FFA Cup holders Adelaide United opened their title defence
on Wednesday night with a 6-1 victory over Darwin Olympic, while fellow
A-League team Sydney FC also progressed to the round of 16 with a routine 2-0
win against Sorrento FC in Perth.
Much interest centred on Darwin where new Adelaide coach
Guillermo Amor was taking the reins of the Reds for the first time, while the
Top End was hosting its inaugural national competition match.
Adelaide, who won the maiden edition of the FFA Cup last
December, were given a thorough workout by the local side until running away
with the contest in the latter stages with three goals in quick succession.
The Reds opened the scoring midway through the opening half
through a Marcelo Carrusca penalty, but Darwin drew level within a matter of
seconds via a Michael Tsounias breakaway goal to the delight of a 3175-strong
crowd at Darwin Football Stadium.
The NT side had opportunities to take an unlikely lead only
to suddenly fall 3-1 behind as Reds' midfielder Jimmy Jeggo netted a quickfire
double just before halftime.
Sydney FC had a more routine win against a physical Sorrento
despite the narrower victory margin.
The Sky Blues controlled the contest but only had an early
penalty from Shane Smeltz and a second-half goal from substitute Max Burgess to
show for their domination.
Sorrento fought back after a one-sided first half but Sydney
were always in control with Smeltz denied a second goal from the penalty spot,
with goalkeeper James Morgan making a fine block among several important saves
he made on the night for the home side.
Ambitious Queensland side Lions FC also advanced with a
hard-fought 2-1 win in Adelaide against Croydon Kings.
In the final match of the night, Sydney-based Rockdale City
Suns recorded a deserved 3-1 home win over Perth SC.
0 comments:
Post a Comment