TEST FOR KNIGHTS
THE Gold Coast Knights are embracing the chance for an early taste of their 2019 fate, with next week’s FFA Cup tie against Gold Coast United to provide coach Grae Piddick with an NPL “measuring stick”.
NPL entrants next year, the Knights continued their domination of the Gold Coast scene with a 1-0 win over Broadbeach United in the FFA Cup Regional Final at Carrara on Saturday. The victory, which came courtesy of a second-half strike from Oskar Dillon, has set up an April 24 showdown with United for entry into the FFA Cup’s main draw.
Piddick said the opportunity to face NPL opposition would give him valuable insight into their 2019 campaign.
“It will give us a pretty good idea of where we sit right now and then what we need to do to improve,” the former Palm Beach and Gold Coast City NPL mentor said. “I think I’ve got a pretty good idea anyway of what’s required but we play this game and that’ll give us a yardstick to see where we’re at right now. We’ve got some of the skeleton there (but) I think there’s still a lot of improvement across the board that we’re going to need going into next year.
“We’ve got some big games coming up in the next week or so that will set out our season. That will be a real test for us.”
The clash with United is one of three the Knights will play in a 10-day period, beginning on Friday with their Gold Coast Premier League (GCPL) Round 1 battle with Surfers Paradise.
Apollo are the only GCPL outfit to progress to the main draw in the FFA Cup’s fouryear history, but Piddick believes the Knights can add to that list.
“We’re capable of doing that as well.
“We’ve got the makings of a good enough squad, as long as we keep improving. I think the players believe that too but first of all we’ve got to get through the next game.
“I’ve kept a bit of an eye on (United).
“They probably didn’t start the season that well and were a bit light on for players but then they’ve recruited new players in the last month that have definitely strengthened the squad. I think they’ve put in some pretty good performances in the last few weeks so we’re expecting to be playing a team that’s on the up.”