South Melbourne FC returns to Queensland for the first time in over a decade when it faces the Palm Beach Sharks at Cbus Stadium on the Gold Coast in Westfield FFA Cup Round of 32 action on Wednesday night.
The last time South was in Queensland for a competitive match was on Saturday 3 January 2004, when the Brisbane Strikers defeated Stuart Munro’s South Melbourne side 1-0 at Perry Park during the final season of the old National Soccer League.
Eleven years on, Chris Taylor’s South Melbourne side play their first match in the Westfield FFA Cup Round of 32 proper, having failed to qualify for the inaugural competition in 2014. South qualified this year thanks to qualifying wins against Whittlesea United (14 March), North Sunshine (15 April), Melbourne Knights (5 June) and Frankston Pines (17 June).
Palm Beach reached the Round of 32 with qualifying wins against Broadbeach United (12 May), South West Queensland Thunder (6 June) and Noosa Lions FC (27 June). In the FFA Cup last year, Palm Beach knocked out both Sydney Hakoah (Round of 32) and South Springvale (Round of 16) before losing their Quarter Final match 0-5 against the Central Coast Mariners.
Wednesday night’s match will be broadcast LIVE on Fox Sports Channel 505, with kick-off at 7:30pm. South Melbourne coverage will begin from 6:30pm, with a special documentary on the Club screening from 6:30pm prior to the game starting.