Kosta Barbarouses is not expecting to recognise much about Melbourne Victory when Sydney FC lock horns with his former club in the Round 3 Big Blue Derby.
The Kiwi forward netted 41 Hyundai A-League goals for the Victorian outfit before his shock switch to their fierce rivals this off-season.
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Following Barbarouses’ move, two-time Championship-winning coach Kevin Muscat also departed after six trophy-laden years in the Victory dugout and was replaced with ex-Adelaide United boss Marco Kurz.
Having caught some of his old team’s 3-2 defeat against Newcastle Jets in the FFA Cup Round of 32, Barbarouses is preparing to see little similarities from the club he called home for five seasons.
“I didn’t watch a lot of their game [in the FFA Cup] but I saw they were set up similar to how Adelaide set up last year,” Barbarouses told SydneyFC.com.au.
“So they will be in a 4-3-3 and basically a whole new team as well.
“It’ll be a bit of a different Victory team than people have been used to for the past five, six years, but I think they are going to be a good squad again.”
“The Big Blue is always great to be a part of,” Barbarouses added.
“I’ve obviously played in a fair few, it’ll be a bit different now, but I’m really looking forward to it.”
Kim catches the eye in Mariners' 4-0 romp
Jordan Murray struck twice as FFA Cup 2019 Round of 16 contestants Central Coast Mariners stormed to a 4-0 win against Weston Bears on Friday night.
Alen Stajcic’s Mariners backed up their 2-0 FFA Cup Round of 32 victory at Maitland with a strong pre-season effort in the New South Wales coalfields.
Korea Republic midfielder Kim Eun-sun had his first runout in yellow and navy, an impressed with a commanding performance topped with the silky, backheel pass in the video above.
Matt Simon opened the scoring from the penalty spot on 22 minutes after Abraham Majok was sent tumbling. Majok turned from provider to finisher to double the scores 10 minutes later.
Tommy Oar’s effort rattled the opposition crossbar before half-time and Murray showed killer instincts to finish two chances in the space of two second-half minutes.
The Gosford club is preparing for a trip to Queensland to face Robbie Fowler’s Brisbane Roar in the FFA Cup Round of 16 on Wednesday 28 August.
Wanderers match-winner Yeboah feels the effects of victory
Western Sydney striker Kwame Yeboah has just about recovered from the Wanderers gruelling, marathon FFA Cup Round of 32 win against Hyundai A-League Premiers, Perth Glory, in midweek.
Markus Babbel’s side triumphed 2-1 in extra time after 90 goalless minutes, and winning goal-scorer Yeboah admitted playing deep into the night took its toll.
“For us boys it’s an amazing feeling after playing 120 minutes. It was intense,” Yeboah said. “We fought till the end and got the result.
“It’s quite big for us, with the time difference as well. We were playing quite late. When it goes to the 120-minute mark, it had an effect of us. The body was feeling it of course.”
