1

2

WELCOME to Kingston Heath Soccer Complex for what is arguably the biggest game in recent Victorian football history.

Tonight, Bentleigh Greens take on the South Australian powerhouse Adelaide City in a game that will seal the winner’s place in the record books as the first member federation club through to the FFA Cup semi-finals.

Even if the boys from Bentleigh fall at this hurdle, they will have done our fair state proud by having come this far.

But having kept an eye on how the Greens have gone so far this year, I’m confident they can take that extra step and book a date with an A-League club.

No one gave them a chance against Blacktown City in the Round of 32, when they travelled up to Sydney, played 90 minutes in torrential rain and took a result home.

No one gave them a chance when they were then drawn away against ex-NSL powerhouse Sydney Olympic, but they did the trip again, and got the result again.

Now, they’re in the final eight in the country, and what a meteoric rise it has been for the Greens.

They were established in 1987 when a group of players from Central City came together and took over Greensborough SC. The club then moved to Victory Park in Bentleigh West, and changed the name to Bentleigh Greens.

The first decade was highly successful for the

boys in Green, achieving five promotions in nine years to earn their spot in the old Victorian Premier League.

It hasn’t been all smiles; in 2006 they were relegated to the second tier, before regaining their spot in 2009, and moving to the newly redeveloped Kingston Heath in 2010.

Since then, the club has gone onwards and upwards, this year finishing fourth in the inaugural NPL Victoria season, finishing as semi-finalists in the Dockerty Cup, and qualifying for tonight’s game.

And they’ve done it by playing an attractive possession-based brand of football.

We also welcome Adelaide City to Melbourne for this match.

They have pedigree, having eliminated A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers and NPL Queensland side Brisbane Strikers so far.

Adelaide City is a formidable opponent, but Bentleigh Greens will have 3000 Victorians cheering them on, even more watching on TV, and thousands more following through Twitter.

Get behind our boys, and help them book their spot in the semi-final.

Go Greens!

Peter GomeFFV CEO

Welcome to the FFA Cup A letter from FFV CEO Peter Gome

3

To watch some some of the best moments from Bentleigh’s 2014 season, scan the QR Code using your smartphone, or type bit.ly/BGnpl14 into your browser.

Liam McCormick celebrates after scoring against Sydney Olympic in the FFA Cup Round of 16. PHOTO: Getty Images

4

Tom Matthews is one of Bentleigh’s defensive workhorses. PHOTO: Graeme Furlong

5

BENTLEIGH Greens and Adelaide City will be at the forefront of Australian football in tonight’s Westfield FFA Cup quarter-final clash.

Victory for either side will ensure progression into the semi-finals, becoming the only club outside of the Hyundai A-League to reach the second-last round.

Broadcast live across Australia on Fox Sports, Bentleigh and Adelaide are currently the competition’s only remaining member federation-backed clubs.

Despite missing a host of first team regulars, Bentleigh enter tonight’s contest as short-priced favourite.

Placing fourth in the PS4 National Premier Leagues Victoria, the Greens travelled twice to Sydney in their respective FFA Cup fixtures, defeating Blacktown City 1- 0 and Sydney Olympic 2-1 for a berth in the quarter-finals.

However, the hosts will have only six players available from the start of their NPL season, which kicked off in March.

A large bulk of John Anastasiadis’s squad departed the club during the season, including Socceroos striker Brent McGrath and most recently South African star Ryan De Vries.

Standing in the way of Bentleigh’s fairytale is a full strength Adelaide City side coached by Socceroos legend Damian Mori.

Finishing fifth in the PS4 NPL South Australia, tonight’s visitors rose to national prominence following a 1-0 victory over A-League reigning premier Western Sydney

Wanderers in the Round of 32.Mori’s side then defeated Brisbane Strikers 1-0

in its second home game of the competition, booking a showdown against Bentleigh in the quarter-finals.

Despite the domestic season wrapping up six weeks ago, both sides have continued training.

Since its victory over Brisbane Strikers, City has played two friendlies in preparation for tonight’s match, registering a 2-0 victory over Adelaide United youth and a 1-1 draw against the senior squad.

Bentleigh too featured in friendly matches against Melbourne Victory youth which ended in a 2-1 defeat but claimed wins over Box Hill United (1-0) and Melbourne City youth (2-0).

Anastasiadis’s squad will be bolstered by the inclusion of National Youth League pair Luke Gallo and Christian Cavallo, who were both exempt from their NYL duties for tonight.

Adelaide United youth products Anthony Costa and Thomas Love have also been named in City’s squad.

Love grabbed national headlines following a superb solo goal which sunk the Wanderers back in August, while Costa will bring existing A-League experience to the fore.

