By Chris Harris
To say that Bentleigh’s Jack Webster is confident going into his sides FFA Cup quarter final against Melbourne Victory is an understatement. With the A-League outfit nearing the beginning of their season, and Bentleigh nearing the end of theirs, the centre-back wouldn’t have it any other way.
“You want them to be fresh, so when we do beat them they won’t have any complaints,” he says with a smile
“We’ve done well in the FFA Cup and won the league, I don’t see why we can’t go in there and turn them over.”
It’s been two years since Jack Webster was a part of history, playing for Bentleigh Greens against Perth Glory in the inaugural FFA Cup semi-finals. Now the chance against another A-League outfit looms large as they face Melbourne Victory in the 2016 FFA Cup quarter-finals.
Webster, who has now racked up over 150 appearances for the club and has played in all but one of Bentleigh’s 36 matches this year, is hoping that it will be second time lucky against premier opposition.
“It’s a great draw. One we’ve wanted and against the biggest supported team in the A League,” he says.
“We get to now test ourselves against a very good team who play similar to us. It should be an interesting game,” he said.
Having travelled to NSW, SA and Tasmania in previous cup fixtures, Webster said it was a relief to finally get at the club’s beloved Kingston Heath Reserve.
“I don’t think we were fussed who we got but to get an A League team, especially a Melbourne team, was exciting and a chance to get back home and play in front of our fans,” he said.
One thing Bentleigh has in its favour heading into the match with Victory is previous experience against an A League outfit.
Wayne Wallace, Luke Pilkington, Liam McCormick and Webster himself, all played in the match against Perth Glory which drew a crowd of over 3000, and according to the vice-captain will only benefit the team.
“You definitely take something from it,” he says.
“Talk to the boys about what it’s gonna be like, the hype around it, around the club, it’s a big game.”
The prospect of facing the likes of Besart Berisha, Marco Rojas and James Troisi doesn’t faze Webster. In fact, he sees it as a great chance to prove his skills against quality opposition.
“You get to test yourself and see how far you’ve come. See what the next step up is like and see if you can deal with it and keep progressing.”
The match will take place at Kingston Heath on Tuesday, September 27 with kick-off scheduled for 7:30pm AEST.