The big day is almost upon South Hobart FC, as they return to the National stage to take on the Marconi Stallions in the FFA Cup Round of 32 at Blundstone Arena on Wednesday night. As Tasmania’s lone entrant in the Round of 32, they will fly the flag for the state and attempt to replicate the Devonport Strikers efforts from 2016 and 2018 by progressing through to the Round of 16.

The NPL NSW side, and former NSL powerhouse, Marconi are one of the most famous clubs in Australian Football and should pose a tough test for South, who took on a NSW based opponent in Sydney Utd 58 in their last FFA Cup venture in 2015. That ended in heart break, as they bowed out in a penalty shootout, just as they did in their other venture in the inaugural edition of the Cup back in 2014. It’s been a long wait for them to get another shot at the highly coveted competition, but under the lights of Blundstone Arena they will now get that chance.

[caption id="attachment_12152" align="alignleft" width="462"] Darcy Hall in action in the 2015 edition of the Cup[/caption]                

Coach Ken Morton said his side were in good spirits ahead of the game and showed good signs in their 4-1 win over Launceston City on Saturday.

"The mood in the camp is pretty good, on Saturday we had a good hit out against Launceston City, we moved the ball around well and we scored four goals in the end, and had more chances. Overall we defended quite well, right round the ground so I was quite happy with that performance." Morton then traveled up to Sydney on the Sunday to scout out the Stallions, watching their game against rivals Sydney Olympic, a 1-0 win to Marconi. He said their physicality stood out. "It was rugged, it was a tough game, it was a physical encounter, there was a good tempo in the camp. Certainly Marconi are very direct, they like to go long, they have strong physical players in key areas." He suggested that his side wouldn't look to set up shop but instead look to take the game to their opponents. "We know what we're up against, so we'll have to stand up to that physicality. I'm sure the pitch will be nice and slick, so will need to be sure of ourselves and get the ball down and play. I'll ask my players to be brave, to take the game on and play with courage, not to stand off them but to have a go and show them that we can play down here." South have some selection concerns, with Adam Gorrie suspended for the game and the likes of Oscar Thomas, Darcy Hall and Alex Walter all under injury clouds. It means that youngsters like Sam Berezansky and Kasper Hallam might called upon to step up to the big stage, but Morton has backed his youngsters to not be overawed by the occasion. "The young lads when they come in will not let us down, they will play with good energy and they will cause them problems." [caption id="attachment_12189" align="alignnone" width="603"] Morton wants his side to attack- Solstice Photography[/caption] It will be a tough ask against a Marconi side currently occupying fifth place in the strong NPL NSW competition. They have won their past three league games as well as the Football NSW Waratah Cup (the qualifying tournament for the FFA Cup Round of 32) to enter this game in red hot form, on a 5 game winning streak and unbeaten in their past six games. The outstanding Nathan Millgate, who played in the APIA Leichardt side who downed Olympia in the 2017 edition of the Cup, leads a strong defensive unit that will likely include the Speranza brothers, Giorgio and Roberto, and Yianni Nicolau in front of experienced keeper Nenad Vekic. It's a settled and well balanced unit that offers a strong aerial presence and plenty of attacking thrust from the overlapping fullbacks. But the strength of this side lies in their potent attack. Their star man is Captain and leading goalscorer Marko Jesic, a former Newcastle Jets Striker whose movement and technical skills will ensure he must be marked very tightly. With wide men like James Andrew and Martin Fernandez supporting him, they have a very technically gifted front three who combine well in and around the penalty area. A recent return from injury could see another key weapon in Mitchell Malia take his place in attack after he came off the bench and scored a stunning winner on Sunday. With a red card to Liam Youlley on the weekend a reshuffle will be required with someone needing to take his regular place in the midfield. With Connor Evans and Brandon Vella likely to take two of the three midfield places, Malia could potentially come straight in for Youlley, whilst Sean O'Connell is another option, in a deep squad filled with experienced players. [caption id="attachment_12765" align="alignnone" width="545"] The Stallions are on a roll right now[/caption]