Tonight marks Bentleigh’s first home game of the competition while Adelaide travels for the first time.

Sean Ellicott is a freelance journalist. Follow him on Twitter: @SeanEllicott

Taking centre stageTwo minnows fight for a spot in the final four, writes Sean Ellicott

6

THE moment Bentleigh Greens’ coach John Anastasiadis brought the boys into the dressing rooms after they defeated Sydney Olympic 2-1 and sealed their spot in the quarter-finals of the FFA Cup was magic.

The mood should have been one of sheer jubilation, but instead, they were focused.

“When we beat Sydney Olympic to make the quarter finals, we sat down and I said, ‘Listen, if you want to go further into the semis and who knows after that, then I’m prepared to work hard with you guys over the next four weeks’,” Anastasiadis recalls.

“Before I even said anything else, the boys said, ‘Mate, we want to go as far as possible’. They’ve motivated me, because I know it’s been such a long season.”

That was more than a month ago.Since then, the NPL Victoria season has wrapped

up, and Bentleigh has upped its training regimen. So what has kept Anastasiadis’ troops motivated

in what is technically their off-season? “What we’ve done is we’ve tapered off a bit

early on,” he says. “About two to three weeks ago we just had a

couple of sessions a week – very light – but the past two weeks we’ve cranked it up a bit and this week we’re doing four sessions.

“Last week I told the boys that we had to do an extra session, and they were up for it. For me, that shows me that they really want it.”

Anastasiadis says his charges “will be ready” for Adelaide City, which is coached by Socceroos

legend Damian Mori and finished fifth in the NPL South Australia.

Mori, the club’s all-time leading goalscorer who has guided the Zebras to five South Australian championships, has the complete respect of his Bentleigh counterpart.

“I’ve watched their (Adelaide City) games and I reckon this is a classic 50-50 ball game. It’s hard to distinguish between the two teams because they really play the way we play, more or less,” Anastasiadis says.

“They play possession, they play well defensively, they tackle well and they counter attack very well. I’m pretty impressed with them and I think Damian (Mori) has done a good job with them.”

It’s that game style which persuaded Anastasiadis to tee up a friendly with Melbourne City’s youth team during the week.

Despite winning “just 2-0” as Anastasiadis puts it, it was the game his side needed to have.

“It was a great hitout, and I really thank Melbourne City for it.

“The score is irrelevant, as I just want to see the way we play against a team that very much plays the way Adelaide City play.”

Regardless of whether or not the Greens keep the dream alive on Wednesday night, there’s no doubting the impact their cup run has had on the entire club.

Julian Trantino is the media coordinator at FFV. Follow him on Twitter: @jtrantino16

Bentleigh feeling the magicWhy does ‘the magic of the cup’ mean so much for Bentleigh?

Julian Trantino found out.

7

John Anastasiadis says his side is well prepared for tonight’s encounter against Adelaide City

8

Jamie Cumming is one of Bentleigh’s defensive workhorses, playing in every single game this season. PHOTO: Mark Avellino

9

WHEN Bentleigh Greens defender Jamie Cumming turned up at Kingston Heath for the first day of pre-season training at the start of January, he had no idea of the year that was to unfold before his eyes.

In 2014, Cumming - a teacher by day - has played in each of the 32 competitive fixtures across three competitions; more than most full time professionals in the A-League will play.

Add to that eight pre-season games, and another handful towards the end of the season against A-League opposition, and you begin to see a picture of an environment almost more demanding than the rigours of professional football.

“I’m just pleased the body’s held up for the entire season,” Cumming laughed.

“The club has looked after us. “We tapered off a bit during periods where we

were playing two games a week, and outside of football I’ve tried to look after myself by getting down to the beach and doing a bit of recovery.”

Two other Bentleigh players come close to Cumming’s remarkable feat, but fall just short of the full 32.

Fellow defender Tom Matthews played in every game of the NPL season, but only missed out on Bentleigh’s first Dockerty Cup game against St Kilda.

Jack Webster also comes close, but missed the Round 1 catch-up game against Ballarat Red Devils.

The trio have been lucky with injuries, and

they owe it to Bentleigh’s in-house medicos.“We’ve got a great recovery team with Emilio

[sports chiropractor], and Will who’s come in after the season finished,” Cumming said.

“They’ve done a great job in keeping us all fit and ready to go.”

A regular week for the boys from Bentleigh normally saw the team train three times a week - usually Monday, Wednesday, Friday if the game was on a weekend.

Rarely would it clash with the PE teacher’s day job, but a few times he had to miss training because of school commitments.

“It can be difficult at times,” he says.“Usually around report time and the end of term,

you burn out a bit and the same with camps; when you go on camps, you can come back a bit flat.

