It's a soccer case of David against Goliath and the O'Connor Knights are hoping to produce the same outcome.
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And Knights coach Nick Tither has called on Canberra to get behind them as they look to take down under-fire A-League Men club Macarthur Bulls in the Australia Cup.
Tither hoped the Knights could in turn then help in Canberra's bid for an ALM team of its own by putting the capital on the soccer map.
The Knights were one of the NPL clubs who were unlucky enough to draw an ALM club in the round of 32 in their first time of making it to this stage of the tournament.
While the draw was completed on Wednesday night, the venues and dates for the games were yet to be finalised - although it was hoped that would happen by next week.
Deakin Stadium and Viking Park would be two options for O'Connor, whose board was in the process of locking in a venue.
![The O'Connor Knights, left, will play the Macarthur Bulls in the Australia Cup round of 32. Bulls captain Ulises Davila is one of five Macarthur players embroiled in an alleged betting scandal. Pictures by Keegan Carroll, Getty Images The O'Connor Knights, left, will play the Macarthur Bulls in the Australia Cup round of 32. Bulls captain Ulises Davila is one of five Macarthur players embroiled in an alleged betting scandal. Pictures by Keegan Carroll, Getty Images](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/j2iwCiKfwhVWJky39Vsdpt/5f9d0e97-497c-4be8-8c4d-e547c013db2e.png/r0_0_1200_675_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Bulls will come to Canberra trying to put their turmoil behind them after they became embroiled in an alleged betting scandal that engulfed the ALM.
Macarthur captain Ulises Davila, Clayton Lewis and Kearyn Baccus have been accused of manipulating yellow cards in matches and being linked to a criminal group.
All of that drama is likely to follow the club to Canberra for what could be one of the Bulls' first games since details of the scandal emerged.
Tither hoped Canberra would get behind them as they look to knock off one of the big boys - especially as it could help finalise the ACT's bid to get onto the ALM stage.
The Canberra Times revealed the capital's return to the top flight would have to wait until the 2025-26 season because it was now too close to the upcoming campaign.
"We represent Canberra and we've been provided with an opportunity to play against an A-League club so I just hope the Canberra community comes out and supports a Canberra team against a professional outfit because if we can get good support that can only help to get that [A-League] team across the line," Tither said.
He also said they would leave no stone unturned in their bid to cause an Australia Cup upset.
But the Knights have lost just one of their past 30 matches, with the purple patch stretching back 12 months and saw them win last year's minor premiership before losing the grand final in a penalty shoot-out.
They sit second on the Canberra NPL ladder and were excited about the chance for their players to showcase themselves on the national stage.
"Football is a funny game, a simple game, and stranger things have happened," Tither said.
"All I do know is the squad will be excited, will be well-prepared. We'll make sure we give it a red-hot go and ... stranger things have happened."