Heidelberg United Head Coach John Anastasiadis admitted that the Hahn Australia Cup Final will be the biggest game of his coaching career so far.
For midfielder Anthony Lesiotis, it is beginning to hit just how massive of an occasion it is, and how earth shattering it could be for Australian football if the NPL Victoria and Australian Championship side lifted the trophy on Saturday.
Both coach and player said that they would do their best to approach the game the same as any other – but they are under no illusions as to the difficulty of the task at hand.
Read more detail about the pre-match press conferences below.
Enormity of the occasion
Anastasiadis: It's a massive occasion. Definitely, for me personally, it is, as a coach, yes, probably the biggest game. I remember in 2014 when the FFA cup started, and it was amazing, the run we had then, with Bentleigh Greens and the semi-final. I’ve always dreamed about this occasion, to be honest. And lo and behold, we're here. So it's really exciting. And yeah, we can't wait for Saturday.
Lesiotis: It's starting to really hit us now, as we get closer that, for some of us - or maybe all of us - it could be the only chance we get to lift this trophy, and that's why we don't want to let anyone down. We’ll give everything we have, and not leave anything in the tank at the end of the game, and hopefully create history for this club.
Preparing for the game
Anastasiadis: It's been a very long season - I think this will be our 39th or 40th game. If you ever want to be a professional footballer, I think they've got a taste of it this year, the boys. But, this game is the biggest game of the season, the biggest game of the club has seen for a long time. I think they've just enjoyed the journey. Our trainings have been pretty good. We’ve been giving them a bit of time off after the NPL final, and they’ve come refreshed now.
Lesiotis: We've been approaching it as we would any other game. The occasion is there, and we know it's enormous game – not just for the club, but for the players as well. We try to keep it as normal as we can. No different preparation, and train the same and keep our intensity levels at the best. And I think we're trying to keep it as simple as possible, and look forward one day at a time until the big dance.
The journey to the final
Anastasiadis: It's important to stress that the journey to getting here has been phenomenal. To beat three A-League teams. Anyone in this position would say: you know what, you deserve to be in the final. It’s like Newcastle. They've beaten two A-League teams, so they deserve to be there also. So credit to them. But for our boys, I don't think anyone expected us to be in this position. No doubt.
When we played the game against Western Sydney… we actually started with probably five non-starters throughout the season, but the boys came here and did a phenomenal job and to beat them 3-0. And I thought, this is on a good thing here.
Lesiotis: Having three A-League teams to beat in a row was something that obviously no one really expected for us to do. But it's given us that that experience and that battle awareness to know that we can do it in this final and that we're all prepared. We have shown out there, week in week out, that we're all capable of stepping up and playing to that level.
The game plan against Newcastle
Anastasiadis: Score more goals than them. How do you do that? Put away your chances, don't concede. We know Newcastle are a very good side. We've seen three or four games of theirs, and they've got some great youngsters coming through, which is a credit to Millsy [Mark Milligan] and his staff that a lot of young boys are coming through, but they've also got some good experienced players.
We just have to be at our best, basically. And that's what it is. It's a final, it's going to be a lot of energy, and we've got to bring that to the to the field.
What a win would mean
Anastasiadis: If we win this game, it probably gives belief to a lot of NPL clubs throughout the country, that if you believe it and you're confident, nothing's impossible. I’ve been on record saying it so. I think it will change everything in in Australian football. I believe so. The biggest carrot - going to Asia - is something dreams are made of.
Lesiotis: It's something that would be speechless to even think about. It would mean so much, not just to us, but to the club and to be able to go play in Asia. It's just something that a semi-professional footballer wouldn't even think about before the season. If you join a club in the NPL, you wouldn't even think about Asia in the first place. It’s an enormous opportunity to go and showcase our skills in Asia, and when they come here, to put on performances to the best of our abilities, and hopefully cause some more upsets.
Match Details
Heidelberg United v Newcastle Jets
Saturday, 4 October
Kick-off: 7:40pm AEST
Lakeside Stadium
Watch Live on 10, Paramount+, 10.com.au
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