After consigning Hyundai A-League champions Adelaide United to an early Westfield FFA Cup exit in their Round of 32 meeting at the beginning of August, Redlands United will be looking to extend their cup run when they travel to face Canberra Olympic FC on Wednesday night.
The Red Devils became overnight celebrities in the eyes of Australian football fans after the 2-1 victory over Adelaide, but will need to be at their best to advance further into the national knockout competition.
Boss Matt Chandler believes there is no pressure on his charges to defeat their Capital opponents, rather an expectation to perform as they did against the A-League Champions.
“Beating Adelaide was a massive achievement for the club, players, and everyone involved; in a time when we’d struggled in the league with injuries and the like, I was a very proud coach that night,” Chandler said.
“There was no pressure on us in the Adelaide game, and I wouldn’t say there’s pressure for this game either – there’s an expectation on us to go down and hopefully perform as well as we did in the Adelaide game.”
Canberra Olympic will be looking for back-to-back victories over Queensland rivals, after beating Surfers Paradise Apollo 1-nil in the previous round.
Chandler admits the nature of the competition means they have little info on the home side, but that’s not to say they know nothing.
“We have a few coaching colleagues down there, and we’ve spoken to the Surfers Paradise people to find out a little about our opponents,” Chandler said.
“Unfortunately they probably have a lot more information on us, because we went quite global a couple weeks back (after beating Adelaide).”
With temperatures expected to plummet in the Australian Capital there is talk the cold climate may assist the home side, but Chandler dismissed the suggestion.
“Obviously we’re aware of the conditions – we’re going down a day early to try and acclimatise,” he said.
“The weather is uncontrollable; you know what it’s going to be like. Things like injuries or suspensions can hurt you, but we know it’s going to be cold, we’re prepared for that, and I don’t think it will be an issue.”
Chandler was also quick to shoot down any suggestions the quick five-day turnaround could influence his side’s fitness, after their 3-0 victory over Brisbane Roar Youth on Friday night confirmed their place in the PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues Queensland finals for a consecutive year.
“It wasn’t an issue last time – we flew to Cairns and played the weekend before the game against Adelaide, so I think that’s something we can accommodate and take in our stride,” the coach said.
“Our goal now is to win this game and be one of the last eight sides in the country, which would be a remarkable achievement for the club.”
The Round of 16 match will be streamed live on www.foxsports.com.au, with kick-off scheduled for 7:30pm AEST.
