With perhaps the biggest game in Billy Tsovolos' short coaching career on Wednesday night, you could forgive the former IPL George Naylor medallist for feeling a little overwhelmed by the occasion, but this is far from the case.
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Tsovolos will be treating this massive Australia Cup round of 32 contest just like any other game and he said as long as his players do the same, United will have every chance of progressing further into the competition.
The United coach said while the spectacle was something to be very excited about, the key to getting through to the next round of the competition was to keep their cool.
"We've just got to embrace the occasion because we've been in games like this before as a club. Whether its a grand final at WIN Stadium or a massive game such as this, with the stakes raised and with a big crowd in attendance it makes our standards naturally go up another gear," Tsovolos said.
"I think any nerves or excitement we have is a good thing for us and we just need to use that to fuel us on the field."
Tsovolos said whilst he was weary of the threat Green Gully possess, with the side currently sitting fourth in the Victorian top-tier, he was confident he has the players at his disposal to cause them problems.
"Mason [Versi] has been huge for us all season and especially in the Cup. Then you've got players like Klime [Sekutkoski] who's scored around 10 goals for us this season, Mitsuo [Yamada] is always one of our most dangerous players and we've got youngsters stepping up like Josh [Correia] on the weekend popping up with a couple of goals," he said.
"We've got really dangerous players all across our front line so I'm expecting one, if not a couple of them to stand up and do a job."
Tsovolos added he had managed to get a glimpse of their opponents before the game.
"We've been watching them play on NPL TV for about four weeks now so that's handy that we have been able to see how they go about their business. They do have some strengths we need to be wary of but we are fully focused on our game and how we can win. You can't focus on just one or two players with these teams because they've got quality all over the park."
LIVE BLOG. Join us from 7pm where we will follow all the action from Wollongong United's Australia Cup round of 32 clash against Green Gully. Website: illawarramercury.com.au.
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