FFA Cup Team Previews

SOUTH HOBART ULTIMATE GUIDE: A century of glory but only FFA Cup pain MARCONI STALLIONS ULTIMATE GUIDE: National giants out for FFA Cup honours

How to Watch

Get to the game 

The best way to watch the game is to get along to Blundstone Arena and watch the game live. General admission: $12 for Adults and $6 for student, concession and kids aged 3-16. Tickets are available from the link below or on the gate on the night. https://events.humanitix.com.au/2019-ffa-r32-south-hobart-fc-v-marconi-stallions-fc The gates will open at 6:00pm with a 7:30pm kick off scheduled.

Watch on Kayo Sports

Every game of the FFA Cup will be available via the Kayo Sports app and website. You can sign up for a 14 day free trial if you are just looking to watch this game and don't want to be locked into anything.

Watch on the My Football App

The games will also be stream across the My Football Live app. If you are a Telstra customer then a subscription comes included for free.

Watch on the Fox Sports Website

If you are Foxtel subscriber, or Foxtel Digital Member, then you will be able to watch the game on the Fox Sports website.

Watch on Foxtel

Tune into Fox Sports Channel 507 from 7:00pm AEST to see the featured match, Campbelltown City v Melbourne City. The coverage will cut away to the other five games to provide goal highlights and updates throughout the game.

Follow through Social Media.

There will be LIVE updates throughout on the FFA Cup Twitter channel @FFACup as well as half time and full time updates on the competition's official Facebook page and Instagram account. You can also follow the game via the Slice of Cheese Live Blog, which will offer a minute by minute live commentary of the game.

Wednesday 31 July 2019

Match Details

South Hobart FC (TAS) v Marconi Stallions FC (NSW)

Blundstone Arena, Bellerive, TAS

Kick-Off: 7:30PM (Local) (7:30PM (AEST))

Referee: Jonathan Barreiro

Assistant Referee 1: Tony Peart

Assistant Referee 2: Thomas Mace

Fourth Official: Brenton Kopra

South Hobart FC (TAS) squad: 1.Kieran BROWN (gk), 2.Tae EVANS, 3.Reilly MORTON, 4.Jack BOWMAN, 5.Hugh LUDFORD, 6.Loic FERAL, 7.Nicholas MORTON, 8.Samuel BEREZANSKY, 9.Darcy HALL, 10.Alexander WALTER, 11.Benjamin HAMLETT, 12.Bradley LAKOSELJAC, 13.Ewan LARBY, 14.Gilly DE SOUZA, 15.Declan FOLEY, 16.Oscar THOMAS, 17.Kasper HALLAM, 18.Samuel TOOZE, .Tobias HERWEYNEN, .Samson JUJU, 21.Graham WRIGHT (gk)

Marconi Stallions FC (NSW) squad: 1.Nenad VEKIC (gk), 2.Nathan MILLGATE, 3.Giorgio SPERANZA, 4.Roberto SPERANZA, 5.James BALDACCHINO, 7.Sean O'CONNELL, 8.Connor EVANS, 9.Anthony FRANGIE, 10.Marko JESIC, 11.Mitchell MALLIA, 12.James ANDREW, 13.Yianni NICOLAOU, 14.Peter PELEKANOS, 15.Lachlan SEPPING, 16.Liam YOULLEY, 17.Kristian SEKUTKOSKI (gk), 19.Zachary CAIRNCROSS, 20.Richard CARDOZO, 23.Brandon VELLA, 28.Martin FERNANDEZ, 30.Paolo LAXAMANA, 31.Christian NASCIMBEN, 33.Andrew HOLDER, 39.Mason INGRAM, 52.Damian TSEKENIS

https://www.facebook.com/SouthHobartFootballClub/videos/1838357546310767/