FOR Blacktown City coach, Mark Crittenden, it would perhaps be the ultimate irony if the artificial surface at Edensor Park were to help his team deliver a Cup shock against Sydney FC on Wednesday.

Crittenden’s day job involves him keeping the greens and fairways in pristine condition, as curator of Cumberland Golf Course (City players Travis Major and Matty Lewis also work with him). Perhaps that’s the reason why he’s keen to play down the significance of Blacktown’s extra experience on the synthetic pitch - including at their own Lily Homes Stadium.

“I’m a fan of turf obviously, being a greenkeeper, but the artificial has benefits. We never miss a training session (due to weather), and there’s no maintenance costs. Sydney FC though will have had a few sessions on synthetic I’m sure, and I think it’ll suit them fine. The way the ball moves on the true surface - I actually think they’ll enjoy it.” says Crittenden.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT DETAILS

Blacktown City v Sydney FC

Wednesday 21 September 2016

Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park

Kick-off: 7:30pm local (7:30pm AEST)

Live on Fox Sports 505

Melbourne City FC v Western Sydney Wanderers FC

Wednesday 21 September 2016

AAMI Park, Melbourne

Kick-off: 7:30pm local (7:30pm AEST)

Click here to watch this game live online

Sydney FC training on a synthetic pitch at the Macquarie University Sports Fields. Source: News Corp Australia

Crittenden may therefore have to rely on his team’s sense of “togetherness” if they are to have a chance of springing a surprise. It’s something he’s tried to build since succeeding Aytec Genk in 2010, and it appears to be working. City have reached the last three NPL (NSW) Grand Finals consecutively, winning twice. In addition, they’ve won one Premiership, and last year clinched the NPL Finals title, defeating Bayswater City in the Grand Final.

“Camaraderie is a very big thing for me. That’s the reason for our success. They are good players too of course - you have to pick the right people to fit the mould of the club, but we get them all together for nights out, karaoke for example, as regularly as we can.” says Crittenden.

Blacktown City FC celebrate winning the NSW NPL Grand Final. Source: News Corp Australia

Good players might be construed as something of an understatement. For a club that operates at semi-pro level, Crittenden has constructed a squad that has no fewer than six former A-League players - plus, in Danny Choi and Patrick Antelmi, two who surely won’t have to wait too long, before making the jump to the professional ranks.

“A lot of our boys had a chance in the A-League, but got spat out early, and our now just beginning to mature. We offer them a good place to play to try and get them back into the A-League. Once they go, we’ll try to bring a youngster through, or bring someone in who wants to come and join us.” says Crittenden.

Such is City’s current embarrassment of riches, Crittenden has had to move players around to accommodate his many talents.

“It’s tough to know who to leave out. We have five boys who can play in our front line, but that’s my job as a coach. We had (midfielder) Sasa Macura out for a game or two, so we put (striker) Travis Major in there. He did well, so we’ve decided to leave him where he is. We couldn’t find a left-sided stopper when Jacob Poscoliero left, so Matty Lewis has been there for two years.” says Crittenden.

Blacktown FC players celebrate Danny Choi's second goal in the NPL Grand Final. Source: News Corp Australia

Wednesday’s FFA Cup quarter-final is Blacktown City’s biggest game since they left the NSL in 1990. Strangely, their last game in the old competition was also played at Edensor Park - a 1-1 draw with Sydney Olympic in front of over 7,000.

A similar crowd would give Blacktown a decent payday, and Crittenden believes the national exposure might one day help in their quest to become part of any new national second division.

“It’s not easy with sponsorship, and we’d need to source some financial help, but from our point of view, we want a division two, the sooner the better. There’s a lot of RSL clubs making money, so maybe one of our local ones would be interested in getting behind a club that would be on the back pages of the papers,” says Crittenden.

For now, trying to knock two-times A-League champion, Sydney FC, out of the FFA Cup will have to suffice - and while realistic about his teams chances, Crittenden says they won’t die wondering.

“I don’t know if they have too many weaknesses, but we’ll go about it in our own way. We’re not just going to sit back, we’re going to try and have a go, and try to produce a top quality game” says Crittenden, who’ll be back tending to his beloved golf course the following morning.

“The good thing about synthetic surfaces is that they can’t do it on the fairways. Although if they start putting it on the greens, then I’m in trouble!” he laughs.