They upset Wollongong United in the Premier League earlier this year, and Corrimal hopes that history will repeat when the sides go head-to-head in a Bampton Cup clash on Thursday night.
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The Rangers caused one of the upsets of the IPL season so far in April, prevailing 4-3 against the reigning premiers at Macedonia Park. It was a performance that co-coach Manny Mavridis gave his players "a bit of belief", and they hope to repeat the dose when the sides match up again in Cup quarter-final at Macedonia Park.
The Bampton is the South Coast's biggest Cup competition. The action started in February with 16 teams from the IPL, District League and Community League, which has now been whittled down to just eight outfits.
"United have been the benchmark in the Illawarra Premier League for probably the last 10 years. I know they've been giving a lot of young guys opportunities there but, regardless, I still think they will be extremely difficult," Mavridis said.
"We were fortunate enough to beat them in the comp seven or eight weeks ago. The narrative at the beginning of the year was that we will ensure teams earn victory against us. We're inexperienced, we're young and we're going to make mistakes, and we've copped a hiding on two ocassions, but I think that win against United gave us a little bit of belief and we've been able to build on that."
While hungry to win, Mavridis admitted that Corrimal would mix things up during Thursday's match.
"The last couple of weeks we've had injuries and suspensions and we've had to blood in some young kids, and we'll do that again," the mentor said.
"We'll obviously take the game seriously. We know it will be a tough game and they're a good side, but we've just got to worry about what we've been trying to implement all year."
Fellow Premier League clubs South Coast United and Port Kembla will also meet in a Cup quarter-final at Ian McLennan Park on Thursday night, while Bulli and Albion Park are scheduled to face off next Wednesday at Balls Paddock.
Tarrawanna and Wollongong Olympic also remain alive in the competition.
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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.
