FFA Cup: Heartbroken, but Edge Hill Utd proves FNQ strength
It was billed as the biggest game in Edge Hill United’s history, but the men from Tiger Park went with their fancied opponents at Barlow Park.
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HEARTBREAK.
For 85 minutes, Edge Hill United went toe-to-toe with the Gold Coast Knights, a team which has lived in the NPL Queensland’s top four the past few seasons and started short favourites in their FFA Cup clash at Barlow Park on Wednesday.
For so long, the Tigers absorbed the pressure, which was far more than they’re used to facing in the FNQ Premier League, a competition they have dominated for the past three seasons.
Up for grabs was a spot in the quarter-finals of the national knockout tournament and a potential home game against an A-League club, and Edge Hill Utd threw everything at it.
It came down to a controversial penalty decision for the dam wall to burst.
Edge Hill Utd defender Ryan Murray was ruled to have fouled Knights striker Marek Madle in the box, but replays suggested he got ball first.
To rub salt in that wound, Jheison Macuace, who Murray had shut down so superbly in the first half he was shifted to the other wing, slotted the penalty home despite a touch from Edge Hill Utd goalkeeper Kev Ward.
Dauntae Mariner added the icing on the cake for the Knights in added time for the 2-0 result.
What Edge Hill Utd’s effort proved to coach Crios O’Hare was that his club could match who he referred to as the “best team in Queensland”, and this region needed a presence in a higher level of competition.
“Cairns is definitely a place we need a NPL team,” O’Hare said.
“There’s quality players up here, not only now but with the juniors coming through. The bigger picture is that Cairns needs something bigger than a local league.
“(We) showed an amateur team can give it to the best team in Queensland for 85 minutes, and I’d have to watch the footage back on the penalty, but we have no excuses. We’re proud, but perhaps it’s one that got away.”
The Tigers put in a shift against the Knights.
The back four were outstanding all night, Ward working closely with defenders Murray, Ari Isman, Liam Cashmere and Jaedyn Petersen-Cashmere – and the midfielders who got back to have bodies behind the ball – to stop the Knights’ attack.
The visitors dominated possession and had the better of the chances throughout the contest, but Edge Hill Utd found a way to keep them out.
“Gutted, we’re gutted,” O’Hare said. “It’s a loss.
“For me, they’re the best team in Queensland, bar the Brisbane Roar. We handled them. The game went like we thought it would, they would have lots of possession but we defended really well.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our boys. The effort they showed against the best of Queensland and we come from a ‘farmer’s league’, so we keep hearing.”
The Knights were predicted to win, and win easy, but the tough contest was exactly what coach Maxwell Wragg expected.
“I knew they’d make it hard for us, especially in that final third,” Wragg said.
“We defended well at times. We were negative in the first half, not taking many risks as we should.”
The fairytale run over, O’Hare and his Edge Hill Utd teammates will now shift their focus back to the FNQ Premier League, where they are on track to claim a third straight treble.
But in the immediate aftermath of the Cup clash, O’Hare couldn’t help but feel it was one that got away.
“We went for 85 minutes, we could’ve gone for five more,” he said. “That’s the standard we set.
“I was poor with the chances I had, and that hurt us. I take accountability for that.
“We were confident, we know we’re a good team and could challenge them.
“We lost the game and we’re disappointed in that, but we’re proud to put in the effort we did and we hope we represented the club and region well.”
TIGERS PRIMED FOR BIGGEST GAME IN CLUB HISTORY
IT has been billed as the biggest game in Edge Hill United’s history, but the men from Tiger Park will not be fazed when they step on to Barlow Park on Wednesday night.
The Tigers are the first community club from Queensland to qualify for the FFA Cup Round of 32, and while they know just how tough the challenge of unseating NPL Queensland club Gold Coast Knights will be, Edge Hill United’s leading players believe they can fully embody the “Magic of the Cup” and spring on one of the great upsets in the knockout tournament’s history.
