Look out, Canberra. Cooma may be a sleepy country town miles away in the middle-of-nowhere, but their football team will stop at nothing to take the Federation Cup out of Canberra's hands.
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The Cooma Tigers have set their sights on making their national debut in the FFA Cup but first they'll have to overcome reigning champions Canberra FC in the qualifying final on Saturday.
Star striker Mark Shields believes securing the prestigious title will put them on the map as one of Capital Football's powerhouses.
"It's going to put us on a stage where we really would love to be," Shields said.
"We would love to be known as one of the premier clubs in Canberra and the FFA Cup is the perfect stepping stone for that."
Cooma had their first taste of the professional football world when they locked horns with star talent in the land that gave us Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona.
The Tigers' pre-season tour to Argentina left players eager to launch their football careers and Shields believes the FFA Cup is the perfect platform to do that.
"They're looking for their opportunity to progress as players and having that taste of professional football in Argentina meant a lot to them," Shields said. "They really want to live and breathe football but it's hard to get noticed in the Canberra league because it doesn't get recognised as one of the stronger leagues.
"The FFA Cup has been an especially good stepping stone for a lot of players to move on."
Argentinian stars Nico Abot and Jose Defilippi headline Cooma's dangerous forward line and will be vital for their team's success at Deakin Stadium.
Abot leads the Golden Boot tally in the league and will put away any chance in front of goal.
"We try to be as effective as possible and potent in front of goals and obviously Nico is a big part of that," Shields said. "Jose [Defilippi] has been great in the middle and has played professionally around the world as well. It's great for us to have them and those players who can really bolster us and bring that professionalism into the club."
Canberra midfielder Mat Grbesa believes targeting the Tigers' forward pack will be key to retaining the Federation Cup.
The ploy worked wonders in their last meeting as Canberra broke the Tigers' five-game winning streak and handed them a 1-all draw in round seven.
"It's always a physical game against Cooma," Grbesa said. "They're playing in front of goal and any chance Cooma get they'll put away. If we can shut that down that'll work in our favour."
Canberra were knocked out by Broadmeadow Magic in the round-of-32 last year and have set their sights on going further in the Australian-wide tournament. But first they'll have to overcome three games in seven days to retain their place in the FFA Cup.
The reigning champions suffered a shock 5-0 defeat to Gungahlin last weekend before bouncing back to defeat Canberra Olympic 1-0 on Wednesday.
"The confidence has built itself back up," Grbesa said. "We're not going to forget about [the loss] but we're going to put it to the back of our minds. It'll be tough on our bodies but I think the momentum coming off [the win] will carry through."
FFA CUP FINALS
Saturday at Deakin Stadium:
Men: Canberra FC v Cooma Tigers, 7pm.
Lucie Bertoldo
Lucie Bertoldo is a sports reporter for the Canberra Times.
Lucie Bertoldo is a sports reporter for the Canberra Times.
