Westfield FFA Cup Preliminary Round 4 Review

Round Four of the Westfield FFA Cup has seen the introduction of the PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 1 and 2 clubs. The magic of the Cup was felt right around the state with some shock results headlining the fourth round.

Sydney United 58 FC 2-2 (4-1 Pens) APIA Leichhardt Tigers
At Sydney United Sports Centre it was a game between two heavyweights of the PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 1 competition.
Sydney United 58 FC made the perfect start, taking the lead in the opening minutes when Robbie Mileski snuck in behind the APIA defence to put the Reds in front. 
It was a lead they took into the break but APIA came out firing in the second half and when Blake Powell played in substitute David D’Apuzzo he made no mistake, thrashing a finish past Justin Pasfield.
The visitors made all the running but United were difficult to break down and they managed to find a second when, on the break, Matthew Bilic cut inside Sean Symons and tucked away a neat finish to make it 2-1. 
APIA had it all to do and scrambled a stoppage time equaliser when Symons’ corner was diverted into the back of the net via a fortunate touch off the mercurial Franco Parisi, one of the game’s most influential players.
United lost Nick Stavroulakis in extra time to a serious head injury and had to play the final 20 minutes with 10 men, but they made it to penalties after APIA spurned a handful of chances to win the game.
United ‘keeper Justin Pasfield pulled off spectacular saves from Nick Olsen and Parisi to ensure the Reds’ passage to the fifth round, at the expense of an APIA side who will wonder how they didn’t win the game long before then. 

Parramatta FC 3-3 (5-4 Pens) Southern Districts SFA
At Melita Stadium there was a difference of over 25 positions between PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 1 team Parramatta FC and State League 2 outfit Southern Districts.
Parramatta took a 3-2 lead from the penalty spot and thought they were on their way to the fifth round of the FFA Cup. That was before a screamer from Southern Districts toward the end of the match meant extra time.
With neither team able to score in the extra 30 minutes Parramatta’s substitute keeper saved one penalty which was enough for a 5-4 shoot-out win.

Marconi Stallions 0-5 Sutherland Sharks
At Marconi Stadium it was a battle between two PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 1 teams Marconi Stallions and Sutherland Sharks.
The Stallions continued their current poor form, going down 5-0 to the Sharks as they move into a mini crisis of results.

Mt Druitt Town Rangers 2-3 AET South Coast Wolves
At Poppondetta Park, PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 2 side Mt Druitt Town Rangers welcomed Men’s 1 team South Coast Wolves.
The Wolves took a 2-1 lead into the break but the home side rallied to force the game into extra time. The Wolves found one goal which was enough to see them move through to the next round of the FFA Cup.
Blacktown City 6-0 Ararat FC
At Lily’s Football Centre PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 1 team Blacktown City took on Association team Ararat FC.
There was no messing around with City as they took a 2-0 lead into the break and built on it in the second half, adding another four and coming away with a 6-0 victory. We’ll now have a local derby in Round Five as City take on the Spartans.

Rockdale City Suns 2-1 Rydalmere Lions
Men’s State League 1 team Rydalmere Lions travelled to Illinden Sports Centre to take on PS4 NPL NSW Men’s side Rockdale City Suns.
The Lions weren’t to be intimidated by their opposition putting pressure on their opponents from the get go. That pressure paid off as they took the lead and were on their way to a massive upset. The Suns regathered and found an equaliser before the Lions were reduced to 10 men with less than a quarter of an hour to go.
The Suns then found the winner in the dying stages of stoppage to book their place in the next round of the Cup.

Blacktown Spartans 7-0 North Sydney United
At Blacktown Football Park the PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 1 team Blacktown Spartans took on association team North Sydney United.
The Spartans took care of North Sydney United without too many problems, coming away with a comfortable 7-0 win and booking a date with local rivals Blacktown City in the next round.

Waverley Old Boys 1-6 Sydney Olympic
Waverley Old Boys looked to spring a surprise against PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 1 side Sydney Olympic at Peter Moore Park on Wednesday night.
Olympic held a comfortable 3-0 at the break before the Old Boys reduced the defecit to 3-1. This sprung the big boys back into action as they added another three and moved into the next round with a 6-1 win.

Bonnyrigg White Eagles 3-2 Fraser Park
The White Eagles welcomed PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 2 team Fraser Park to Bonnyrigg Sports Ground.
Fraser Park came back twice in this one but it wasn’t enough to topple their favoured rivals. Adam Jenner popped up to score the winner for the White Eagles.
Dylan Fox and and Raymond Miller scored the other two from Bonnyrigg while Nikola Todorovski’s return to his old stomping ground saw him pick up a goal to his name.

