WFFA Cup Wrap: Western Strikers v MetroStars

It took a contentious, heart breaking 90th minute penalty and a 94’ strike from club hero Travis Dodd for MetroStars to defeat a courageous Western Strikers 2 - 1 in the Quarter Final of the Westfield FFA Cup South Australia at Carnegie Reserve on Saturday. 

The match opened to script, as Metro dictated the early proceedings, mounting numerous attacks on goal. They nearly had the opening score, when a neat flick from Dodd into the path of Stefan Simic saw the fleet footed winger run round the keeper, but he let himself down by spraying his shot wide. 

Dodd was instrumental in bringing his teammates into the play with some neat sublime passes which threatened to break open the Strikers defence -while Fabian Barbiero was at his hard running best in the midfield. 

Strikers were doing their best to stay in the game; Michele Lastella was leading the way in defence with good support from Joseph Tripodi, Tariq Eltahir and the young sixteen-year-old left back Alphonso Sayee who had a great duel with Simic. 

The battle of the midfield was a tight contest; the young Western Strikers trio Jacob Atkinson, Jordan Spadavecchia and Michael Russo were holding their own against the more experienced Metro midfielders. 

The match was turned on its head in the 20th minute when against the run of play, a deflection from a Spadavecchia shot on goal fell to Lastella who blasted the ball past a diving Callum Piantadosi in the Metro goals to give the Strikers the unthinkable lead in the game. 

The goal bought the cup tie to life as Metro started to get into gear. The visitors nearly got parity when Dodd found Bailey Truscott on the move with a neat touch, but Truscott’s shot hit the upright. 

Metro continued to press high looking for the equaliser but squandered their opportunities in front of goal frustrating coach Robbie Saranceno on the Metro bench. 

It nearly went from bad to worse for Metro when Steve McNeill got a nice header on a Michael Moularas cross but his attempt hit the cross bar denying Strikers the chance to increase their lead. 

Metro had a chance to score in the 32’ when Simic fired from close range but somehow Sayee was able to clear the ball off the line. Metro would go into the halftime break a goal down and ruing their poor finishing. 

It was a more determined Metro after the break as they mounted a ferocious challenge to wrestle back the lead. So much was their dominance it took Strikers until the 71’ in the second half to penetrate their forward half. 

The usual Metro suspects Fabian Barbiero, Anthony Sologna, and Bailey Truscott began to put a strangle hold on the contest and Michael D’Alosio was giving them plenty of drive out of defence. 

The gild edge chance of the second half fell to Dodd but his header was magnificently saved by the diving Strikers’ keeper Navarro Panozzo with his left hand. 

Saranceno rolled the dice and reshuffled his line up bringing on Doni Pollock off the bench and sending Negus up forward. The structural change gave Metro another edge to their game but they continued to waste opportunities when they presented. 

As full time approached it seemed Strikers’ dream had come true, but alas a Pollock shot was deemed by referee Christian Verdecchio to have been handled by Lastella which sent the burly forward to the penalty spot which he cleverly converted. 

As the crowd prepared itself for extra time, Metro had unfinished business as they pressed forward and in a blink of an eye a Dodd strike gave Metro a hard fought victory. 

A disappointed Lastella said after the match that they lost control of the midfield in the second half and the likes of Barbiero and Sologna were able to bring teammates into the game. 

“To lose the way we did was real disappointing, after being competitive for most of the game,” Lastella said.

“They (MetroStars) changed their game plan late in the second half, using the long ball to their advantage. They put us under pressure and in the end we couldn’t hold them out. A controversial spot kick flipped the game in their favour.”

An elated Dodd was happy how his side was able to carve out a character building win. 

“We knew we had to find something extra late in the game and the boys dug deep when it mattered, we fought right down to the last whistle to get the win,” Dodd said. 

“Strikers were very compact and organised, and we found it hard to break them down. Our passes let us down early in the game, and we missed some easy chances in the first half. 

“Robbie(Saranceno) changed the setup to a 3-5-2 formation, the move released Johnathan (Negus) forward which gave us more penetration and allowed us to get more shots on goal.” 

Strikers will now have to switch their focus to their midweek encounter with Salisbury United as they strive for a top three finish. 

For Metro a date with Raiders awaits them next week, as they look to continue their move up the NPL ladder for place in the top six. 

Written by:   Joe Pangallo 5RTI Sports - 531AM




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