Melbourne Victory forward Jai Ingham will return to familiar surroundings when he faces his former club Hume City in the Westfield FFA Cup on Wednesday night.
A year ago, Ingham was a key player for the PlayStation 4 NPL Victoria side, helping Hume reach the Semi Finals of the national knockout tournament.
Hume’s run was halted by eventual Westfield FFA Cup winners Victory, with the two teams to meet again this week, this time in the Round of 16.
“Playing at Hume City was a great experience,” Ingham said.
“I was only there for one year, but in that year I learned a lot from the older players there – some of them have played A-League before so they knew what it was all about.”
Ingham knew he was on the big stage when he took to AAMI Park for Hume against Victory in that Semi Final, and he was keen to make an impact.
“Whenever you play an A-League club, you always want to impress. Definitely at AAMI Park as well, you want to put in your best performance,” he said.
“The FFA Cup is a great stepping stone for any player.
“As soon as you catch the eye of someone and go on and have a few good performances, you never know what can happen.”
While Victory prevailed 3-0 on the night, Ingham did enough to please Victory head coach Kevin Muscat, who offered him a contract two months later.
Ingham, who made 11 appearances in his debut season at Victory, also boasts goals against international opponents including Shanghai SIPG and Juventus.
Tickets for Victory’s Round of 16 tie against Hume at ABD Stadium in Broadmeadows are available by clicking here.
Renew or join as a Melbourne Victory member and stand Arm in Arm with us in 2016/17. Click here for more details.
