Excitement is building for Hume City ahead of its round-of-16 clash with A-League powerhouse Melbourne Victory in the FFA Cup.
It will be the second straight year that City faces Victory in the cup, after the two sides played in the semi-final stage last season.
Victory won that game 3-0.
City captain Nick Hegarty said it was the clash that the entire club wanted to see when the fixture was drawn last week.
The game will be played at ABD Stadium on August 24.
The semi-final clash between the two sides last season was moved to AMMI Park to accommodate a bigger crowd.
“It’s exactly what the club wanted and who the players want to play,” Hegarty said.
“It’s a big game for us and a huge thing to be hosting it. A lot has been put into the club and facilities.
“It’s nice to be on that stage.”
It won’t be the first time Victory has come to Broadmeadows, having played a practice match at the stadium last year.
Hegarty says they will enter the match quietly confident, knowing they have been able to match it with Victory for large parts in previous games.
“We’re not kidding ourselves; we know it will be a hard task, but we’d love to create a massive upset,” he said.
“We’re realistic but quietly confident knowing we held our own in the semi-final last year.”
The FFA Cup draw meant a change of plans for the two clubs, who were due to meet in a practice match this week.
City will now face Melbourne City instead.
“Hopefully, we can get two scalps in the one week” Hegarty said.
It’s a big couple of weeks ahead for City, with only one round of the National Premier League left before finals.
City is already guaranteed a finals spot.
Hegarty says they are hoping to finish fourth so they can play at home in the first week of finals.
On Saturday, City suffered a disappointing 1-0 loss to Port Melbourne.
“Port Melbourne was trying not to lose, but they weren’t going out there to win,” Hegarty said.
“They only needed one point to stay in NPL. They got a lucky goal and then parked the bus.
“We’re learning a new system and are putting in things we want to learn.”
Hegarty says Daniel Clark will return this week after serving a suspension for receiving a red card, while goal keeper Chris Oldfield will be back from his suspension for the FFA Cup match.