Glebe Gorillas 1-2 Hakoah Sydney City East
At Hensley Athletic Field association team Glebe Gorillas took on PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 2 Hakoah Sydney City East.
The away side took a commanding lead into the break as they looked to repeat their success from last season. The Gorillas wouldn’t go away though, halving their more fancied opponents lead. They couldn’t do anymore though as Hakoah went through to the next round.

Auburn FC 2-2 (3-3 AET 4-5 Pens) Inter Lions
Webbs Avenue played host to association team Auburn FC and Men’s State League 1 team Inter Lions.
With scores locked at 2-2 after normal time, the sides moved into an extra 30 minutes. A goal for each side in additional time meant that only penalties would separate these two.
The Men’s State League 1 team came out on top, sneaking through with a 5-4 penalty win to progress on in the Cup.

Nepean FC 2-0 Hurlstone Park Wanderers
Men’s State League 1 team Nepean FC took on their second association team on Wednesday night in the Cup at Cook Park as they welcomed Hurlstone Park Wanderers.
A goal in either half to the home teams Goran Ljuboja were enough to see Nepean move on in to the fifth round of the FFA Cup.
The plucky away side held their own against their more favoured opponents and would be proud of the display they put up.

Yagoona Lions 6-5 Oatley RSL
Two association teams did battle at O’Neil Park on Wednesday night as Yagoona Lions took on Oatley RSL. 
In what proved to be an amazing match in an 11 goal thriller the Yagoona triumphed in the goal bonanza, coming away with an incredible 6-5 victory to progress to the next round. 

Wollongong United 1-0 Stanmore Hawks
Illawarra Premier League side Wollongong United welcomed Men’s State League 1 side Stanmore Hawks to Hooka Creek Park on Tuesday night.
United weren’t interested in their Cup run ending just yet, defeating the Hawks by a solitary goal to progress to Round Five with a 1-0 win.

Como West Janali Junior SC 0-3 Coogee United
It was a battle of two association clubs as Sutherlands Como West Janali took on Eastern Suburbs Coogee United at Seymour Shaw on Tuesday night.
It was the visitors who took the lead with a scorcher from 30 yards out by Joe Capa. Things didn’t get easier for the home side though, receiving two red cards either side of the break.
Danny Rayson soon added a second for United before a penalty completed the route for the away team.
A massive match awaits Coogee in the next round as they travel to PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 2 side Bankstown City.

Hills United 1-8 Northern Tigers
At Lily’s Football Centre, Men’s State League 1 side Hills United took on PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 2 side Northern Tigers.
Hills looked to put the pressure on their favoured opponents early on in the match and were rewarded when Bruno Pivato hit a sweet shot into the back of the net.
The Tigers didn’t wait long to respond and found their equaliser. Hills had an opportunity at the end of the half but the ball flew wide of the post.
Only one team came out for the second half as the youthful Tigers put another six goals past the hapless Hills for an 8-1 win.

Bankstown City 5-2 Dunbar Rovers
Men’s State League 2 side Dunbar Rovers were out to cause an upset as they took on PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 2 team Bankstown City at 5Star Sports Centre, Caringbah.
With Bankstown leading at half time 3-1, the Rovers were still in with a sniff to cause an upset. Bankstown added two more goals after the break though to push the score to 5-1. The Rovers scored a consolation with the score finishing up at 5-2.
Bankstown now move on in the Westfield FFA Cup where they will take on Eastern Suburbs Association team Coogee United.

In other results, Bankstown Sports Strikers went down to Gosford City 6-1, The Entrance Bateau Bay needed a penalty shoot-out to overcome Pittwater RSL 5-3, Port Kembla moved into the next round with a 4-0 away win against Carlton Rovers, Balmain saw off Glenmore Park with a 5-0 win, the Bankstown Berries defeated Granville Rage, Woonona FC beat Sydney CBD 3-0, while Bulli FC had no problems against Bonnet Bay winning 11-1, Sydney University overcame Albion Park White Eagles 4-3, Mounties Wanderers accounted for Dulwich Hill 2-1, Leichardt Saints Seniors beat Marayong Sports 2-0, Hurstville FC demolished Earlwood Wanderers 13-0, Western NSW overcame ST Clair 2-0, Hurstville City Minotaurs defeated the Leppington Lions 6-1, Ryde Saints went down to Kenthurst & Districts 8-0, Macarthur Rams beat Padstow United, Spirit FC advanced with a 3-0 win over Lilli pilli while Hawkesbury defeated St George 1-0 in extra time. 
by Nikola Pozdar