Giant Killers Knights Looking To Charge On In Cup
Pictured from Left to Right: Striker Ashley Shore, Captain Jay Reid and goalkeeper Evan Pearse.
They’re making quite a name for themselves as the ‘Magic of the Cup’ seems to be smiling favourably on Capital League 1 side Brisbane Knights after they accounted for yet another Flight Centre Premier League scalp in the Brisbane Zone Preliminary RD4 of the Westfield FFA Cup recently. Mitchelton the latest side to be slain by Knights following what was without doubt one of the greatest shocks in the zone since the competition began when they dumped out Lions FC in RD3, with Lions having only ever been knocked out of the cup by higher tier opposition previously. Perhaps even more spectacular is the fact that both Lions and Mitchelton were the current Flight Centre Premier League leaders at the time and that Knights defeated them on their own turf. So what do Knights put this success down to and just how far can they go? We recently caught up with Player/Coach Dave McEvoy and asked him what do Knights attribute to their cup success so far? His answer was pragmatic, "The group of boys! They're an unreal bunch of lads who all get along. They socialise outside of football but all want to be a part of the team and a part of the club." Captain Jay Reid was quick to suggest that the coach himself should take the credit. "He's unbelievable to be honest. He's brought in the right players in both top team and reserves. The depth of the squad is good and that's the reason why we're doing well at the moment. Goalkeeper Evan Pearse, who saved a last minute penalty in the game against Mitchelton to take it to extra time, echoed the sentiment of there being a good team unity amongst the squad. He added, "We have a belief coming into the big games and that we feel we can beat any of the big sides in Brisbane." McEvoy has that belief too when asked if they can go all the way and reach the national Round of 32. "Why not. We didn't expect to get this far so we'll enjoy it while it lasts." he said. Knight's aren't daunted either by the introduction of the Brisbane based PlayStation4 National Premier League clubs entering the RD5 draw - in fact, they'd love nothing more than to face one of them and with their current form, who knows what can happen. "Brisbane Strikers away for sure. Let's claim another big club." McEvoy enthused. His sentiment was echoed by Reid who would be happy to face either Strikers or Olympic FC. "We've knocked out two of the top Flight Centre Premier League clubs so why not. We've gone this far, let's go again." he said. Reid reiterated the belief within the squad. "When we beat Lions the self-belief amongst the lads was unreal. When we got Mitchie, it wasn't a case of lets go there and stop them from playing, we believed we could go there and beat them the whole time and that we could win the game." Pearse, the hero on the night against Mitchelton, relived his save from Josh McVey's penalty at the end of 90 minutes. "I'd actually been watching the Football Brisbane YouTube highlights of McVey's free kicks and noticed he tends to favour the right hand side, so I was definitely going to my left. His spot kick started to curl back a little bit and I managed to get my right hand up quickly and palm it away. It was certainly heart in the mouth stuff." he said. The Westfield FFA Cup had been a focus for Knights this season as McEvoy explained. "Yes for sure although it was a bit of a nightmare when we drew Lions FC away in RD3." He added, "You look at Southside Eagles last year, they had a good cup run and it helped them in the league. The lads train a little bit harder through the year when you're still in the cup and it's a bit of an incentive to keep momentum going." Having coached at Lions FC last season, McEvoy is looking to the future and looking at Knights to emulate their set up and club culture. Having also been mentored by Lions coach Warren Moon proved to be a useful insight in their tie against the reigning Flight Centre Premier League Premiers. "Moony was good enough to take me on last year for 4-5 months and show me the ropes so I had an background knowledge on the players and style." McEvoy admitted. The final word went to Danny Simic who like McEvoy, has come to Brisbane Knights from Lions FC and is assisting the young coach, as well as helping implement the kind of professionalism seen at the Richlands club. He said, "We've got a pretty good side here and that some sides are going to underestimate us." He added, "I've said from day one when I came here that the personnel are quite good, quite strong, but the mentality wasn't quite there. I think now though that there is that belief that we can compete with the big clubs and it's just been a question of putting it all together and making it click." Knights will be eagerly awaiting the Preliminary RD5 draw which is set to take place next week and no doubt who ever they get drawn against, they will go into the game confident they can progress.
