By Tara Murray
Hume City is through to last 16 of the FFA Cup after a dominant performance against the Tigers on Wednesday night.
Looking to make the final 16 for the third time, Hume made the trip up up for Canberra to face the ACT pacesetters.
It was a dominant performance from Hume, which was rewarded with a 2-0 victory.
Hume coach Nick Hegarty said the trip was an important one, not just for the match but the opportunity to go away together as a group.
“Trips home when you lose are terrible,” he said.
“It’s good to go back to Melbourne after a win.
“It’s very important to make the trip. Along with what we did, a good performance and a good win, it’s important with the next few weeks, with things getting bigger.
“We’ll take the last 24-48 hours and hopefully it will take us on to bigger things.”
Hume jumped out of the blocks with a goal in the fifth minute to Mark Ochieng.
They made it 2-0 in the 32nd minute when Ben Bowler drilled a shot through from distance.
Hegarty said the focus was to keep the foot down in the second half. While they weren’t able to score, they continued to play some good football.
“We’ve been getting goals early in a lot of games,” he said.
“At any level, goals are most important and can change momentum.
“We tried to continue with how we were playing and not sit back. We wanted to maintain the game plan and style, winning the football and not stepping back.
“There was a lot more good, than bad.”
Hegarty said the Tigers played some good football and pushed them throughout.
He said the win was massive for the club as a whole.
“It’s great for the players and the staff, but also the club and the juniors.
“We had a couple of juniors come up with us and they can bring the experience back with them.”
Hegarty said they were looking forward to the draw for the next round to see who they play.
He said they would like to avoid playing fellow Victorian sides Moreland Zebras or Melbourne Knights, and get the opportunity to play against a different team.
Hume City’s attention though will be quickly back on the National Premier League competition.
They face Green Gully on Saturday, before the Dockerty Cup final against Melbourne Knights the following Saturday.
Hegarty said it was an important time for the club.
“They are coming thick and fast,” he said,
“We’ll do what we can do to prepare for Saturday. One team could seal a finals spot with a win.
“The Dockerty Cup is good and it’s where we wanted to be at the start of the season.
“We need to do the business and finish on a higher note.”
