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Great crowds, atmosphere, play, goals and coverage, mixed with send-offs, penalties and interest aplenty. As far as opening nights go, the FFA Cup’s introduction to Australia could hardly have gone better.
With two of the opening four matches going into extra time, one to penalties, this was a tight and tense opening night, sprinkled with moments of quality from the likes of Sydney Olympic’s Hari Gaitatzis and Brisbane Strikers’ Matt Thurtell.
While there were a few red cards and some frustration from those bowing out, altogether it was a night of great spirit and good times.
Indeed, for this 25 year observer of the game in Australia, is was one of club football’s greatest nights here, up there with the birth of the A-League, the arrival of the Western Sydney Wanderers and some of the great NSL occasions.
For all the talk of old soccer and new football and the FFA’s ongoing awkward handling of this dynamic, this was a night where we could celebrate the long-awaited connection between the top and the rest.
Coming after the success here of the World Cup, it highlighted again that the round ball has become an accepted player in the Australian sporting landscape rather than a peripheral foreign invader.
The scenes out of Kingston Heath Soccer Complex at the end of South Springvale’s penalty shoot-out victory over South Cardiff FC encapsulated everything great about the concept of the knock-out cup.
Here was a part time team from the third tier of Victorian football having their moment in the sun.
Manager Bill Lambropoulos was lost for words, suggesting his heart was beating a rate of 220. Goalkeeper Rani Dowisha, the penalty shoot-out hero, spoke of the family environment within the club and of many doing it for nothing.
Here South Springvale had a great pay-day, with over 2000 paying fans and the potential of a round of 16 game against an A-League side to come.
Heady days indeed. Here’s hoping there are some wise heads around that invest it by helping build the club from this base.
What the FFA Cup does for those in the spotlight is give then a platform to impress, boost the finances, and help grow their clubs.
Certainly, the coverage on Fox Sports, featuring a live game between Broadmeadow Magic and Brisbane Strikers, and cameras and correspondents at the other three game, appeared to be a rousing success.
If the ratings were good, it might just encourage Fox to invest more heavily in covering the remainder of this year’s competition.
Those with a long memory of the A-League will remember that in the opening season Fox only committed to one game a week initially , but such was the interest and demand, they eventually moved to covering every game.
While coverage of every game might be pushing it for the this inaugural FFA Cup season, many fans, particular those too far from games, would be satisfied with a similar arrangement to last night’s fare.
While the mainstream media attention in the build up was tame if not existent, fortunately there has been good coverage in local, social and new media such as The Roar.
There is something very raw and appealing about a competition that connects the local with the top, and a key ingredient to what is hoped will be the competition’s future growth is that there’s already a big buzz around it.
Think about the potential of the build up to the next batch of four games next Tuesday night.
Then think ahead to the potential growth for next season and beyond.
You could just picture the next committee meetings for those state league and association clubs not in the final 22 this time around.
Planning for the 2015 version would be high on the agenda. Imagine, for a second, the number of nominations that Football NSW is likely to field for next season’s Waratah Cup. Or how any Football Victora will receive for the Docherty Cup.
The hope is the attention garnered from their involvement here may even spill over into increased crowds for their regular season games.
And what of the kids that don the strips of the clubs representing? Suddenly, their eyes start to dazzle as they razzle with the ball at their feet.
Clubs across the land are already being encouraged to develop better players and build better pathways into the elite systems, so it’s likely the quality of the football will continue to evolve, not that the quality is the only measuring stick here.
Yet the smart clubs will realise that investing in quality coaching and youth development structures can help take them onto this stage more consistently.
While the concept of promotion and relegation may still be a few years away, these clubs at least now have a carrot dangling.
This was an opening night which highlighted that the FFA Cup has a healthy and exciting future and does so much more than just fill an A-League off-season void.
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