Bentleigh Greens coach John Anastadias revealed that his players are inspired to grab the chance of a lifetime and beat A-League leader Perth Glory to qualify for the inaugural FFA Cup final.
The two teams will do battle in a semi-final at Bentleigh’s home ground – Kingston Heath Soccer Complex, in Cheltenham – on Tuesday night. Adelaide United and Central Coast Mariners will meet in the other semi at Coopers Stadium on Wednesday.
Anastadias says the Bentleigh boys – a mix of full-time workers and students – are pumped up at the thought of being the only non-A-League club left in the competition and are determined to cause a massive upset.
“The excitement level is pretty high at the moment,” Anastadias told TWG. “It’s a funny feeling, it’s just, like, surreal.
“We’re in the semis and getting so much attention, it’s quite incredible, but we’ve embraced it. A lot of the boys are loving it, they haven’t been in the spotlight and now they’re in a bit of the spotlight. They’re taking the mickey out of each other a bit and enjoying it.
“They’ve done a great job and who knows what else might happen? If they produce the goods against Perth some of the boys might get a knock on the door from someone saying ‘come and try your luck at a bit higher level’.
“I know they want it, they believe it. They’re going out there thinking they can win and will win. We’ll give it a good shake, do you worry about that.
“I’ve said to them ‘a chance like this may never come around again, so make sure you give it your best shot’. I’m sure that if they do that they’ll get a reward for it.”
Bentleigh beat fellow National Pemier League sides in the rounds of 32, 16 and the quarter-finals.
The step up to compete against A-League opposition obviously represents a massive challenge for the semi-professional club, but Bentleigh is not going in with a “hope for the best” mentality.
“We’ve prepared properly,” Anastadias said. “We’ve analysed the Glory quite a bit. We’ve watched a few of their games and while they’re sitting on top of the A-League ladder we still believe we can get something out of the game.
“I think each person has got to win his individual battle and if that happens, then, collectively, we’ll win the game.
Anastadias says he asked his players to remember the hurt of a previous loss in a big game.
“Last year we played in the final of the Victorian league and really should have won the game, but we lost,” he said.
“I’ve said to them ‘this is a great opportunity to put yourselves in another final in a different competition, you’ve got to use it as an inspiration and motivation to get to the final again’.
“We’re the only non-A-League club in the country that has made it to the semi-finals of the FFA Cup, so I asked the boys to cast their minds back to last year when they were hurting bad.
“I don’t want them to be hurting again. To come this far has been unbelievable, but we can go further.”
Asked what the key was to Bentleigh doing well, Anastadias replied: “We have to be careful to try not to concede early, try to stay in the game as long as possible. If we do that we give ourselves a good chance.
“It’s very important that we don’t get intimidated. We know we’ve got the crowd behind us, so we’ve got to use that.”
It has emerged that Bentleigh’s English-born centre-back, Jack Webster, cleaned Perth’s Irish-born striker Andy Keogh’s boots when Webster was a teenage apprentice at Scunthorpe United in the mid-2000s.
Webster will now be marking Keogh in a Cup semi-final.
“I said to Jack ‘well, here’s your chance, mate’,” Anastadias said. “These boys look up to the A-League fellows, but they also grow an inch when they’re against them. Jack was an apprentice over there in England and this is a great opportunity for him to compete against Keogh.
“Jack’s loving the thought of it, he just can’t wait. These guys thrive on this sort of thing. I’ve got full confidence in Jack. I don’t know if Keogh will remember him, but let’s hope he remembers him after tomorrow night.
“That’s the FFA Cup, that’s the romance about it. We waited a long time for this competition and we’ve got it now and it will just get bigger and bigger.”
Anastadias said the players would prepare for match day the same way they always do.
“A normal work day and go to the game about 5.30pm,” he said. “Normal preparation. I think a couple of the boys have got school exams and four or five will be working, but only half days. Their bosses have been very kind to them with this opportunity coming up.”
source: sbs.com.au
(Φωτογραφία: Intime ) 
STUDIO 3 NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA 