FFA Cup Brisbane Zone RD3 Preview
Round 3 features 14 ties to determine who will progress into the Round 4 draw of the FFA Cup and a possible clash with an NPL or FQPL side.
It will also see the remaining nine Flight Centre Brisbane Premier League sides compete after receiving byes in RD2 and following the departure of three sides (Brisbane Knights, Taringa Rovers and Acacia Ridge) from the previous round. All of last week's tie ended up being postponed due to wet field conditions and are set to be played this week... weather and fields permitting. So here are the ties coming up....
Tue 13 Mar, 7.00pm KO: Jimboomba Utd v AC Carina @ Kurrajong Park. Jimboomba Utd enjoy another home tie with Viva Capital League 2's AC Carina the visitors to Kurrajong Park. Last round saw United defeat North Brisbane and it's perhaps interesting to note that North Brisbane draw with AC Carina over the weekend in the league. Based on that, this game should be closer than expected, especially if the zone's most southerly club can repeat their performance from the previous round. There's likely to be goals in this one so it will come down to which defence can hold firm. Prediction: With home advantage, we'll give Jimboomba the nod in a 3-2 win. Tue 13 Mar, 7.15pm KO: Annerley v Western Spirit @ Edler Oval. In the last round, both sides scored 5 goals against their opponents but those opponents were from very different echelons. Annerley knocked out Flight Centre Brisbane Premier League side Brisbane Knights, whilst Spirit's passage was a little easier against Logan Village from two divisions below. Perhaps difficult to assess this all Viva Capital League 1 clash but Spirit's loss to New Farm Utd at the weekend in the league indicates their defence could be the more frail. Prediction: Has the potential to require extra time which Annerley ought to go on and claim the win in. 3-2 Annerley in the extra half hour. Tue 13 Mar, 7.15pm KO: Logan City Kings v The Lakes @ Meakin Park. Meant to be played last week but curtailed by the weather, Logan City Kings will be eager to return to the park with just the last round of the cup being their only competitive game thus far. The Lakes are a very different prospect to last season and having defeated Bardon Latrobe 6-2 in the last round, will prove to be a stiff test for Kings. Lakes boast former Grange Thistle midfielder Chris Roulston in the side as well as a host of former Peninsula Power players and are likely to feature in the top four in Viva Capital League 3. It could be another free scoring affair with both sides netting six goals in Round 2 but perhaps that little bit of quality Lakes possess could make the difference.
Prediction: Defences likely to be busy in this one but Lakes to progress with a 3-2 success. Tue 13 Mar, 7.30pm KO: Centenary Stormers v Oxley Utd @ Atthows Park. A real derby game with just a seven minute drive separating the two clubs. Last season, both sides competed in Capital League 2 with Centenary having the rub on their local rivals in each meeting. This season there's a divisional gap between them and based on that, the Flight Centre Brisbane Premier League side should be too strong for United. If keeper Phil Zabaks plays, it will be his first FFA Cup tie since the shot stopper featured in Lions FC's 2016 RD7 defeat to Brisbane Strikers. His experience will be invaluable though as Stormers look to achieve a good cup run in 2018 and against Oxley, they should progress to the next round. Prediction: If Stormers get a good start, there could be a few goals in this one. Stormers 4-0. Tue 13 Mar, 7.30pm KO: Grange Thistle v New Farm Utd @ Lanham Park. The Flight Centre Premier League leaders host New Farm this evening as they look to head into RD4 of the Cup. On paper this should be a straight forward tie for Thistle but New Farm have started their season well and are yet to be defeated in both cup and league, having scored 12 goals in just 3 games - so Thistle's defence will need to be organised. It will be a good test for the visitors but ultimately it would be hard to see them get a result in their favour at Lanham Park. Prediction: Thistle to progress to RD4 with a well earned 3-1 win. Tue 13 Mar, 7.30pm KO: Ipswich City v Bayside Utd @ Sutton Park. The Bulls sauntered into RD3 after defeating Park Ridge 7-0 in a game that was switched from Sutton Park to Park Ridge's Hubner Park last round. They will be hoping the weather is kind and they can finally kick a ball on home turf when Flight Centre Brisbane Premier League side Bayside Utd visit on Tuesday evening. A handy 3-3 draw in the league at New Farm earlier in the month demonstrates they have goals in them. Bayside's only game to date saw them suffer defeat to UQFC, so this tie could pose as a potential banana skin for them should they not perform on the night. Tricky to truly assess where these sides are at and it could prove to be an interesting clash. Prediction: Going for an upset here with the Bulls to sneak it 2-1. Tue 13 Mar, 7.30pm KO: Albany Creek v Bethania Rams @ Wolter Park. One of only two ties that pits Flight Centre Brisbane Premier League up against Viva Capital League 3. It's a David v Goliath encounter that Creek will not want to lose whilst The Rams will put everything into this one as they look to cause an upset. From the form book though, it would be difficult to see Steve Glockner's side faltering here. It will be a good test for Bethania to see where they are at as they face a top flight side and if they can keep the scoreline respectable, they will be able to head home relatively satisfied. Prediction: Creek to stroll into the next round with a 5-1 win. Tue 13 Mar, 7.45pm KO: Virginia United v North Pine @ Albert Bishop Park. The only all Flight Centre Brisbane Premier League tie of the round meaning we may be left with just eight top flight sides leading into RD4. Virginia United's only foray in the lesgue so far was given a bump down to earth when they were handed a 5-1 thumping at home to Grange Thistle which also saw them reduced to 10 men. They'll be hoping for a better outcome at Albert Bishop Park in this RD3 tie as they look to play their first home game of the season in all competitions. Whether they can bounce back from that defeat is hard to say but the Gorillas should be a less daunting prospect. It will still be a game that United will be seen as underdogs, especially given North Pine's eventual first game of the season at Acacia Ridge last weekend that saw them come away with a 4-2 win. Prediction: Virginia carrying that heavy defeat and a suspension into this tie and the Gorillas still hungry for action should see the visitors through. 