said both could start on Wednesday and the club may wait until January before filling their last import spot.

Avondale are looking for a second big win this week, after scoring three late goals to overturn a 3-1 deficit and reach the Victorian NPL grand final.

Sydney have already beaten two other non A-League sides in earlier rounds.

"We've definitely looked at them and made sure we've done our research," Corica said of Avondale.

'We're 11 weeks into pre-season, so we're pretty fit and obviously preparing for the start of the (A-League) season, but this is a cup game and the attitude needs to be right."

Avondale's ranks include goalkeeper Chris Oldfield, who sat on the Sydney FC bench on four occasions in the 2016-17 season as an injury replacement.

"We know him well, but they've got a good strike force (in Liam) Boland, (Kaine) Sheppard and (Jonatan) Germano if he plays," Corica said.

The other quarter-final tie on Wednesday will be an all A-League affair, with Melbourne City hosting Western Sydney Wanderers.

City's Osama Malik is injured while there are registration issues over one or two of their players.

Belgian international Ritchie de Laet is one of those, and newly signed Curtis Good may be another.

"We know we have to show our best because we play against a good side," Wanderers' coach Markus Babbel said.

The two remaining quarter-finals will be played next week.

NSW NPL giant-killers Apia Leichhardt will look to add Adelaide United to the scalp of reigning A-League champions Melbourne Victory, while there's an all-NPL Victoria clash between Bentleigh Greens and Heidelberg United.






AAP






Check out FREE Full Race results for nine separate countries.