Five men - player-coach Crios O’Hare, Kevin Ward, Ari Isman, Joshua Taylor and Josh De Nittis - have made it this far in the FFA Cup before, and they will tap in to every bit of that experience when the whistle sounds.
This is Isman’s fourth trip to the Round of 32, and the defender is well aware of just how big this opportunity is for the club, and its players.
“It’s a massive opportunity, whether it’s at a community level or a semi-professional club, like FNQ Heat and Cairns FC before, it’s an opportunity to play at a level you don’t get often, especially in Cairns,” Isman said.
“You have to put everything on the line.
“If you work hard and make the most of it, anything can come from it - you never know who is watching.”
Isman is part of a strong defensive unit, which is smartly directed at the back by goalkeeper Kevin Ward.
The shot-stopper was arguably the best in the FNQ Premier League, having allowed just 1.25 goals per game this season, but he is well aware the Knights will provide a tougher challenge than what he faces each week.
But that is what the real estate agent, who played alongside Isman and O’Hare at this stage of the FFA Cup in 2016 and has been a reserve keeper twice before, is ready for.
“It’s excitement for me, to be back playing at this stage of the Cup is good, but to do it with Edge Hill United is even better,” Ward said.
“I’m feeling good (about the defensive unit). It’s a big inclusion to have Ari there, Jayden (Petersen-Cashmere) and Liam have had some time working together at the back as well, and Ryan (Murray) is Ryan - you know what you get with him.
“It will be a tough, it’s a big and tough job, but we can’t wait.”
This will be the sixth time O’Hare has suited up for a Round of 32 game, and he does so in good form and outstanding scoring nick.
O’Hare has scored 29 goals in 15 games to hold a big lead in the chase for FNQ’s Golden Boot, but the veteran is not getting carried away with the fairytale.
The key message, especially to the younger players who haven’t been to this level before, is to take advantage of the opportunity - and stick to the game plan.
“You don’t know when something like this will come again,” O’Hare said.
“The build-up is very exciting, it’s a great experience for the young players. This is a challenge the boys will relish. We get up for the big games, but this is definitely the biggest of them all.
“A lot has been spoken about with this match, we had the postponement and the thought it might not happen at all, but it’s great to finally make it to the game.”
And all three are confident the Tigers can win through to the Round of 16.
“We’ve worked hard these past few years, we’ve gone from strength to strength,” Isman said.
Kick-off is at 7.30pm.
CUP CLASH A BOOST FOR FOOTBALL IN FNQ
THERE is no way to undersell the biggest game in a club’s history, but Edge Hill United’s FFA Cup Round of 32 clash could have larger, far-reaching benefits for the World Game in Far North Queensland.
Sure, the match may feature just one senior team from FNQ, but with football’s national spotlight on Barlow Park, it is an opportunity which Edge Hill Utd president Michael Falchetti and Football Queensland North zone administrator Alex Srhoj believe can positively influence the sport across the region.
“It’s the biggest game in the club’s history,” Falchetti said.
“It’s a huge night for the boys, there’s been a couple who have made it this far before but not at a community club level. It’s definitely up with the biggest in our history.
“We’re feeling the love. All of the presidents at Monday’s zone meeting are on board, and we’re trying to cater for other clubs to be involved in activations and some mini-games on the night.”
For Srhoj, it is a night which can put Cairns and FNQ football back on the map.
The region has been without representation at a state level since the end of 2018, but for a club to reach the national finals, which will be shown live on the free 10Play app, it provides local players potentially the biggest platform if their young careers to date.
“It’s hard to put into words just what an effect a game or opportunity like this can have on the region,” Srhoj said.
“This region has talent, and can attract talent that can play and compete at higher levels of competition.
“It gives every other club in FNQ a target to aim for, and it’s time for the other clubs to try to match it in future.
“It also shows our young people that they don’t have to leave the area for an opportunity of this size.”
And, by all reports, the region is fully backing the Tigers.
“The way the region has come together, I think it’s fantastic,” Srhoj said.
“It’s brought the clubs and their people together, and we’re all backing Edge Hill United to get it done.”
matthew.mcinerney1@news.com.au
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