Our local Football South Coast sides capped off a stellar 4th round of the FFA Cup on Wednesday night, with three wins out of three to put all five clubs into the 5th round.

Tuesday 28th of March

Gosford City vs Kemblawarra Fury

Kemblawarra Fury played the opening game of the 4th round on Tuesday of last week. They travelled up to the Central Coast Mariners Centre of Excellence to face Gosford City. After finding themselves down early on, the Fury worked themselves into a 2-1 lead at halftime with goals from Shane Murray and Anthony Proia. Gosford equalised minutes into the second half but the superb playing surface aided the Fury and two goals again through Murray and Proia gave them a 4-2 win. This result puts the Fury into the 5th round where they will host the winner of Camden Tigers and Abbortsford FC.

 

Tuesday 4th of April

Lane Cove FC vs Albion Park White Eagles

The reigning Premier League champions, Albion Park White Eagles made the journey to the centre of Sydney to face Lane Cove FC, a member of the Northern Suburbs Football Association. At halftime, the match was poised a 1-1 with Rob Delbanco the scorer for Albion Park. In teaming rain, the second half was one way traffic for the FSC club running in five unanswered goals through Shohei Okuno, Darren Jones, Mitchell Del Turco and Yosuke Tashiro who netted twice. The 6-1 win puts the White Eagles into the 5th round where they will face the winner of Waverley Old Boys and Gladesville Ravens away from home.

 

Wednesday 5th of April
Doonside Hawks vs Wollongong United

Wollongong United travelled away to Doonside Hawks (reigning league champions of the Blacktown Premier League). United fell a goal behind to an early free kick but Takayuki Noji equalised soon after. United maintained control of possession for most of the first half but found themselves 2-1 down with the Hawks scoring from long range just before the break. In the second half, United began to make their dominance count, first scoring through Daisuke Yuzawa before United received a penalty, in an incident that saw the Doonside keeper sent off for a double booking. An outfielder player went in goal and saved Shayne Ardle’s initial shot but wasn’t able to stop the rebound. Bradley Acev made it 4-2 through a tap in with a few minutes left to play. This puts United through to the 5th round where they will face NPL3 outfit Granville Rage at Garside Park.

 

Macarthur Rams vs Bulli

Bulli took on Macarthur Rams, who have competed in the NPL2 for a number of years. After taking the lead through Dylan Lewis midway through the first half, the Rams forced two goals, one being a penalty, to put them 2-1 up at halftime. Bulli rallied in the second half and on the hour mark Lewis netted his second to level the scores. With both teams out on their feet, the match went into extra time but ultimately the match was decided via a penalty shootout. Bulli number 1, Yuya Kuwada produced a save and Guy Knight scored the decisive penalty to win the shootout 5-4. Bulli will now travel to North Epping Rangers in the 5th round.

The post match interview with Bulli coach Matt Bailey - https://soundcloud.com/dylaneloiarvela/matt-bailey-after-bulli-knocked-macarthur-rams-out-of-the-ffa-cup

 

Baulkham Hills vs Picton Rangers

Picton Rangers played away to Baulkham Hills of the Hills FA Premier League. Picton struggled to adjust to an unusually narrow pitch and found themselves behind early but Connor Dymond managed to level the scores soon after. In the minutes before halftime, Ranger's goalkeeper Brad Jones suffered an injury meaning youth grade goalkeeper, Lauchlan O'Bree came into the action. Before he had even touched the ball, Baulkham Hills had their second via an unmarked man from a corner kick. Picton improved in the second half and drew level through captain Daniel Goodhew from a penalty kick. The Rangers continued to push forward and with seconds of normal time remaining Ben Roberts netted the winner. The 3-2 victory sees Picton through host NPL giants Sydney Olympic at Hume Oval.

 

The 5th round draw for the FSC sides

North Epping Rangers vs Bulli
Picton Rangers vs Sydney Olympic
Granville Rage vs Wollongong United
Kemblawarra Fury vs Camden Tigers or Abbortsford
Waverley Old Boys or Gladesville Ravens vs Albion Park White Eagles

Note the dates and times for the 5th round matches are yet to be set.

Congratulations to these clubs who have done our region proud. Across the five matches our FSC clubs won by an aggregate score of 19 goals to 9. We wish them the best of luck in the 5th round.

 

Report by Dylan Arvela on Twitter @dylaneloiarvela

For more discussion on FSC clubs involvement in the FFA Cup I recommend reading my article for The Roar Sports ‘The FFA Cup conundrum’ - http://www.theroar.com.au/2017/04/05/ffa-cup-conundrum/