Hume City is hoping its win over Kingston City in the FFA Cup on Wednesday night is just the start of things to come in the tournament.
Hume won through to the final 32 of the nationwide tournament with a 2-0 win at Broadmeadows Valley Park.
Coach Louie Acevski said it was good to get through to the next stage of the tournament having been knocked out at the same stage last year.
“I’m very happy getting into the FFA Cup [final 32]. It’s a big achievement and hopefully we are onto bigger things.
“Everyone was switched on and did not want the situation of last year to happen again.
“There were plenty of nerves in the system. The boys handled it really well especially in the second half.”
He said the opportunity and coverage of the tournament meant a lot to the National Premier League club.
“It is good publicity after a lot of hard times over the years,” Acevski said.
“The last two years with the new facilities, the success and the club keeps getting bigger.
“We want to be not just a powerful Victorian NPL side, but one of the powerful NPL clubs in Australia.’’
Hume started the better of the two sides, before the NPL 1 side hit back.
“The first 10 minutes we dominated then Kingston came back at us,” Acevski said.
“On the counter attack we scored [through Theo Markelis]. Kingston kept on pressing us. It was good the way the boys reacted.”
At half time, Acevski emphasised to his players that they should not just defend but build on the lead.
“We rectified a few basic errors, as what they could do as individuals to benefit the team.
“We talked about taking it to them.
“We had a couple of opportunities to kill it off early in the second half.
“Once we got the second goal [again through Theo Markelis,] the game was over.
“They didn’t have too many shots on goal.”
Hume will find out its next opponent on Wednesday, July 1.
“The draw will be on Fox Sports on Wednesday. Regardless if we get an A-League side or an NPL side we are going to give it all.”
The win also means Hume is into the semi-final of the Dockerty Cup for the best team outside the A-league teams in Victoria.
“The semi-final will be drawn on Monday and we are one game away from a grad final which is another big achievement and opportunity.
“We can prove how good we are and hope we can get some silverwear by the season’s end.”
