Pig'N'Whistle Canale Cup RD4 Preview

We move into Round 4 of the Pig ’N’ Whistle Canale Cup this week with six ties this round that will see six sides go packing with the six winners heading into Round 5 where they’ll be joined by the remaining ten clubs from RD5, 6 and 7 of the Westfield FFA Cup to make up the last 16. There are some intriguing match-ups ahead with possible 'banana skins' awaiting the Flight Centre Premier League sides in this round. Caboolture (CL3) 3 - 1 Ipswich Knights (FCPL) Up until the last couple of weeks, you’d have looked at this clash and considered it hard to look past Caboolture causing an upset. But it seems the tide has turned. No longer is Grant Road Sportsground the fortress it was after Tarragindi Tigers handed the Snakes their first defeat at home for nearly two years last weekend. No longer are Knights the easy beats that had seen hem plummet in the Flight Centre Premier League. So what can we expect? There’s no doubting Caboolture will give this their best effort as not only do they want to cause an upset, they’ll also want to prove they’re a side that should be competing against the best sides in Brisbane. Knights have turned around their form though and despite being without influential play maker Lucas Wilson after his dismissal at the weekend in their 2-1 at Lions FC, as well as it being a long midweek trip to the northern most part of the zone; the Bundamba side should progress to the next round. But they’ll have to battle for it. Prediction: Knights to scrape though 2-1 Oxley United (CL2) 0 - 1 Eastern Suburbs (FCPL) The second lowest ranked side left in the cup face a tough challenge on Saturday afternoon when Flight Centre Premier League side Easts head to Dunlop Park. Easts, after topping the table early last month, have hit a slump of late. That said, they’ll have far too much firepower for Oxley and with the recent arrival of Scot Coulson to the Tigers, who scored on his debut last weekend, will prove to be a very handy replacement for the departed Abraham Yango and injured striker Youiel Shol. It’s difficult to see Oxley troubling Easts in this one, especially given that their latest form is currently one of the worst in Capital League 2 having lost six of their last seven outings. An unpredictable Dunlop Park will prove challenging to the visitors early on though. Prediction: Easts to canter through to RD5 with a 6-0 win.

Brisbane Phoenix reached RD4 courtesy of a 4-0 success over Westside Grovely in the last round.

Brisbane Phoenix (CL2) v Toowong (CL2)

7.30pm - Mon 10 Jul at CJ Greenfield Reserve.

This tie ensures at least one Capital League 2 side will reach the Quarter Finals stage. Ironically both sides face each other in the league in a couple of weeks time. The last time they met, at Dunmore Park, it was Toowong who took the honours in a 1-0 win.

Phoenix are a side on the improve, having won their last three games on the trot which included their RD3 cup win over Westside recently and perhaps more importantly, a solid 3-0 success over Capital League 2 leaders Centenary Stormers.

It’s likely to be a close one but with home advantage in their favour and an upturn in form, Phoenix should prevail.

Prediction: Phoenix to take this one out 3-1. Bayside Utd (CL1) v Capalaba (FCPL) 7.30pm - Tue 11 Jul at Don Randall Oval. There’s a lot of games that get referred to as ‘derbies’ in Brisbane, but this one truly is a local derby with less than 10kms separating the two clubs. It poses as a real banana skin for Capalaba who have already faced Capital League 1 opposition in the Pig 'N' Whistle Canale Cup when they travelled to Wolves FC in RD3. Staring elimination in the face, the Bulldogs mounted an incredible comeback from 3-0 down to take the game into extra-time where Sam Basnett’s goal snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Basnett has since moved on along with a couple of other players and the Bulldogs league form suggests this will be no walk in the park, having suffered six straight at the time of writing and with a difficult catch-up game away to Mitchelton in the league this before this tie. Bayside can compete with any side on their day as they proved recently when narrowly losing to Capital League 1 leaders Taringa Rovers at the weekend. There’s no doubting they’ll be keen to get one up on their local rivals here and I fancy they will. Prediction: United to cause an upset with a 2-1 win. Taringa Rovers (CL1) v Lions FC (FCPL) 7.30pm - Tue 11 Jul at Jack Speare Park. Another interesting clash here with Capital League 1 leaders Taringa Rovers facing reigning Flight Centre Premier League premiers Lions FC. Rovers have lost just two games all season - once in the league to Bayside and a RD3 loss in the Westfield FFA Cup to Grange Thistle. They’ll not be a pushovers in this game and with home advantage they’ll make Warren Moon’s side work for this one. Lions are hungry for silverware and this competition is perhaps their best chance of achieving it. Inconsistent league form has seen their title hopes dented, although finals are a still a very realistic scenario. Lions will still be smarting from their early departure from the Westfield FFA Cup this year as well and before they head to the PlayStation4 NPL in 2018, they will want to leave their mark. Lions should prevail here but as we’ve seen, they’re capable of being their own worst enemy when not firing on all cylinders. Prediction: Lions to progress in a nervy 3-1 success. Acacia Ridge (CL1) v Mitchelton (FCPL) 7.30pm - Wed 12 Jul at Ron Proud Field. The Mustangs had forgotten how to win in recent weeks with their most recent success coming in this competition when they knocked out Capital League 3 side St George Willawong last week, whilst their league form has taken a dive. Acacia Ridge will pose a greater threat to them than St George. Acacia Ridge have the firepower up front to cause Mitchie problems but they’ve suffered a couple of bad losses in recent weeks, including a 4-3 defeat at Wolves FC when where they 3-0 early on before capitulating followed by another 4-1 loss to Wolves FC in a catch-up game at the weekend. Injuries proving to be Ridge's downfall defensively. Ridge will need to put that all behind them and put their best foot forward here. Both sides will be looking to achieve maximum points from their catch-up games in their respective leagues this coming weekend, so it remains to be seen if any injuries to key players will have an impact. Mitchelton will be favourites entering into this tie and should progress to the next round as they aim to defend of their cup title from 2016 although surface at Ron Proud Field could become a leveller.