The Mirabella Cup is now entering the third round of the innovative knockout competition. With an abundance of teams sent their marching orders in the preliminary rounds, the competition for Victorian supremacy is beginning to heat up.
The draw for the third round took place at the FFV headquarters last Wednesday night with a handful of fixtures leaving fans with much to anticipate in the upcoming weeks.
With only four clubs remaining in each region, the third round is effectively the last round of the first stage of the competition. Each zone will have two teams qualify for the second stage, in which they will be drawn with the seeded VPL and State League One outfits.
Due to an imbalance in the number of teams that entered into each region, some clubs have already qualified for the second stage of the tournament. These include Mooroolbark (Prov 1) and Waverly Wanderers (State 3) from the Eastern Zone, Bayside Argonauts (Prov 2) and Kingston City (State 3) from the South-East Zone and Tatura (Regional) and Twin City (Regional) from the Goulburn Zone.
There are still 28 teams (17 State League, nine Provisional League and one Regional) striving to win a place in the next stage of the competition.
It will be a dream come true for many clubs within the Victorian football fraternity, particularly those teams on the lower spectrum of the Victorian pyramid.
The team that has been awarded the home fixture will have a preference on when the third round tie will take place. Due to the commencement of the league season over the weekend, the Mirabella Cup games will now take place as mid-week fixtures. Clubs have a choice from the following dates in April: Tuesday 5th, Wednesday 6th, Thursday 7th, Tuesday 12th and Wednesday 13th April.
The third round represents an exciting contingent of games for many clubs, players and fans around Victoria. With the allure of being drawn against the heavy-weights of Victorian football, there is much at steak given this fantasy is only one victory away. Some clubs may imply that Cup football is a second priority to the league games on the weekend, however make no mistake these fixtures illustrate a defining moment when reminiscing about the season that has been.
The Northern Zone represents the Provisional League clubs plying their trade against their superior State League outfits. The two city clubs will be battling it out as Epping City (Prov 2) will be hosting Banyule City (State 2), a team which held on to dear life in a bid to avoid relegation last season.
Three divisions separate them on the football tree; however Cup football can sometimes be kind to the lower division teams, will this be evident on this occasion?
In the other game, the newly promoted Heidelberg Stars (Prov 3) will be taking on La Trobe University (State 3). Can the Stars cause a massive upset or will the Uni boys stroll their way into the next stage?
The Southern area will see an all out State League affair between the four remaining clubs. A thrilling prospect for everyone affiliated with these clubs.
Dandenong City (State 2) will be travelling to Mornington (State 3) in a bid to knock off their State League counter-parts. Meanwhile South Springvale (State 2) will be playing host to Peninsula Strikers (State 3), a team which has shown some promising form in recent weeks.
Moving over to the west side of Melbourne, Williamstown (State 3) will fancy their chances when they travel away to lower league opposition North Sunshine Eagles (Prov 1). While Keilor Park (State 3) whom barely missed promotion by a single point last year will want to turn their fortunes around by illustrating a strong display against Westgate (State 2).
The Central region will see Yaraville Glory (State 3) start favourites against the Old Melbournians (Prov 1). Whilst a rare occurrence is present as two Provisional League outfits face one another at this stage of the cup, South Yarra (Prov 1) will be hosting Middle Park (Prov 3).
The North-East Zone will see newly promoted State League outfit Old Scotch (State 3) battle for supremacy against recently merged Box Hill United (State 2). The other fixture pits State League Two rivals Doncaster Rovers and Ashburton in what is likely to be a hotly contested match; both teams will be looking to gain early bragging rights over their league counter-parts.
The North-Western suburbs of Melbourne will witness Melbourne Tornado (Prov 2) attempt the ambitious assignment of facing well renowned Moreland City (State 2) on their turf. While Moreland Wolves will be looking to continue their rich vein of form in the cup by hosting highly fancied outfit Hume United (State 3). Can the two Moreland representatives advance through to the second stage?
In the Wimmera South Coast region, Geelong (State 2) will fancy their chances of advancing when they face Forest Rangers (Regional). A division of class should be imminent in this fixture. In the other game, Corio whom narrowly missed promotion to State League Three last season will be attempting to illustrate why they are a force to be reckoned with when they face Ballarat Red Devils (State 2), an outfit which has demonstrated a string of consistent well balanced performances over the years.
The third and final round of the opening stage in the Mirabella Cup is an exhilarating time for many Victorian football fans. The beauty, glamour and traditions of cup football have been evident throughout the opening rounds of the competition.
With the re-establishment of cup football in Victoria, many football clubs envisaged the hallucination of playing against the powerhouse clubs in Victoria- namely Melbourne Knights, South Melbourne, Green Gully, Oakleigh Cannons, Dandenong Thunder and Heidelberg United to name a few.
One more victory and the impossible dream will become reality.
Third Round Mirabella Cup – The Draw
Northern:
Epping City (P2) v Banyule City (S2)
Heidelberg Stars (P3) v La Trobe University (S3)
Eastern:
Mooroolbark (P1) and Waverly Wanderers (S3) have qualified for the next stage.
Southern:
Mornington (S3) v Dandenong City (S2)
South Springvale (S2) v Peninsula Strikers (S3)
Western:
North Sunshine Eagles (P1) v Williamstown (S3)
Keilor Park (S3) v Westgate (S2)
Central:
Yarraville Glory (S3) v Old Melbournians (P1)
South Yarra (P1) v Middle Park FC (P3)
North-East:
Old Scotch (S3) v Box Hill United (S2)
Doncaster Rovers (S2) v Ashburton (P2)
North-West:
Moreland City (S2) v Melbourne Tornado (P2)
Moreland Wolves (P3) v Hume United (S3)
South-East:
Bayside Argonauts (P2) and Kingston City (S3) have qualified for the next stage.
Wimmera South Coast:
Forest Rangers (R) v Geelong (S2)
Corio (P1) v Ballarat Red Devils (S2)
Goulburn:
Tatura (R) and Twin City (R) have qualified for the next stage.
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