The Sunshine Coast Wanderers are just two wins away from a potential clash with an A-League team in a nationwide knockout competition, and they’re trying to stay calm.
The Buderim-based outfit is the only side from the region remaining in the FFA Cup preliminary stages, heading into Round 6.
They will meet Gold Coast’s Surfers Paradise Apollo at home on Sunday, to try and get one step closer to a berth in the FFA Cup proper.
No Sunshine Coast team has ever made it into the Cup’s main field during its eight-year history, and Wanderers coach Paul Arnison said it would be a dream to get there.
“The further you go, the more exciting it becomes,” he said.
“We’re potentially two games away from being in the last 32, and of playing against an A-League club like Melbourne Victory or Brisbane Roar or Perth Glory.
“The club could be in the limelight, playing at Sunshine Coast Stadium in front of 5000 or 6000 fans against a top club.
“As the only team from the Sunshine Coast left, we want to do the region proud and get to that last 32.”
But Arnison said two wins wouldn’t come easily.
Their opponents this weekend are unbeaten in the Gold Coast Premier League this season, with seven wins and a draw.
“They’re full of confidence so it’s going to be a tough afternoon for us,” he said.
A win would would ensure a clash against fellow state league side Gold Coast Knights or state second tier team Holland Park Eagles.
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The Wanderers are in some good form. They’ve won four and drawn one of their past six matches in the Queensland league, including a last start 3-1 win over Moreton Bay.
They’ve beaten Kingscliff Wolves and Brisbane Strikers in their FFA Cup preliminary matches.
“The boys don’t get paid to play (in FFA Cup preliminary rounds). There’s no win bonuses or anything, but they’ve travelled to places and won, which tells you that they’re taking it seriously,” Arnison said.
The Wanderers, formed in 2018, had their previous best campaign in the competition in 2019, when they were three wins short of qualifying for the main field.
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Although they’re only two wins away from getting to the big stage this time, Arnison urged his charges to remain focused on this weekend’s game.
“If you start looking too far ahead, before you know it you’re out,” he said.
“We can’t start thinking about two wins, we’ve got to get one (first).
“You have to try and get through each round as it comes, and each opposition presents different challenges.
“If you get too far ahead of yourself, you can get caught out.”
The game against Surfers Paradise Apollo is at Ballinger Park, Sunday, 5pm. It will also be livestreamed via Football Queensland.
More than 760 teams from around Australia entered the preliminary rounds of this year’s Cup.
Twenty-one of them will qualify for the FFA Cup’s main field, alongside 10 A-League clubs and 2019 National Premier Leagues champion Wollongong Wolves.
A relatively random fixture draw will then be done, with some qualifiers scheduled to meet A-League teams.
