'Definitely beatable': 'Excited' Hume confident of Mariners Cupset

‘Definitely beatable’ – that’s the verdict on Central Coast Mariners from Hume City defender Paul Wilson.

Wilson, 21, is aiming to send the Victorians through to their second Semi-Final and send the Hyundai A-League club packing in Tuesday’s Quarter Final clash.

“When we drew them when they did the live draw, we were actually excited,” Wilson told www.ffacup.com.au.

“For one because it’s an A-League opposition, and two they’re definitely beatable.

“Looking at their history it shows we are in for a chance... people are seeing us as a chance to win the game which is exciting as well.”

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The NPL Victoria side are one tier below former Hyundai A-League Champions Central Coast but it is Hume who boast the FFA Cup pedigree.

In their debut 2015 appearance, Hume reached the Semi-Finals where their fairy-tale run ended with a 3-0 defeat to Melbourne Victory.

The club were knocked out in the Round of 16 by Victory in 2016 and were national round entrants again in 2017.

On the other hand, Central Coast had only progressed past the Round of 32 stage once – in 2014 – prior to this 2019 run.

“I think it’s one of the focuses for the club outside the league,” Wilson said.

“It’s become a tradition for the club, a few of the boys have already made it to this stage in the competition so they’re already used to it.

“This is my first year at the club, for a lot of us boys it’s a new step and I think we are ready to take the opportunity.”

Wilson, a former NPL captain for Adelaide United, joined Hume in 2018.

He is nicknamed ‘blocker’ after his namesake, the former Australian cricketer.

“He never hit sixes, he always blocked shots and played it safe, so that’s the origins of the [nickname].

“For people who don’t know me I just tell them it’s because I block shots.”

Hume finished sixth on the NPL Victoria table this season and were eliminated by Oakleigh Cannons in the first week of the finals.

Wilson said his side would throw everything at the Hyundai A-League boys from Gosford.

“We’re not going to sit back and defend, we are going to look to bring the game to them and hopefully we’ll put on a good show.

“Too often you see teams put off by the occasion, and hopefully we can have a good game and play our style of football.

“We’ll be patient in build-up but when we’re ready to go we’ll break quickly, hopefully too quickly for the Mariners to deal with.”

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