IT HAS been an exciting week for Rockdale City, a week that will end with one of the biggest games in the club’s history on Wednesday night.
It will also be the biggest game in Idriss El Hafiane’s career so far.
The 22-year-old will be part of the Suns team to host Perth SC in the FFA Cup round of 32 at the Ilinden Sports Centre, Rockdale.
Rockdale enter the game after their six-game unbeaten run was ended on Sunday with a 3-1 loss to the South Coast Wolves.
The defeat saw them slip out of the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 1 top five on goal difference after the Suns had smashed their way into finals contention with a 3-0 win over local rivals Sutherland on Wednesday night.
Rockdale’s attention will turn to the FFA Cup tonight and El Hafiane, in his final year of a business and commerce degree at university, said he’d had an eye on the clash for some time.
‘‘There’s a lot of buzz around the team and the fans at the moment,’’ he said.
‘‘I’m pretty excited. It’s a pretty important game. I don’t think I’ve played in one bigger than this.
‘‘It’s the exposure [of playing in the FFA Cup]. It creates that buzz. Everyone wants to play on TV and on that level.’’
And while Rockdale have reached the national stage, it could easily have been very different.
The Suns were taken to penalties by St George Association club Arncliffe Aurora in the preliminary rounds before they stormed past Sutherland to reach the final 32.
Player-coach Paul Reid has plenty of experience in his squad after former Central Coast Mariners striker Dylan Macallister and Sydney FC goalkeeper Ivan Necevski joined the club in June.
Along with Reid, Marko Jesic and Alec Urosevski, the Suns now have a formidable blend of youth and players who have featured in the A-League.
El Hafiane, in his fourth year with Rockdale having come through the club’s under-20s, said that experience had been vital to the team’s recent good form.
‘‘Momentum is pretty important for us,’’ he said. ‘‘Pretty much everyone is in form.
‘‘The boys have got a lot of confidence in each other, everyone is firing.’’
Perth SC coach Taki Nicolaidis told his club’s website readers he was excited about the fixture.
“I’m pleased. Pleased for the club and pleased for the players to get an away trip against a strong team,” he said.
“We’ll be doing our homework pretty diligently and make sure we prepare ourselves for a tough game.’’
El Hafiane said the players were hopeful of a big crowd at Ilinden.
‘‘The fans have followed us all year, they stuck by us even when we weren’t doing too well at the start,’’ he said.
‘‘Hopefully they turn out again on Wednesday night and hopefully we can win for them.’’
THE STORY SO FAR
The road to the final 32 (home sides first): Rockdale City 2-1 Rydalmere (fourth preliminary round).
Rockdale City 0-0 Arncliffe Aurora — Rockdale won on penalties (fifth preliminary round).
Sydney University 0-2 Rockdale City (sixth preliminary round).
Rockdale City 3-0 Sutherland (seventh preliminary round).
THE OPPONENTS
Six things you didn’t know about Perth SC:
1) The club’s history dates back to 1948 and the formation of Azzurri. In 1987, Perth Italia Soccer Club was formed after a merger between Perth Azzurri, East Fremantle Tricolore and Balcatta Etna.
2) It is the most successful club in Western Australia. Since 1948, the club has won 20 league titles and 11 cup titles.
3) Several Socceroos have been produced and/or played for the club, including Gary Marocchi, Robbie Dunn, Sean Murphy, Chris Coyne, Richard Garcia, Adrian Madaschi, Mark Birighitti and Nikita Rukavytsya.
4) The club were semi-finalists in the 1968 Australia Cup, losing to eventual winners Sydney Hakoah.
5) The club will undertake a multimillion-dollar redevelopment of its home ground, Dorrien Gardens, West Perth over the next couple of years, including the replacement of natural grass to synthetic turf.
6) Gary Marocchi, the club’s president. He was the inaugural coach of Perth Glory.
FFA Cup round of 32, Rockdale City v Perth SC, Ilinden Sports Centre, Rockdale, Wednesday, kick-off 8.30pm.
