Would start a definite brawl in a sunday league match

Very kind gesture.

There must be some rule against swapping match shirts in the FFA Cup, because apparently Balmain and Victory weren't allowed to swap shirts after the game. :-k

Balmain were taking it seriously. They knew that it was an almost impossible task, but they took it very seriously. It was a credit to them they were only down 2-0 at half time. The score only blew out in the second half because of the obvious gulf in quality and fitness levels.

So many questions to be asked.

I must be missing the point here. Im not sure how I am being offensive for stating that the game was dull and my reasoning is that Sorrento defended deep in their own half for 45 mins with no real attack.

They used tactics that gave them the best chance to win - Yes. It still doesn't alter my opinion of the game play.
Sydney should have broke them down - Yes. But scoring another goal or 2 because a team wont attack is still not enjoyable.

Only thing I see is alarm that I shouldn't accuse them of playing negative because they are an NPL side and not able to match it with the top level?

As for Sorrento. Best of luck to them, if they make it into the 32 next year I will watch them again. If they play like they did this time next year I will probably think that the game was dull again.

I think you have changed your argument significantly from your original comment which was:



People rightly (IMO) called you out for criticising Sorrento. I don't think many would disagree that the first half was pretty dull but that was the reality of the situation they found themselves in.

The cup matches teams of vastly different abilities. Where there is a mismatch, one of the main attractions is how the teams tactically approach that reality. That's "the vibe" of the cup, not a team going out there and naively getting smashed 6-0.

Thanks for your reply. I understand what your saying but I dont think my argument has changed at all IMO.
I have enjoyed watching the cup this and last year, but this game in particular was hard to watch because of those tactics. It made the night drag on as we waited to see how the other games were progressing. I dont expect to see teams get white washed but I would hope if you setup to defend like that you would at least be trying to play on the counter.

In my opinion this game has been the low point for the the FFA cup inc. last year.

The premise that Sorento had to play like that is not lost on me, but it didnt IMO make the game more watchable. You can see all through the live comments in this thread when the game was on how many people wanted fox to switch the coverage. Teams defend to win all the time all over the world, but that defense is linked to some sort of attack as well.

Maybe Im defending myself to much here. Like you mentioned it is all down to opinions.

My opinion is the game was dire and Sorrento directly contributed to that with there game plan.
Other people may well have enjoyed watching how the team setup and didnt mind the overly defensive style of game and low possession. To each his own.

Fair play, original comment just came off as a bit harsh. I don't think many people found the game enthralling.

OP fully updated now up to MD3, with statistics included.

Fun Fact: Cirio has scored in all of Adelaide United's FFA Cup matches. All 6 of them! Amazing stuff!

Looking ahead quickly to the round of 32, out of the teams that have qualified for the Round of 16 - what sort of matchups are we hoping to see.

I'd love to see Sydney FC take on Olympic, Rockdale, or Sydney United again. I think the latter would be an even more hotly contested match up, given Sydney United wouldn't want to lose twice, that and it might just save Mark Rudan from the horror season he's had thus far.

Should the Bulldogs allow it, playing Olympic at Belmore would be another fantastic matchup. Failing that, they should move the game to Leichhardt Oval. It's proven that it's a fantastic ground for football.

Rockdale would be awesome. Must say it looked awesome on the broadcast, and the cut up pitch would probably be a bit of a challenge for an A-League club. Another 2-3k on the hills behind the goal, and on the broadcast side would look mint! That said, I could see the FFA moving that game to somewhere down the road like Kograh for 'Foxtel reasons'.

Would love to see a Queensland derby of sorts. Brisbane Strikers v Queensland Lions would be an interesting match up.

Strikers lost pal. Heidelberg vs the Vuk please.

Urgh, brain fart. :lol: Brisbane Roar. :p

Would the lighting at Rockdale be the required Lux for hosting A-League opposition? The requirements are higher than for a game between two non A-League clubs.

Hence why I could see the FFA shafting it 5 minutes down the road to Kograh.

I've never understood the lux rules. Why is OK for non-professionals to play a certain lighting standard, but not the professionals.

I think it's got something to do with Foxtel determining the location so it's more suitable for their cameras.

Could it be an insurance issue?

yeah it's insurance issues. There are Australian Standards that regulate the lighting of professional sports in Australia, and if a player gets injured playing in a match that doesn't meet those Australian Standards the insurers will not pay the associated medical and other expenses. The standards are higher in a competitive match as opposed to a practice match involving a professional club.

Edited by thewitness: 7/8/2015 07:56:49 PM

Just highlights how dumb it is making everyone play on Tuesday. Apart from the 4 main televised games, the rest should be played at 3pm on a Saturday so that the clubs can host big teams at their actual home grounds rather than the pisstake that is the status quo.

I agree with you in theory but:

A) it clashes with regular season games
B) it's on nights of the week where nothing else is on, so we're in the spotlight with no competition

Ideally club facilities could be better but that probably won't happen for a really long time, if ever.

I think Sorrento's game plan was plausible given their playing cattle.

I was quite disappointed in SFC's inability to break down the Sorrento defence, although they are in preseason training which can be very hard on the body.

Off forum I've spoken to those involved in the South H's unsuccessful attempt to beat SU 58. Experienced refs think Pasfield should have initially been given a Yellow, then a Red, for his antics at the pen shoot out.

Also, the same refs think he should've cleared out the kids, supposedly ball boying, who moved behind the goal when on the playing arena.

Moreover, there is a strong school of thought that a game like that, a draw, should not go to extra time and be played away for the following fixture. That is, SU 58 should travel to South Hobart's home venue for a second game.

Edited by Decentric: 8/8/2015 06:19:31 AM

time and date set for the round of 16 draw? cant seem to find anything atm.

Supposed to be right after the final game tomorrow, at least that's what I've heard.

Does it get to be a totally random draw for round 2, or is it still a system of mixing and matching a bit with the groupings from round 1, and ensure a few non - A League clubs can keep going?

Not really too fussed either way, as not looking that far ahead with my team just yet.

I believe it is random, However. Should an Aleague side draw non ALeague, Is the non Aleague automatically the home side?

Not random.

Have no idea how many HAL v HAL games they're planning though. At least one, probably two. Guessing it'll be:

HAL v HAL
HAL v HAL
NPL v NPL
NPL v NPL
NPL v NPL
NPL v HAL
NPL v HAL
NPL v HAL

(edit: That link just says there'll be a pot for HAL teams and a pot for NPL teams and that the 'HAL v HAL' matches will be drawn first)

Edited by loki: 10/8/2015 09:31:01 AM

wed arvo. milicic and pablo cardozo to share the honours.

Just like last year, EG & I will be attending Jerks v Glory together tomorrow.

Last year the Jerks in particular felt like they treated it like a preseason game. Hopefully they show the competition a bit more respect this year.

We can only hope Kenny is filming the game again :lol:

If we have a Victory v Hume/Heidelberg/Oakleigh in the next round, where does the game get held?

Is it a ruling that the lower level team hosts? Likely to be a sell out for any of those teams hosting if it were to happen.

The ruling in A-League team is away. When non AL teams that are drawn against each other the first team drawn is home (it doesn't matter which level they are)