Wednesday night will be one of the biggest occasions Bentleigh Greens captain Wayne Wallace has experienced in his four years at the club.
Should the Greens defeat Adelaide City in their FFA Cup quarter final clash at Kingston Heath, they will progress to the semi-finals and become the only state league club left standing in the competition.
The star midfielder said the side would enter the clash full of confidence following their impressive Cup run so far, including two tough away wins in New South Wales.
“It’s the biggest game I’ve been involved in. Last year, it was the final, which was obviously the biggest game at the time but I think the FFA Cup has taken over everything,” Wallace said.
“Massive [for the confidence], I think we were the underdogs in both of those games. They always say the Sydney league is a bit better than the Victorian League and we kind of proved different.
“They say we went up there and parked the bus but I think Cup games, if you get an early goal, every game turns out like that. You get an early goal, the other team presses and luckily enough, we came away with the win.”
With the NPL Victoria season now over a month past its conclusion, the captain deduced that while match fitness may be an issue, the collective determination of the squad would ensure the players would mentally rise to the occasion.
“I think we’ve just planned like we do every game, come to training 3-4 times a week and go about it the same way,” he said.
“It’s hard to replicate match fitness because the season’s finished. All the other boys have gone on holiday.
“[However,] Johnny [Anastasiadis] asked the question ‘do you boys want it?’ – 17 of the boys turned around and were like “if we’re going to be in it, lets go out to win it,” so it’s a good vibe.”
Four years is a long time for any player at a state league club, particularly for someone from abroad, but the Englishman has become synonymous with the Bentleigh name for his passion and dedication to the club.
“I feel like I’m a half Englishman, half Cypriot at the minute. [The club] means quite a lot, I’ve been around for a long time now (four years) and it does feel like family, so if we get the win, I’m over the moon,” he said.
“The year before I came, they were one point of relegation and a since then, we’ve finished eighth and then the last three years, we’ve been in the play-offs. Last year we were unlucky not to win it; we probably should’ve won it. We thought we were the best team in the competition and hopefully next year we can replicate it again.”
“The manager and the assistant, [the players] all have a good idea of how they want the boys to play. We just get it – everyone that comes in seems to get it and it just works for us.”
Beating Damian Mori’s Adelaide City – who disposed of Western Sydney Wanderers along the way – will be no easy feat for Bentleigh, with the winner to face either Central Coast, Adelaide United, Perth Glory or Melbourne Victory in the semi final.