“But I can’t complain. It’s a bit easier for me than for the boys that do physical labour.

“Tommy [Matthews] and Wally [Wayne Wallace] are sparkies, Jack [Webster]’s a brickie, and it takes a toll on their body a lot more than mine.”

If the boys from Bentleigh pass tonight’s test and get through to the semi-finals, their season will go on for another month yet; the semi-finals have been pencilled in for November 11.

“That gives us two full weeks off before we begin pre-season for 2015,” Cumming laughed.

“I just hope I can get a few rounds of golf in.”

Alen Delic is FFV’s multimedia coordinator. Follow him on Twitter: @AlenDelic

Bentleigh’s marathon men The schedule for three of Bentleigh’s key men has been tougher than

for some A-League clubs, writes Alen Delic

10

1.Christopher VAN CORLER (GK)2.Thomas MATTHEWS 3.James CUMMING 4.Patrick AVICE 5.Jack WEBSTER 7.Jamie DE ABREU 8.Wayne WALLACE (c) 9.Luke O’DEA 11.Christopher DROUTSAS12.Luke GALLO13.Ryan LOSTY15.Christian CAVALLO16.Nick TEICHMAN19.Liam McCORMICK21.Alistair BRAY (GK)22.Lewis FOSTER24.Luke PILKINGTON

**one to be omitted**

1.Ryan VEITCH (GK) 2.Michael ACTON 3.Alex SUNASKY 4.Shane TOBIAS5.Matthew HALLIDAY (c) 6.Matthew MULLEN 7.Joel ALLWRIGHT 8.Paul BLEFARI9.Anthony COSTA10.Marco MITTIGA 11.Nicholas BUCCO 12.Alex RIDEOUT13.Vincent TALLADIRA14.Josh MORI15.Shannon DAY 16.Thomas LOVE21.Jackson O’DONNELL (GK)23.Nicholas BUDIN

**two to be omitted**

Squads

11

Bentleigh captain Wayne Wallace. PHOTO: Graeme Furlong Adelaide City captain Matthew Halliday.

12

Former Adelaide United midfielder Joel Allwright is one of Adelaide City’s men to watch and a potential dangerman.

13

ADELAIDE City is a club that sealed its spot in South Australia’s football history a long time ago.

Arguably one of the state’s most successful clubs, its history stretches to Post World War II Australia, when it was founded in 1946.

It took just seven years for the club to win its first league championship, when it won the state league in 1953. It won another five titles before the end of the decade, and another six before its ambitions outgrew the state.

In 1977, the side became a foundation member of the old National Soccer League (NSL).

While success continued in the national competition, it took nine years for it to seal the first of its three NSL titles.

In 2004 Adelaide City withdrew from the NSL and focused on the rebuilding of the club and its home base at Oakden in South Australia.

That year, Australian football legend and former Socceroo Damian Mori returned to the club and was appointed player-coach.

After a season of consolidation in 2004, normal service was resumed in 2005 with the winning of the S.A. Premier League Championship.

To date, Adelaide City has won a remarkable 17 championships in total.

This year’s South Australian NPL season was a tight race, with City finishing fifth, meaning it qualified for the final series, but was knocked out by eventual winner Croydon Kings.

But the biggest success of the season came through another piece of silverware in the local

cup competition: the Coca-Cola Federation Cup.The grand final saw Adelaide City face newly

promoted and traditional rival West Adelaide with City the eventual winner.

This win cemented the Black and Whites as the single South Australian member federation side in the Westfield FFA Cup.

Here, its status as a history-making club continued, when it was the first member federation side drawn against an A-League powerhouse.

In the Round of 32, Adelaide City took on Hyundai A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers.

Most had already awarded Western Sydney the win to before the first whistle had been blown, but as cup competitions do, a shock was on the cards.

It was a solitary Thomas Love goal that knocked out the A-League side, and granted the Black and Whites a spot in the Round of 16.

The draw was kinder in the next round, as they drew fellow member federation club Brisbane Strikers are home.

This time, Anthony Costa was the hero for City, and they progressed as just one of three state league sides in the final eight.

Tonight, they have a chance to make history again if they get the win over Bentleigh Greens and seal their spot as the only second-tier side in the final four.

Arija Molitor is Football SA’s media guru.Follow her on Twitter: @AriMolitor

Another chance at historyAdelaide City is a club that forged its name in the record books a

long time ago, but it wants more, Arija Molitor writes.

14

CUP competitions are something special all around the world; it is a fantastic initiative to bring the Westfield FFA Cup into existence and great to have the opportunity to be involved with fellow National Premier League clubs and with the A-League.

