Antonis Pagonis 
Campbelltown City and Modbury Jets will represent South Australia, along with Adelaide United, in the Australia Cup Round of 32. Photo: Ken Carter
Less than a month after Campbelltown City took on Modbury Jets in the Federation Cup final, the two sides embark on the national stage with their respective away trips in the Round of 32 of the Australia Cup.
Campbelltown City was successful in the final, with Josh Mori and Marc Marino’s firepower proving too much for the Jets to handle on the day. The two forwards combined for three goals on the day to help the Red Devils claim their first piece of silverware since the 2020 NPL SA Grand Final.
The return of silverware was welcomed at Newton, but coach Michael Matricciani will be keen to continue on that path for a side that has won five Championships since 2013.
The Red Devils are no strangers to national success either. The club won the NPL National Finals Series in 2018 and knocked out Australia Cup holder Macarthur in the 2023 edition of the competition.
Captain Alex Mullen spoke about the significance of the national stage for a proud club like Campbelltown City.
“It is probably one of the most important things, bar winning a Championship,” he shared.
“Being on the national stage gives you exposure, not only for the club but for all the individuals within the club, for different reasons. It gives the older volunteers satisfaction to know that the club that they supported for so many years is going really well.
“It gives the coaches exposure at that next level, and young players get given an opportunity to impress people who might be watching, which can elevate their careers. For the older boys like myself, Joel (Allwright), and Daniel (Mullen), we have these thoughts that this may be the last opportunity to push at this higher level.
“It offers a lot of exposure for different reasons, and ultimately, for this great club, this is where we want to be. We are very excited that we have the fortune to play at this higher level.”
Last year, Mullen was suspended for the Macarthur match, but he shared that watching the upset from the stands gave him a different appreciation for the magic of the cup.
“That was a special night, and I actually wasn’t playing because I was suspended for that game, so I had a bit of a different perspective of watching it from the balcony.
“It’s actually quite funny because I think I almost enjoyed the game more, not playing, because I got to see the smile on people’s faces as we beat a big A-League team. It made me feel really good and reminded me of the happiness this game can bring to the people, even at a local level.”
While Campbelltown City is in the top four of the NPL SA, it faces a challenge away from home against second-place Moreton City Excelsior.
Meanwhile, Modbury Jets have shaken off another disappointing performance in a final, their third in three years, to maintain the ascendency in their top-of-the-table tussle with MetroStars.
Modbury Jets have only made the national stage once as an over-performing State League One side in 2022. After being humbled in the 2022 Federation Cup final by that season’s all-conquering Adelaide City juggernaut, Maurice Natale’s side scored five goals away from home in Western Australia against Armadale Soccer Club to stun their NPL opposition.
Unfortunately for that Cinderella story, it ran into Dwight Yorke’s Macarthur, who eventually won the competition, with the Jets falling victim to the tune of four goals at ServiceFM Stadium.
Modbury star Hamish McCabe is proud to put Modbury on the map and to represent the state. More importantly, though, he is taking pleasure in the progress his side is making, solidifying itself as an NPL mainstay after some tough years in the wilderness.
“Putting Modbury back on the national stage is what the club wanted, and we’ve had chats throughout the week we qualified with people congratulating us and thanking us for putting their club back on the national stage.
“We are looking forward to it because it means so much to everyone who, until recently, has had a rough five to six years of being up and down, like a yo-yo, from the NPL to the State League. Now, I feel that we are solidified and building stronger and stronger every day.”
McCabe shared that the experience of travelling to Perth before hosting an A-League side has been invaluable. However, with the team going from strength to strength, making an NPL Grand Final, another Federation Cup Final, and spending most of 2024 in the league’s summit, he feels the group is much better prepared for the national stage this time around.
“Back then, we were a State League side, whereas this year, we are a strong NPL side that has grown on those foundations, and I think it will be a different story.
“We want to test ourselves, and individually, we want to test ourselves against the best and also as a team. I think we’ve just got stronger as a team, and we all trust each other and understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses so we can go out there and put on a great show and hopefully get the results we want.”
The Jets travel to Melbourne to take on VPL 2 leaders Melbourne Srbija, with the hosts hoping to upset the Jets just as Maurice Natale’s side flipped the script on Armadale two years prior.