It’s a packed calendar for two Greek sponsored clubs, readying to claim Victoria’s local Cup.

“I came to this club three years ago and we had to start from absolutely zero, we didn’t have a team.” Bill Lambropoulos

If all things go to plan, we might be seeing Bentleigh Greens and South Springvale (Aris) go head to head in the Dockerty Cup final, but they have to get through the semi-finals first.

Bentleigh will start proceedings, taking on an unpredictable Melbourne Knights on Tuesday.

Aris, coming in as the underdogs of the group, will take on an NPL1 club, Saint Albans, on Wednesday.

Aris has had a whirlwind couple of weeks. In the State League 1 – South East, it’s defied belief and made it into the FFA Cup round of 32, joining the ranks of state stalwarts and A-League clubs.

Before they charge into their semi-final match, they have to think about their state league games, who to rest and who to risk.

Speaking to Aris coach Bill Lambropoulos before his game against Doncaster Rovers Friday night, he was still at odds with who to bench, but will definitely
be using the game to finalise his Dockerty Cup squad.

“We’ve lightened the load up a little bit this week, because we’ve got three games in eight days,” he tells Neos Kosmos.

“These aren’t premier league boys, they don’t train four times a week, we train twice a week.”

He says the Doncaster game will be a chance to keep honing their formation work and capitalise on their good results of late.

They won their last match 2-1 against Casey Comets and are currently third on the ladder.

Bentleigh Greens, on the other hand, are without coach John Anastasiadis, who is in Greece completing his UEFA A Licence. Their crucial games coming
up will be watched over by assistant coach John Gabrielson, who will be caretaker coach for the next three weeks.

It’s not just the NPL league games and the Dockerty Cup finals to conted with, they have an impending FFA Cup match away in NSW and a friendly against Melbourne Victory to think about.

Before leaving, Anastasiadis said his team is ready for the challenge, but stressed how unpredictable these games can get.

“These are the games where there’s no second chance,” he said in a press conference.

South Melbourne is proof of that. The shoo-in favourites were up against the Knights a couple of weeks ago but it seems that the stress of the match got to them.

Stress isn’t much of an issue for Aris, with their underdog status, they say the pressure will be on the NPL1 opponents. They have more to prove.

“We’re not playing with any anxiety, we’re just happy to be there,” coach Lambropoulos says.

“I think the pressure is more on them than us.”

At least Lambropoulos is preparing well for the match. He was seen on Monday watching the St Albans match against Bulleen, sizing up their opponent.

“They are going to be a very, very difficult side to beat,” he says.

Lambropoulos has been the figurehead of Aris for the past three years and has spearheaded a massive change at the suburban club.

“I came to this club three years ago and we had to start from absolutely zero, we didn’t have a team,” he says.

“It’s taken us three years to get this team to gel together and to bring in a couple of other new players to help us and I think all their hard work is starting to
show.”

Amazingly, when Lambropoulos came to Aris, the club only had two junior teams. Now the club has over 250 players, all housed in a new and improved pavilion.

Playing in the FFA Cup round of 32, they will have the only local Melbourne match, welcoming Newcastle team South Cardiff to none other than Kingston Heath Reserve, Bentleigh Greens’ home turf.

The significance of the event hasn’t really sunk in for Lambropoulos.

“I don’t think we’ve understood what it means yet,” he says.

“We’re just looking forward to it.”

Bentleigh Greens feel the same way, and say many clubs have missed a huge opportunity not taking the Cup more seriously.

“I think a lot of the clubs that did miss out I think they’ve realised how big it is and didn’t take much notice of it early on,” Anastasiadis says.

Bentleigh have one of the toughest fixtures away from the A-League clubs, taking on Sydney’s best, Blacktown City.

Not having the luxury to see the club play, Anastasiadis has been making a couple of phone calls to his Sydney confidants to get the lowdown.

Things aren’t looking good.

“There are reports coming out that Blacktown are the next best thing out of the A-League,” he says.

At least for now, it’s one Cup at a time, with all efforts focused on being crowned Victoria’s best.

Melbourne Knights vs Bentleigh Greens
Kick-off: 8:30pm, Tuesday July 15
JL Murphy Reserve – SS Anderson Oval – Pitch 1, Plummer Street, Port Melbourne

St Albans Saints vs South Springvale (Aris)
Kick-off: 7:30pm, Wednesday July 16
Olympic Village – Pitch 1, Catalina Street, Heidelberg West