FQPL ladder leaders ATW, unbeaten in all competitions this season, will take on Edge Hill United Tigers in round seven of the Australia Cup. Read the full match preview:
FQPL ladder leaders ATW, unbeaten in all competitions this season, will take on Edge Hill United Tigers in round seven of the Australia Cup.
ATW have already equalled the best result from a Wide Bay side in the national competition’s history and a win over the Tigers will set up an ever bigger clash against the Gold Coast Knights in Bundaberg.
Coach Irvine said he was excited about what lay in store for his team if they were to defeat their Cairns rivals, but was taking nothing for granted, particularly as the Waves lost to the Tigers last season in the Queensland Champions League.
“They’ve had a lot of success as a football club and they’re a good outfit. They are at this stage for a reason,” Irvine said.
“All we can do is be prepared the best we can be. I have done the homework.
09/06/2023 – Crios O’Hare is Edge Hill United’s top scorer this season. Picture: Stewart McLean
“I believe they are beatable.”
$2million to expand Bundaberg fire and emergency facilities
Irvine said his players had not let themselves think too much about the possibility of taking in the current NPL Queensland leaders in the last 64, saying all the focus was on the job in hand against the Tigers.
“When you get to this point of the competition you worry or focus less on what the opposition is doing and just look at your own processes,” he said.
“You need to look at what’s got you to where you are.
“We will come out the Waves way.
“We will throw the kitchen sink at them and win, lose or draw I know that the players I have will give me everything they have got.”
Irvine said a good run in the national cup competition was not only good for Across The Waves but also good for Wide Bay football, which he says is in its best shape for a number of years.
“One of our former players, Dylan Leggett, is playing for Redlands in NPL Queensland because he got noticed in the Champions League last season,” he said.
“He’s living proof that those opportunities are there. I think it’s tremendous that we are getting noticed because of competitions such as the Australia Cup.
“As for the Wide Bay competition, I think it’s probably as good as I have seen it for a few years.
09/06/2023 – Captain/coach Crios O’Hare is Edge Hill United’s star player and needs to be closely watched. Picture: Sharon Woodward
“The top five in particular are so close that I am not confident of picking the top four come finals.
“I think that’s good for the competition that you are not guaranteed who’s going to win and who’s going to be the top four.”
Irvine said teenage striker Preston Cox had been a standout this season but added Saturday’s clash would be a challenge against a strong Tigers outfit.
He added that central midfielders Corey Leggett and Zach Nicholas were key to success and his central defensive partnership of Simon Quick and Hayden Lobegeier were also in for a tough night against Edge Hill’s top scorer, captain/coach Crios O’Hare.
“Preston has been brilliant so far this season,” Irvine said.
“But the better the opposition get, the fewer chances will come around and you have to take them when they come along.
“Our centre-backs both need to step up on the weekend because we know after doing our research that their captain/coach is a real talent.
“He knows what the goal looks like and knows how to put the ball in it.”
Kick off for the big match is on Saturday, June 10, kicking off at 5pm at The Waves Sports Complex in Bundaberg.