It was a thrilling opening matchday of the Australia Cup Round of 32 on Friday night with goals galore, and an A-Leagues side narrowly avoiding a major upset.
NPL New South Wales representatives Sydney United 58 FC and Mount Druitt Town Rangers booked their places in the Round of 16, while Wellington Phoenix and South Australia’s MetroStars also went through.
Peninsula Power FC - 1 (Lewis GREENWOOD 71’)
Wellington Phoenix FC - 2 (Nicholas PENNINGTON 42’, Joshua RUTLAND 119’)
Peninsula Power presented a stern test for Wellington Phoenix as they took the A-Leagues powerhouses all the way to extra time.
Peninsula were dealt a sucker punch, conceding in the final three minutes of the first half as Nicholas Pennington pounced on a spilled shot to score.
But Power showed they weren’t down and out as Lewis Greenwood scuffed a shot into the far right of the net in the 71st minute as the game went to extra time.
With only seconds to play, the Power were struck with another cruel late goal, this time from Wellington’s Joshua Rutland who steered it in from close range.
Broadmeadow Magic FC - 2 (Jayden STEWARDSON 26’, Bailey WELLS 45+2’)
Sydney United 58 FC - 4 (Patrick ANTELMI 23’ PEN, Adrian VLASTELICA 34’, Devante CLUT 54’, Alessandro LACALANDRA 90+5’)
Sydney United 58 overcame a resilient Broadmeadow Magic to get up in a tense 4-2 victory at Magic Park.
After an early lengthy delay following a nasty injury to Sydney United’s Ante Bakmaz, striker Patrick Antelmi stroked a penalty into the right of the goal to give the side the lead.
The hosts quickly equalised through Jayden Stewardson, but United 58 captain Adrian Vlastelica re-established his team’s lead 34 minutes in.
A red card for Magic’s lively Riley Smith with five first-half minutes to go didn’t deter them as Bailey Wells cleverly flicked in the equaliser ahead of halftime.
Visitors’ creator Devante Clut managed to squeeze a long-range strike past Magic goalkeeper Cesar Serpa nine minutes into the second half to put United 58 back in front.
Alessandro Lacalandra finished the job right at the death with a powerful effort after an incisive breakaway from the side.
MetroStars - 5 (James TEMELKOVSKI 9’ 31’, Fabian BARBIERO 51’, Scott NAGEL 68’, Michael CITTADINI 90+4’)
Inglewood United FC - 0
MetroStars showed their class against Inglewood United at T.K. Shutter Reserve with an emphatic 5-0 win.
Striker James Temelkovski fired home the opener inside 10 minutes, leathering the ball past Alexander Dunn, despite a touch from the goalkeeper on the way in.
Temelkovski bagged his second just after the half-hour mark nodding in from a right-sided cross at the far post to put Metrostars in a commanding position at halftime.
The side carried it on into the second period as the experienced Fabian Barbiero scored a spectacular overhead kick early on before fullback Scott Nagel thundered in a fourth.
Michael Cittadini slid in for a well-deserved goal in stoppage time to round a resounding result for MetroStars.
Mount Druitt Town Rangers FC - 3 (Solomon-John MONOHAN-VAIIKA 36’, Anthony FRANGIE 76’ 81’)
Canberra Croatia FC - 1 (Stephen DOMENICI 59’)
Mount Druitt Town Rangers put their tough league form to one side and defeated Canberra Croatia FC 3-1 at Popondetta Park.
A strong first-half display saw the Rangers burst into the lead in the 36th minute through Solomon-John Monahan-Vaiika's vicious volley into the top right corner.
Canberra levelled it just before the hour mark when Stephen Domenici sent a dipping volley from the edge of the box that nestled in the left side of the net.
Mount Druitt striker Anthony Frangie proved the difference as he sent a bullet header past Canberra goalkeeper Samuel Brown 76 minutes in, before a well-taken volley five minutes later.
The result saw Mount Druitt qualify for the Round of 16 at the third attempt, following two exits at this stage of the competition in recent years.
