‘We can do it’: Heidelberg’s semi-pros back at work and eyeing another A-League upset

Australian soccer’s giant killers Heidelberg United believe they can go all the way in the Australia Cup, but they face tough hurdles before their semi-final in September.

There were raucous celebrations from the Warriors at Olympic Village after they overpowered A-League team Wellington Phoenix 4-0 in the quarter-final of the Australia Cup – Football Australia’s version of England’s FA Cup.

The NPL Victoria team’s quarter-final win came a week after their 3-0 victory over another A-League outfit, the Western Sydney Wanderers. It also set two new competition records, going down as the biggest win by a state league side against an A-League rival and becoming the first time state league team to record four “cup-set” wins over A-League clubs.

Goals from Max Bisetto and Asahi Yokokawa early in the second half followed a Wellington own-goal in the first half. Chok Dau delivered the crowd-pleasing fourth goal in the 85th minute.

The Warriors are now waiting to see which A-League team they will come up against in the Australia Cup semi-final in September. It will be either Sydney FC or newcomers Auckland FC, who meet in their own quarter-final in Sydney on Saturday night.

The Bergers players went back to work on Wednesday, among them 22-year-old left-back Fletcher Fulton, who works as a civil engineer for PAD Civil and was still on a high.

“It was unreal, there was definitely more expectation coming into this game and some added pressure, but it could not have gone more perfectly,” Fulton said.

Sydney are a perennial contender in the A-League and Auckland won the premier’s plate for finishing top of the ladder last season, but Bergers coach John Anastasiadis said his club was determined to become the first state league side to win the Cup since it started in 2014.

“I don’t know where the ceiling is for these boys, they are so resilient and they want it. And when you have that mentality, then you get success,” Anastasiadis told Paramount+ post-game.

Fulton agreed with his coach.

“The belief is there now after the last two results,” Fulton said. “We know we can do it.

“No doubt, we will have to lift again. Sydney FC is a powerhouse in the league and Auckland were premiers last season. We will have to find 10 or 20 per cent more than last night’s performance to pull off even a close result.”

While the NPL is a strong state league competition, they theoretically should be no match for the full-time professionals who inhabit the A-League, with teams including Socceroos players and international recruits.

Heidelberg are a powerhouse of the NPL and had a long history in the old National Soccer League, but their team remains a mix of players with full-time jobs and those who focus on their soccer careers, sometimes while coaching juniors or balancing part-time work.

Fellow NPL team Avondale FC have their chance to make the other Australia Cup semi-final on Wednesday night when they host NPL Queensland team Brisbane City at Green Gully Reserve.

As good as the Bergers were on their home turf at Olympic Village, the Phoenix struggled last season and don’t appear to have made significant signings during the off-season, all A-League sides are still in pre-season training ahead of the new season starting on October 17.

The Australia Cup is deliberately scheduled for late in the winter to both give A-League sides meaningful lead-in games and give state league sides the best chance to be competitive, given they are fit and have their full sides available as they are still in season.

But the semi-professional Bergers should have plenty of tough games between now and their Australia Cup semi-final in September.

They play Port Melbourne away on Saturday in their final league match of the season, needing at least a draw to secure a top-two finish and a place in the inaugural Australian Championship, which will run from October 10 to November 16, bringing together the biggest NPL clubs and state or territory champions.

If Heidelberg earns that spot, they will fly to Wollongong to face Wollongong Wolves on October 18 and then have games, either home or away, against NPL Tasmania’s champion and NSW powerhouse Marconi Stallions.

After this weekend, the Bergers will then have the NPL Victoria finals series in which they will either have an elimination final next weekend (if they finish third) or progress to the preliminary finals on September 7.

The NPL Victoria grand final is set for September 14.

“There is still a lot of football and a lot to play for,” Fulton said.

“It will be head down, bum up for all of us.”

Anastasiadis – who starred with Ange Postecoglou’s South Melbourne team in the 1990s, and later helped Bentleigh Greens to a Cup run earlier in the competition’s history before being John Aloisi’s second-in-command at Western United – has now himself in the frame for promotion to an A-League coaching job.

“That’s two A-League sides in a row now, whereas with Bentleigh we played a number of state league sides and beat [A-League club] Perth Glory,” Anastasiadis said, comparing his two thrilling runs in the Cup.

“They put on a masterclass tonight.”

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