[size=7]Adelaide City and Croydon set for Sunday’s FFA Cup qualifying final[/size]
[size=3]Adelaide City captain Matt Halliday and Croydon skipper Luke Klimek will square off in Sunday’s FFA Cup qualifying final. Picture: Keryn Stevens[/size]
ADELAIDE City is SA soccer’s cup king.
But as the Black and Whites prepare for Sunday’s FFA Cup qualifying final against Croydon, captain Matt Halliday says it's a crown that doesn’t sit easily.
“It’s a tough one,” Halliday, 23, says.
“People have labelled us as the cup specialists.
“We start every season hoping to win as many trophies as we can, but in the last few years in the league we haven’t been at our best.
“In the league there’s always next week, but in a knockout competition that’s your one and only chance and I guess we don’t like to lose.”
City will shoot for its third straight knockout title and 18th overall at the Parks (3pm kick-off).
The Oakden club has gone 14 games unbeaten in the SA cup stretching back to its 2012 semi-final loss to Para Hills.
But in the same period it has finished fourth (2012), third (2013) and sixth (2014) in the Premier League and currently sits seventh.
[size=3]Adelaide City will aim for its 18th SA cup and Croydon its seventh when they meet in this Sunday’s final. Picture: Keryn Stevens[/size]
Victory will also guarantee the former National Soccer League giant an FFA Cup round of 32 clash with an A-League or interstate side.
Damian Mori’s men made national headlines in the inaugural competition last year when it knocked out Western Sydney Wanderers on its way to the last eight.
“That was an amazing night,” centre back Halliday says. “I don’t think it sunk in at the time, but looking back at it now it was probably the highlight of my career.
“For me to be able to captain one of the best clubs in Australia is an absolute honour and hopefully I’ll be able to lead them back on to the national stage again.”
The deadly trio of striker Anthony Costa (18 goals), playmaker Nic Bucco (13) and winger Joel Allwright (13) has helped City find the net 67 times in 22 league and cup games.
The scoring spree includes a 6-1 thumping of reigning league champion Croydon in April, but has been offset by the side leaking 35 goals.
“The start of our season wasn’t the best, but we’ve definitely turned that around in our past 10 or 11 games,” Halliday says.
“This FFA Cup is massive across the whole league and I think that gives us more incentive to win the (SA) cup.
“We want to challenge these interstate clubs and show what we’ve got to offer.”
Kings eye prize
CROYDON captain Luke Klimek is one game away from leading the club on to soccer’s national stage for the first time in its 65-year history.
The Kings take on Adelaide City in Sunday’s FFA Cup qualifying final knowing a win will secure a shot at an A-League or interstate club.
Victory would also deliver Croydon its first cup since 2000 and the seventh in its history.
“To be honest, we haven’t really thought too far ahead because we need to win one more game first,” Klimek, 26, says.
“But it’s not something that the club has experienced before, so for the long-term supporters, it would be amazing.”
The Kings ended a 37-year top-flight title drought when they beat MetroStars 2-1 in last season’s Premier League grand final.
“It’s pretty satisfying to be able to end these long droughts,” holding midfielder Klimek says.
“You think about how many years other players at the club have tried to win the title or the cup but haven’t been able to.
“Last year’s finals run was great for us.
“We had four games where we had to get a win to stay alive and that’s helped a lot because we’ve got a very young squad.”
[size=3]Victory for Adelaide City or Croydon on Sunday will earn entry into the FFA Cup round of 32. Picture: Keryn Stevens[/size]
Croydon endured a spluttering start to its league defence, winning just four of its opening 12 games.
But the Kings have since gone nine league and cup matches unbeaten thanks largely to the creativity of ex-Brisbane Roar winger Rocky Visconte and the finishing of 13-goal strikers Andreas Weins and Shaun McGreevy.
They showed character to beat White City on penalties in a dramatic cup semi-final last month after giving up a two-goal lead.
“It’s always good to have a tough challenge like that (semi-final) and it’s only going to make us better,” Klimek says.
“We started off (the season) slow and inconsistent, but our recent results have been strong.
“We don’t want to be a team that has one good year and struggles the next.
“We want to be consistently challenging for the title and play in cup finals.”