Road to the FFA Cup Final 2019: Great rivals face off for Round of 32 berth
A glamour tie between Sydney Olympic and Marconi Stallions is the pick of the FFA Cup 2019 Round 7 fixtures.
The two NPL NSW clubs and former National Soccer League rivals will face off on Wednesday, June 5, with a spot in the National Round of 32 on the line (kick-off 7.30pm AEST).
One of Australian football’s great rivalries, two-time national league champions Olympic and four-time winners Marconi are no strangers to facing off in high-stakes matches.
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(Lead images courtesy of Football NSW)
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The pair met in six consecutive finals series between 1984 and 1990 – there was no NSL finals series in 1987 – with Marconi taking out the 1989 Grand Final and Olympic gaining revenge in 1990 in front of huge crowds at Parramatta (now Bankwest) Stadium.
Both clubs will go into the do-or-die cup tie in Belmore after a rough patch of form in the league.
Olympic – coached by former Australia international Abbas Saad – have not won in the NPL since their 3-1 victory over the Stallions back on May 4, while Marconi are on a four-match losing streak.
However, in the likes of Olympic striker and former La Liga man Alejandro 'Alex' Sanchez and Marconi’s ex-Hyundai A-League forward Mirjan Pavlovic, there is no shortage of quality on display.
FFA Cup Round 7 Draw
Manly United vs Rockdale City Suns
Wollongong Wolves vs Mt Druitt Rangers
Dulwich Hill vs St George FC
Sydney Olympic vs Marconi Stallions
Sydney United vs Northern Tigers
Road to the FFA Cup Final 2019: Which club will follow in the footsteps of APIA Leichhardt Tigers?
The big story of the 2018 FFA Cup was undoubtedly NSW NPL club APIA who played host to mighty Melbourne Victory in the Round of 16 in August and sent the Hyundai A-League champions back to Victoria with their tails between their legs after a 3-2 defeat.
APIA were unable to repeat their Victory giant-killing act at the quarter-final stage in 2018, losing 2-0 to eventual winners Adelaide United, while Victorian sides Avondale FC – who took holders Sydney FC to extra-time before losing 4-2 – and Heidelberg United also dropped out in the last eight.
Will Olympic be the club that generates national headlines by being the giant-killing story of this year’s competition?
Make sure you check in to the latest videos and news on www.theffacup.com.au as the competition progresses, to see the thrills and spills as we continue our own journey to the FFA Cup Final.
