Wollongong Wolves eager for Australia Cup challenge against Waverley Old Boys

The Wollongong NSW National Premier League side will travel to Miranda to take on Eastern Suburbs outfit Waverley Old Boys in a round five fixture in the Australia Cup (formerly FFA Cup).

All is at stake at Seymour Shaw Park, with a ticket to the NSW's final round of 16 on offer for the winner.

The Wolves will enter the game as favourites, but face a short turnaround, having only played on Sunday at the same venue. The visitors were reduced to 10 men after Leroy Jennings received his second yellow card, but held on for a gutsy 1-0 NPL victory over Sutherland.

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Jennings is one of two key players set to miss Wednesday night's clash.

"[Lachlan] Scott has a little knock so he'll be out and Leroy is suspended, but everyone else is all good," Wilkshire said.

"It's a three-day turnaround, and then we don't play again until Sunday, so that gives us a bit more of recovery time after this game on Wednesday. There might be a few changes, but it's about us performing and making sure we do the job and get through."

Waverley Old Boys booked their ticket for the Cup's fifth round with a convincing 4-0 win over the Connells Point Rovers last month. That result followed victories over Hurstville City Minotaurs (3-1) and Port Kembla (6-2).

However, Wilkshire said he didn't know much about his opponents.

"It's a Cup final for these sort of teams, they're unpredictable to us," he said.

"But, again, it's all about the boys looking to turn around quickly and perform."

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The Wolves are one of three Illawarra teams left in this year's Cup competition.

Illawarra Premier League team Wollongong Olympic will take on Northern Suburbs club Willoughby Dalleys in a round five clash next Tuesday, while Wollongong United advanced into the state's round of 16 following a 2-1 victory over Dunbar Rovers last week.

The NSW NPL3 outfit had led 1-0 at half time in miserable conditions, before United's Mason Versi mustered the equaliser in the 60^th minute. With the clock then ticking down to the final whistle, Klime Sekutkoski stepped up to produce the winning header.

"It wasn't our prettiest performance, but the conditions didn't really suit playing good football, so we were able to grind out a 2-1 win and progress to the next stage," United coach Billy Tsovolos said.

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