NPL NSW side SD Raiders will be hoping to keep the good times rolling against local A-League Men's club Sydney FC on Tuesday night in the first of the Hahn Australia Cup quarter-finals.
They come into the game in good form and have proven that they an overcome adversity to reach this stage.
Read our preview of the action below.
SD Raiders v Sydney FC
Kick-off: 7.30pm AEST
Venue: Fairfield Showground
Broadcast: Paramount+
Tickets
It’s one of the biggest games in SD Raiders history as they take on another Sydney based A-League Men’s side, Sydney FC, in the Hahn Australia Cup quarter-final.
This year is only the second time that the Raiders have appeared on the national stage of the Cup and they have certainly made the most of it, causing a ‘Cupset’ against Macarthur FC on penalties in the Round of 16 to advance to this stage.
The win against Macarthur was all the more remarkable, given that they were the team to knock the Raiders out 5-0 last year.
“We embrace failure,” Head Coach Goran Ljuboja said.
“The greatest moments of learning happens in difficult times, when something doesn’t work out right.”
They’ll be hoping they can take their lessons from the last few seasons and apply them in the quarter-final.
Meanwhile, Sydney FC defeated fellow A-League side Brisbane Roar 4-2 in a rollicking Round of 16 clash to set up the tie. Takahiro Sekine, Ben Garruccio, Tiago Quintal and Gabriel Popovic were the goalscorers in Sky Blue.
They are expected to continue to field a young squad that has yielded them success so far, with the potential addition of new signing Oriola Sunday, the 23-year-old striker adding firepower to an already efficient final third.
“We worry about ourselves, the way we go about things. They’ve had a great run into the cup, but for us it’s worrying about ourselves and what we do,” Head Coach Patrick Kisnorbo said this week.
