ROCKDALE City will step into the national spotlight tonight when they host A-League champions Melbourne Victory in the FFA Cup Round of 16.
Rockdale, which represents the St George area in the National Premier Leagues NSW Men's 1 competition, will face the might of one of the biggest clubs in Australia at Jubilee Oval in the nationwide knock-out competition.
The Suns as representatives of Football NSW were one of five Sydney-based teams to qualify for the national Round of 32, which includes all 10 professional A-League teams.
Tonight they will play in front of an Australia-wide audience live on pay TV.
(See related story: Necevski holds Suns' hopes in his hands)
Rockdale mayor Shane O'Brien said the community was right behind the Suns in their David-and-Goliath clash.
"I am very proud of the Suns, and their amazing achievement in the Westfield FFA Cup," he said.
"No matter what the result is against Melbourne Victory, the Suns are still outstanding sporting ambassadors for our city."
Rockdale president Dennis Loether said it would be the club's biggest night ever.
"We're 46 years old and for this game we've been saying '46 years of tradition, one night to make history'," he said.
"It's an opportunity to take on the best club in the country, the national champions, in a proper competition."
Along with the club's success in the first division of NSW football in 1984 and 2006, Loether said a win over Melbourne would be one of Rockdale's greatest achievements.
"This is right up there," he said. "It's unique in that it's on the national stage.
"The wider football community will know about Rockdale.
"How often can a team say they've played against the champions of Australia in front of their home crowd and live on TV across the country in a proper game?"
Loether, club president for about 18 months, said he hoped the Suns would have the support of the wider community tonight.
‘‘We represent the St George area but we’re also firmly Sydney-based,’’ he said.
‘‘That Sydney v Melbourne rivalry will come to the fore.
‘‘Expect a lot of passion from our players.
‘‘We hope that there’ll be a large number of general football fans, who have no affiliation with Rockdale, turn up and support us because in sport you always want to see the underdog succeed.
‘‘Hopefully they adopt us as their team for the night.
‘‘There would be nothing sweeter than causing a monumental upset. Anything can happen in football.’’
Tickets will be available at the gate.
Kick-off is at 7.30pm.
Will you be there supporting the Suns?