3-1 to the Gorillas. Wed 14 Mar, 7.00pm KO: Westside Grovely v North Star @ Grovely Sports Ground. Westside have seen little action so far this season, as have many other sides in all fairness. Strangely though, the two games they have played were both at Clairvaux with a penalty shootout win in RD2 of the cup leading them to this tie at home to North Star, whilst a 3-1 loss to the Foxes followed in the league. North Star have already claimed a top flight scalp when they defeated Acacia Ridge in RD2. Their league form has seen them win one and most recently lose one, being a 2-0 defeat to early pace setters Toowong at the weekend. Star ought to prevail here though unless Westside can grind preceedings out to another penalty shootout. Prediction: North Star to keep the FFA Cup run going with a 3-1 win. Wed 14 Mar, 7.00pm KO: UQFC v Ridge Hills Utd @ University of QLD 3. This tie was originally scheduled to be played at Ridge Hills Stanley Day Park, but due to pitch conditions and being unable to have the field ready in time, the tie has been switched to UQFC. The Students have started their season well since returning to the Flight Centre Brisbane Premier League, with a win and a draw to date, so it could prove to be a tough evening out for Viva Capital League 3 side Ridge Hills. Hills reached RD3 with an entertaining to and fro tie and eventual penalty shootout win over new side Logan Roos in RD2 and their only other outing was also against Logan Roos when they defeated them again in a 4-1 league success. Ridge Hills boast some experience in their side but they're unlikely to be a match for UQ. Prediction: UQFC to progress with a 4-1 win. Wed 14 Mar, 7.30pm KO: Brisbane Athletic v Samford Rangers @ Pinkenba Reserve. Perhaps the most intriguing tie of the round will be played out at Pinkenba Reserve when Brisbane Athletic host Samford Rangers. Both sides reached this round with wins over higher division opponents. Athletic defeating Newmarket in extra time, whilst more impressive was Samford's dumping of Flight Centre Premier League side Taringa Rovers out of the cup. Both sides like to play attacking football and can score goals. Samford's only league outing resulted in a convincing 4-0 defeat of Tarragindi Tigers whilst Athletic enjoyed a 4-2 win at Jimboomba Utd at the start of the month. Certainly a tough one to predict with Athletic enjoying home advantage and Rangers boasting a potent strike force. This one could well go to extra time. Prediction: Rangers to edge an entertaining end to end clash 3-2. Wed 14 Mar, 7.30pm KO: St George Willawong v The Gap @ St Georges Park. St George suffered a rare defeat and an even rarer scoreless outing against North Star recently, but bounced back with a 3-2 come back win over Pine Hills last weekend to record their first Viva Capital League 1 win of the season. The Gap wont take the Saints lightly and will need to improve upon their recent defeats to Albany Creek and Grange Thistle in the Flight Centre Brisbane Premier League. It definitely stands out as one of the crunch ties this round an even for a Wednesday night, there should be a healthy parochial crowd at St George's Park to make it even tougher for Trevor Rohdmann's Gators. Prediction: Expect a low scoring encounter with Gap edging it 2-1. Wed 14 Mar, 7.45pm KO: Caboolture v Tarragindi Tigers @ AJ Kelly Park. Both of these sides recorded away wins in the previous round but you'd be hard pressed to think Tarragindi can get a result against their Viva Capital League 1 opponents. That said, the Tigers have tasted victory over the Snakes last season when they surprised everyone by defeating Caboolture in the league at Grants Road. This tie is being played at Peninsula Power's AJ Kelly Park and the large smooth track should benefit the home side who's playing style will be better suited to the conditions. Tarragindi will need to be at their very best if they want to feature in the RD4 draw but this should be a home banker. Prediction: The Snakes to progress to the RD4 draw and a possible match-up against the big guns from the NPL or FQPL.
Wed 14 Mar, 7.45pm KO: Pine Hills v Mt Gravatt @ James Drysdale Reserve. Pine Hills saw off fellow Viva Capital League 1 side Moggill in RD2 to reach this round but have suffered defeat to league rivals Caboolture Sports FC and St George Willawong in the Viva Capital League 1 with the recent 3-2 defeat to the Saints coming from them leading the game 2-0 at one stage. The Hawks came from behind to defeat Acacia Ridge in their opening Flight Centre Brisbane Premier League encounter in a game they dominated for large parts and they followed that with an impressive 1-1 draw at UQFC last weekend. If Mt Gravatt maintain the level of performance displayed so far, it could be a long night for the Pythons. Home advantage might assist Hills, but they will need to improve upon their recent losses to present Hawks any sort of problems. Prediction: Hawks to progress comfortably with a 4-0 success.
