They took down a NSW NPL outfit last round, but Wollongong United will face their biggest Australia Cup test yet on Wednesday night.
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The Premier League side will hit the road to face NPL1 club Blacktown City in a round-six Cup match. At stake is a ticket to NSW's round of eight in the nationwide competition.
Wollongong United progressed to the sixth round after coming back from a goal down at halftime to defeat NPL3 side Dunbar Rovers 2-1 in mid-May, while Blacktown took down their NPL rivals Sutherland 2-1.
United coach Billy Tsovolos knows this task will be even harder, but says his team is prepared to give it a red-hot crack.
"By far and away, they're better than anyone that we've faced so far. They're a really good team," he said.
"We've definitely got nothing to lose. No one really expects us to go out and match them, so we can play with a bit of freedom. If we're going to have any chance of take anything out of their game, we've got to try and get in a fight with them for 45, 60 minutes and try stay in the battle. And then I think we can jag something towards the end.
"We've watched them play a couple of times and they're obviously a quality football side, but they're also very fit, energetic and play quite direct as well. They're just a well-rounded good side."
As has been the story of 2022, United's preparation for the clash has been hampered due to rain. The side has had limited training sessions in recent weeks, while they've played just one league game since their last Cup encounter.
"It's not ideal, but we're used to it by now," Tsovolos said. "We got a [training] session in on Monday night in preparation for it, and then we'll go into the game on Wednesday night."
United are the sole Premier League club left in the Australia Cup and just the second team remaining from the Illawarra, alongside the Wollongong Wolves.
The Wolves will also be in action on Wednesday night, with Luke Wilkshire's men hosting Sydney Northern Shore outfit Lindfield FC at Ian McLennan Park.
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
