IVAN Necevski has experienced both the highs and lows of playing against Melbourne Victory.
His Rockdale City team will need all of his experience when the Suns host the reigning A-League champions in their FFA Cup round of 16 tie at Jubilee Oval tonight.
The 35-year-old made his A-League debut against the Victory in 2006 while playing for the Newcastle Jets.
After coming on as a seventh-minute substitute, Necevski earned Man of the Match honours in a 1-0 win in front of almost 30,000 fans.
Necevski was also part of the Sydney FC squad beaten 3-0 in the A-League grand final earlier this year.
The veteran shot-stopper retired at the end of the 2014-15 A-League season but it didn't take long for Rockdale player-coach Paul Reid to give Necevski a call.
Necevski joined Rockdale as an injury replacement after Suns goalkeeper Tomislav Arcaba broke his thumb midway through the National Premier Leagues NSW season.
He was part of Rockdale's resurgence as they ended up missing the NPL top five on the final day of the season and said it would be a great experience for the club to take on the might of the champions.
"They're a great team," he said.
"At Sydney FC we always had a great rivalry.
"It was a hate-hate relationship between Sydney FC fans and Victory fans.
"It will be a big occasion for the boys who play state league.
"Obviously it will be a step up but a lot of players haven't had this kind of chance or got the recognition they deserve.
"Hopefully it's a chance for them to put their talents on show."
Along with Necevski and Reid, Rockdale's squad boasts plenty of A-League experience including former Jets striker Marko Jesic, former Central Coast Mariners striker Dylan Macallister and ex-Sydney FC players Alec Urosevski and Daniel Petkovski.
Necevski said that experience would be important for Rockdale to get a result.
"That experience, you can't buy that sometimes," he said.
"It's going to come in handy having a few ex-A-League players.
"Obviously we'll need to work well as a team and as a unit."
Rather than be overawed, Necevski said he would encourage his team to enjoy the occasion.
"For a lot of the boys it'll be a one-off sort of opportunity," he said.
"Against this sort of opposition it's a chance to shine as a player.
"Hopefully the wider football community come out and support us.
"Against Perth [SC in the previous round] we got just under 2000 people at Ilinden.
"At Kogarah I think we should expect around five or six [thousand]. We are one of the only Sydney teams left so we hope people will come out and support us."
Rockdale City Suns take on the Melbourne Victory in the FFA Cup Round of 16 tie at Jubilee Oval tonight. Kick-off 7.30pm.