They may be short on match fitness, but coach Billy Tsovolos believes the experience of Wollongong United's core group will hold them in good stead for their next Australia Cup challenge.
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United will travel to Sydney to face NSW NPL3 club Dunbar Rovers on Wednesday night in a round five Cup clash. There will be plenty at stake at Fraser Park, with a place in NSW's round of 16 - and a potential shot at the national round of 32 - on offer for the winner.
United will enter the game short of a gallop, as wet weather continues to decimate the action in 2022. Tsovolos's men beat Central Coast United 3-0 in their last Cup fixture on April 19 and have played just one Premier League match since then, beating Woonona 2-0.
The side was set to face IPL rivals Wollongong Olympic on Sunday, however the match was postponed.
"We played an NPL3 team in the last round of the Cup, and it was of a decent standard. But it will obviously be tough for us because they'll have match fitness on their side," Tsovolos said. "They've played week in, week out and trained week in, week out, whereas we haven't. But if we play to the best of our ability, we should be alright.
"I think the experience in our squad has helped us so far throughout this season, and I don't see why that would change this week."
United are one of three Illawarra sides remaining in this year's Cup competition, alongside Wollongong Olympic and NSW NPL1 side Wollongong Wolves.
Olympic are set to take on Northern Suburbs outfit Willoughby Dalleys in round five, while the Wolves will meet Eastern Suburbs club Waverley Old Boys.
One game still remains in round four, with the Quakers Hill taking on Sydney United 58 this Thursday.
Tsovolos said he was proud that his club was still in the running in the 2022 Cup.
"It's been really good for us. I think the most important part about this comp so far is it's given us minutes and game time," he said.
"If we can win this week, it just guarantees us another 90 minutes, which we don't have that guarantee with the league at the moment. This competition has helped us maintain some form of consistency. Motivation levels are obviously struggling, like it is for everyone, but we keep managing to pick up results whenever we can."
Only four Illawarra Premier League games went ahead over the weekend, as the stop-start nature of this year's season continues.
Jordan Nikolovski scored a hat-trick as Port Kembla claimed a 3-2 win over Woonona; Coniston defeated Corrimal 3-1; the Lions and Albion Park had a 1-1 draw and South Coast United and Bellambi played out a 2-2 stalemate.
United versus Olympic was postponed to a later date, while Bulli will face the Blueys this Wednesday night.
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