Sunday provided a couple of all-action contests, with two A-League Men’s outfits winning their Australia Cup Round of 32 ties.
Reigning ALM premiers Melbourne City sealed their place, while Sydney FC also went through.
Oakley Cannons FC - 2 (Connor HAMPTON 1’, Alex SALMON 57’)
Melbourne City FC - 3 (Tolgay ARSLAN 49’ 77’, Alessandro LOPANE 90+4’)
Melbourne City avoided a major upset as they jagged a late 3-2 win over Oakley Cannons at Jack Edwards Reserve.
The hosts made the most of a hectic opening, bagging a goal within the first 30 seconds through experienced fullback Connor Hampton, who reacted fastest following a right-sided corner.
The Cannons held on to halftime, but 57 minutes in, Tolgay Arslan restored parity by stroking a penalty down the middle.
Oakley retook the lead early in the second half with Alex Salmon ramming in a rebound from another corner, but Arslan tucked away his second penalty of the match 77 minutes in.
It was a cruel conclusion for the NPL Victoria side as Alessandro Lopane buried a stoppage-time goal to steal the victory for Melbourne City.
Sydney FC – 3 (10) (Robert MAK 42’, Patrick WOOD 59’, Jaiden KUCHARSKI 120+3’)
Central Coast Mariners FC - 3 (9) (Alou KOUL 61’, Marco TULIO 84’, Harrison STEELE 100’)
Sydney FC prevailed against Central Coast Mariners in a dramatic penalty shootout win at WIN Stadium.
In a tense first half, Sydney snagged the lead with three minutes to play as Robert Mark sprinted down the left before caressing an accurate effort into the far-right corner.
They doubled their lead before the hour mark, with Patrick Wood finishing off a fast counterattack, but Alou Koul quickly nodded in to halve the deficit.
Central Coast kept on pushing, and with six minutes to play, Marco Tulio found the equaliser from the spot to send the game to extra time.
The Mariners went in front in the 100th minute, courtesy of Harrison Steele sending a well-struck volley from the edge of the box past Andrew Redmayne.
However, there was more drama with Jaiden Kucharski firing home a superb solo effort right at the death of extra time, meaning penalties were required.
It was a long shootout that went through both sets of players before Redmayne stepped up for the Sky Blues and secured the side’s place in the Round of 16.
