Heidelberg United will look to put a frustrating NPLM season behind them and claim their second Dockerty Cup in seven years.
In 2022, the Heidelberg was knocked out of the competition in the Semi-Finals by eventual winners Bentleigh Greens 2-1.
Heidelberg United Head Coach George Katsakis expects his men to rise to the challenge and upset the reigning NPLM Champions.
In the first round of the Dockerty Cup qualification process, the Bergers defeated Springvale White Eagles 5-1 in Round 4 of the Australia Cup.
The NPLM outfit dominated this contest from kick-off with Josh Pin and Danny Dixon scoring inside the first 10 minutes.
Striker Kaine Sheppard doubled his team’s advantage with a second-half brace, while a Springvale own-goal put the result beyond doubt, before the White Eagles scored a late stoppage-time consolation goal.
In Round 5 of the Australia Cup, Heidelberg United traveled to The Grange Reserve to take on Kingston City and came away with a 3-1 victory.
George Katsakis said he recalled the night “really well” because Kingston was top of NPL3 coming into this clash.
“They just came off beating South Melbourne in the fourth round so it was always going to be a huge game for us,” he remembered.
“It is my old stomping ground as well I coached at Kingston for nearly three years so it was always going to be a big game and I think the boys were up for it.
“We were really on our game that night.”
Heidelberg was overwhelming underdogs heading into their next clash, coming up against the top-of-the-table Avondale.
“That was an interesting one, we had come off a loss of 8-2 against Avondale and they were the in-form team in the competition,” Katsakis said.
“I remember the week going into it we were talking about defensive duties and what we had to do to make sure we didn’t concede and we went out and matched them in all areas.
“We got an early goal through Kaine Sheppard and they threw everything at us in the last 20 minutes, but we dropped out defensive line pretty deep and tried to hold on to the result.
“Making sure we were right up to their standard was very important.
“The result was huge for us, I think it may have been the catalyst for our progression in the cup as well I just think with that win the confidence grew and the boys actually thought we are a real chance here. That game really inspired us to believe.”
In the final round of matches before the national round of 23, Heidelberg defeated St Albans 3-2 in a nail-biting match-up.
“St Albans was always going to be tough. like us they had a pretty unsettled season,” Katsakis explained.
“It was an interesting game, everything was looking like us losing that game, but to the boys' credit they dug deep and held on to the very last moment.”
In their final hurdle before making it to the Dockerty Cup Final, Heidelberg made the two-hour journey to John McEwan Reserve and defeated Goulburn Valley Suns 5-0.
“GV Suns was going to be tough having to travel to Shepparton and making sure everyone is focused,” Katsakis said.
“When you’re taking on a side from NPL3 or the state leagues sometimes the mindset changes but we were able to keep everyone focused on the game and not underestimate and respect our opponents.
C Adara opened the scoring early in the game, but then the traveling side was on the back foot after Adrian Zahra was sent off in the 29th minute.
The Bergers rallied after the break, scoring four second-half goals to come away with a comfortable victory.
“Our second-half performance was exceptional, we were flying. When we play like that we are hard to beat.”