The Cup is good for all NPL clubs and good for our club, Adelaide City. It has given the players and the clubs the chance to perform on the big stage, which doesn’t happen very often. For us it has promoted our club very well.

Many states received multiple places in the first round, while in South Australia we only had the one alongside Adelaide United FC. We have shown that it only takes one opportunity to get this far and that is what the Cup is all about. Anything is possible on the day.

I have spoken to a few people and watched what I can on Bentleigh Greens as we go in to this game. I know that they are a strong side and play a good passing game.

Like us, Bentleigh Greens are out of season but, like us, their players have a lot to play for so we expect nothing less than a tough game ahead.

The travel may play a factor in how our boys feel, it could go either way and we understand that. However we need to be at our best, and in order to win we have to play to win and that is what we will do.

Adelaide City coach Damian Mori

A word from the foesAdelaide City coach Damian Mori and captain Matthew Halliday

give us their two cents on the cup thus far.

THE Westfield FFA Cup has done a lot for our club.

It has put us back on the national stage and allowed us to display the talent we have in South Australia.

Our first match against Western Sydney Wanderers was what the Cup is all about.

To go on and defeat Brisbane Strikers shows the potential our side has.

Going into tonight’s match, the boys are excited; excited and wanting to get a result.

We have waited a long time since our last match and are eager to get on the pitch and play.

Bentleigh Greens is relatively unknown to us. We know that they are a strong side and comparable to the current national NPL champions MetroStars.

So as we would when we face MetroStars, we will be preparing for a difficult encounter. We are going to have to play our best to defeat Bentleigh and remain in this competition.

We will need to be defensively strong and our structure will need to be disciplined. We will need to be focused on making sure we are defending as a team and also counter attacking.

Traveling isn’t something we are used to as a team. It will be a different feeling but hopefully won’t have too much of an impact on us.

We will go in to tonight like a normal game and quite simply, do what we have to do.

Adelaide City captain Matthew Halliday

15

Adelaide City coach Damian Mori says his side has scouted Bentleigh and is prepared to face their style of football.

16

Christian Cavallo is one of Bentleigh’s rising stars, having been part of Melbourne Victory’s youth squad for the past two years. PHOTO: Graeme Furlong

17

BENTLEIGH Greens stands on the brink of history tonight.

The FFA Cup has been a long time coming in the Australian football calendar.

And forever and a day everyone will speak of either the Bentleigh or Adelaide City team that defied the odds to make it all the way to - at least - the semi-finals of the first-ever FFA Cup.

This is Bentleigh’s moment in the sun; this is its chance to achieve greatness.

What a breath of fresh air the FFA Cup has been.

I’m a new-age football writer, my passion for the sport born out of the introduction of the A-League, the success of the Socceroos and FIFA video games.

So I can’t profess to being an expert on how the tournament has successfully or otherwise brought together “old soccer” and “new football”.

However, what I can say is how much I have enjoyed writing about the likes of Bentleigh, Melbourne Knights and St Albans Saints, learning about the old greats and club folklore.

And of course it was also a joy to be a part of the fairytale ride of South Springvale - the most unlikely of Round of 16 sides - particularly its win at this very ground in July.

Local sides from Victoria, and indeed around the country, will be clamouring to get in to this

competition in future seasons.But a club such as Bentleigh is well-placed to

re-visit the promised land in seasons to come given its strong and successful focus on youth development.

This is a club that readily admits it was struggling barely four or five years ago, but has well and truly turned its fortunes around thanks to the hard work and dedication of coaches and volunteer administrators.

It’s a testament to the club that 11 of the 19 players Anastasiadis had at his disposal for tonight’s game are aged 20 or under.

It’s also, in part, explanation as to why Greens have been able to overcome such a high level of player turnover this season to keep its Cup fortunes alive.

Gone is David Stirton, Ryan De Vries and Brent McGrath to name a few, but up step the likes of Luke Gallo and Christian Cavallo, who have been cleared to play tonight by Football Federation Australia despite now being tied to A-League clubs Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory.

However, tonight is not about the future, it’s about the now.

And now is the time for Bentleigh to advance to the final four.

Matt Windley is a football writer for the Herald Sun newspaper.

Follow him on Twitter: @MattyHeraldSun

FFA Cup a breath of fresh airThe FFA Cup has attracted a new demographic to football, and

Herald Sun writer Matt Windley reckons they’re here to stay

18

The green wall We asked Facebook and Twitter to leave their messages of support for the

Bentleigh Greens ahead of tonight’s titanic encounter. Here are your messages:

19

Luke Pilkington, at age 24 is one of the oldest players in Bentleigh’s squad. PHOTO: Graeme Furlong

20