The Men’s Charity Shield returns for its eighth iteration and, for the first time, features the Croatian derby as League Champions O’Connor Knights meet Canberra Croatia at the home of the Grand Final winners, Deakin Stadium.
Croatia will be aiming for a record-extending fifth success in the competition, having won on all four previous appearances in the Capital Football National Premier League curtain-raiser. For Knights, this is uncharted territory, and they will aim to join Canberra Olympic and Monaro Panthers on the Roll of Honour.
It feels like a new dawn for Croatia who have opted for youth in promoting a number of their young U23 talents into the first-grade picture for the new season, a year in which they will be led by Gaby Wilk, the South American Canberra football legend having replaced the departing Dean Ugrinic in the hot-seat.
“The Charity Shield is an important game because both teams playing won trophies last year, and it is the most important game at the beginning of the year for us,” Wilk said of the looming challenge to be provided by the Knights in the seasonal opener.
“It is always important to achieve a positive result for the confidence of the playing group, but it is also important that the players understand and execute what we have been working on beyond the result of this match. We give importance to all of our games and give 100% to each one. The players need to be focused for the 90 minutes and carry out our work plan.”
Given the early nature of the match, the season commences for Croatia with an away trip to newly promoted Yoogali Soccer Club on Sunday 7 April, Wilk is aware that his team might not hit the ground running as the away team, on their home patch, in early March.
“We are still preparing, we are at 60%,” Wilk said. “It is still very early, but the players are putting in a lot of will and working very hard. I have a great team around me, and my focus is on being physically prepared for the season ahead. The ambition of the playing group and especially the club is to compete and win everything we play for this season.”
The Knights recruitment in the off-season has been, of design, much more frugal with the club seeking an evolution to its team rather than a radical overhaul and, as the reigning League Champions, you can understand the viewpoint.
Jackson Paesler has made the switch to O’Connor Enclosed from Gungahlin United, adding even more quality to the midfield stocks, with his ability to play wide another string to the bow, and there’s a new goalkeeper in Adam Stevens, snapped up from Tuggeranong United to add some competition to the number one jersey. Both could make a competitive debut in this fixture.
“We are approaching the match very seriously,” Miro Trninic, Knights Head Coach commented. “A solid performance can set up our season and we seek for our young team to gain valuable experience in a high stakes match which should help them develop further in their careers
“Preparation so far has been very good with our training attendance is around 95%. We have played six trial games leading into this Charity Shield, so we are at a good level right now It gives us a chance to win a trophy for our players, supporters, sponsors, and the club
“Our ambition is to challenge again for everything that’s available and to be up there at the business end of the season once more. We are aware we could win everything, but at the same time we could win nothing, as there’s six very strong and evenly matched teams in the competition.”
MEN’S CHARITY SHIELD
Sunday 3 March 2024
O’Connor Knights v Canberra Croatia
(Deakin Stadium, 17:15)
LIVE on BarTV Sports
Admission by Gold Coin Donation
The Capital Football Charity Shield is supported by BarTV Sports, Deploy Footballs, Capital Trophies, and St. John Ambulance Australia with all money raised donated to Capital Football’s chosen Charity, Sock it to Sarcoma.
