Campbelltown City cruised to a 4-0 victory over Sturt in Westfield FFA Cup Qualifying Round 1 action at Steve Woodcock Sports Centre on Saturday. 

Adam Piscioneri opened the scoring after only four minutes and also added an 88^th minute sealer. In between there were goals for Jacob Williams and Andrew Kaine, as the Red Devils comfortably advanced to the next round. 

Veteran Campbelltown midfielder Vas Parhas said it was pleasing to progress.

“We got knocked out in the first round last year,” he reminded. 

“We want to do well in this competition, we want to progress and keep winning. Winning is a habit. 

“Sturt showed a lot of heart and didn’t make it easy for us. We scored the early goals, but only after the third did we feel it was comfortable. 

“It was good to score a few goals, but also to keep a clean sheet. That shows that mentally we stayed focused for the entire match.” 

Sturt’s John Fusco says the concession of an early goal made for an uphill climb. 

“It was a difficult day against a team which is doing quite well in the Premier League, but the boys tried hard out there,” he said. 

“Once you concede early you have to open up and go for it. Against a side superior to yours it is hard. 

“What we saw out there is that there is a long way to go to be competing with the top teams. But the guys tried their best.” 

The Red Devils took the lead inside five minutes as Piscioneri pounced on a defensive error to slot past goalkeeper Mirza Sljivo. 

Williams doubled Campbelltown’s advantage in the 18^th minute, firing truly past Sljivo in the Lions goal. 

Sturt’s best chance of the half fell to Michael Gravas, who had space inside the penalty area after a fine through ball, but could only shoot straight at Red Devils goalkeeper Nicholas Harpas. 

The home side twice came close to extending the lead before half-time. Firstly Williams was clear on goal, but from a tight angle saw his attempt saved by the legs of Sljivo. 

Iain Fyfe then cracked a shot just wide of the near post from outside the penalty area following a short corner. 

Alexander Metanomski fired a loose ball over the top as Sturt looked for a way back into the contest after the interval. 

But Campbelltown grabbed two goals in the closing stages to book their spot in the Round of 16. Kaine latched on to a lofted pass over the defence in the 80^th minute and drilled a shot into the bottom corner. 

Piscioneri got his second two minutes from time as he fired past Sljivo from distance. 

Written by Luca Cetta - @l_cetta