Former Tuggeranong junior Carl Valeri has his eye on a dream FFA Cup contest against his former club, but United coach Steve Forshaw has urged his players to focus on breaking a five-game losing streak in the Capital Football Premier League.
Tuggeranong's match against Monaro has been shifted to Friday night at Hawker Oval, giving the players time to recover before Tuesday's game against South Hobart FC in the FFA Cup.
Tuggeranong could face Valeri's A-League club, Melbourne Victory, in the round of 16 should both clubs progress past their opening matches.
But United must first reverse its losing form in the league.
Despite going down in their past five matches, including a 3-0 loss to Cooma last weekend, Forshaw has been heartened by his side’s development.
"We still need to improve further before we actually start getting results,” Forshaw said, “The boys are doing well in training but we need some wins.
“The FFA Cup cannot be a distraction for the players ahead of the game against Monaro.”
Tuggeranong was the junior club for Socceroos Valeri and Tom Rogic, Valeri throwing his support behind the team as it embarks on the FFA Cup.
“I can’t believe that they are playing in the FFA Cup – it’s great,” Valeri said. “It’s crazy to think ... we may meet in the round of 16.”
Forshaw said it would be a "David versus Goliath" contest should Tuggeranong get the opportunity to play against Valeri and A-League opposition. Despite being underdogs, Forshaw had faith his team could progress.
“Both teams [Tuggeranong and South Hobart] are limited in the knowledge of each other, so we just have to focus on playing our own game,” Forshaw said.
“It will certainly add an extra twist to the story [if we played Valeri]. It will be like David versus Goliath – we’d be really excited to come up against an A-league side.”
Friday: Monaro v Tuggeranong United at Hawker, 8pm.
