In arguably the match of the round (maybe just behind the Adelaide City v West Adelaide fixture at Oakden) the Jets head down to The Paddocks on Friday 24 April to take on local rivals Para Hills in Qualifying Round 2 of the FFA Cup. Kick-off is at 7:30pm.
While both sides are experiencing difficult seasons in the the National Premier Leagues, the prospect of a Cup tie against our oldest and closest rival is perhaps a welcome distraction for supporters, although they will inevitably be more concerned with the league fixture between the two sides at Jet Park the following Friday.
After suffering a heavy loss to West Adelaide last weekend, the Jets will be looking for a sound performance against Para Hills. We will certainly be looking to wrap it up in 90 minutes and avoid taking the match to penalties as we did in the first round against Eastern United. The Knights had a bye in Round 1 and will want to kick off their Cup campaign in style, so we will definitely have to be at our best to progress. Both sides will inevitably have one eye on the league fixture the following week, so its unlikely that either will give too much away on Friday night.
We haven’t played Para Hills in a competitive fixture since 2012 when we faced off during the Premier League season (then the second tier of SA football). During that year, we beat the Knights 1-0 at home in the season opener, and 2-1 in the return fixture at The Paddocks with Rhys Devlin on the score sheet in both matches. Despite these results, Para Hills went on to win the league while Modbury finished fifth.
