Round 4 of the Westfield FFA Cup saw Balmain Tigers play Picton Rangers, and the outset saw the quality of Balmain shining through - their fast tempo passing and relentless offensive pushes were constantly troubling the Picton defence early on.

A defensive error from Picton saw Balmain open the scoring - Picton keeper Brad Jones attempted to return a back-pass short, only to hit the onrushing Domenic Grasso. The bobbled rebound fell to Marcelo Turdera 8 yards out with only a defender on the line, and he slotted calmly into the bottom right on 14 minutes.

As the first half wore on, the fast passing of Balmain afforded them more time on the ball, with dangerous creators Sangyu Park and Abayomi Kosoko dropping deep to distribute.

It took a moment of controversy for Picton to level the scores, with the Balmain defence lapsing after claiming offside, however the ball fell to the feet of Ben Roberts who beat Balmain keeper Jacob Madden from an acute angle on the left - a smothering save was made but it was not enough to prevent the net bulging.

It seemed only a matter of time until Balmain regained their lead, with chance after chance going astray, and moments of individual skill buried under the poor end product of each attack.

Park drove powerfully from 30 yards to trouble Jones on the half hour, however after that Picton gained a foothold in the game and came alive. Nick Mugridge had a shot from a corner cleared off the line, Roberts rounded Madden but couldn't regain possession and Mitchell Hall had a shot well saved at Madden's near post.

The second half was poised to be one for Picton to hang on and catch Balmain on the counter, but they came out as a completely different team to the first half. It was clear they had their tactic and would stick to it. Just before the hour mark, it was Picton who hit the lead, with a long kick from Jones allowed to bounce over the defence, and Roberts chipping over onrushing Madden.

Shortly after, they claimed their third and fourth goals within 60 seconds of each other. Off another Jones long ball, a headed clearance from Madden falling to the feet of Aidan Matthews who had the defence to lob and an empty net. The fourth came in similar fashion to the second, with Roberts chasing down a searching ball and catching Madden in no-man's-land, slotting a left foot volley past the rushing keeper for his hat-trick.

With 20 minutes remaining and down by 3, it was on Balmain to chase the game, and in doing so, they only opened themselves up to more Picton long ball counter attacks. Consecutive low crosses from the left side required outstretched saves from Madden, and Tomohiro Kamon beat Jarred Morley to a header in front of an open goal to save another.

Balmain continued to pass crisply, but their threat seemed to peter out once they got into within 30 yards of goal, with options drying up and hopeful passes being attempted. The last 5 minutes saw Picton kill off the tie even more, with Mugridge looping a header over Madden after punching a free kick clear and M. Hall finessing from out wide with the last kick of the game to finish at 6-1 to Picton.

Picton took the second half as their own and were clinical in their chances. Whenever there was a chance down the Balmain end, it either went in the net or required a good save from Madden. Picton deservedly took the win and advance to the next round.

Thursday 7th April, 5 Sports Caringbah

Referee - Kris Griffith-Jones

 

Balmain Tigers FC 1 - Turdera 14'

Picton Rangers 6 - Roberts 23' 58' 68', Matthews 57', Mugridge 86', M. Hall 90'

 

Balmain Tigers FC - Madden, Casali, Grasso, Kamon, Kartal, Kosoko, Leto (Panuccio 51'), Ljuboja, Madden, Moniaci, Park, Turdera

Subs - Jamieson, Calcagno, Grozdanovski, Panuccio, Silvestro

Picton Rangers - Jones (Ackov 82'), Nicol, Goodhew, Durrant, Mugridge, M. Hall, Matthews (C. Hall 80'), Dymond (Morley 64'), Sheerin, Miranda, Roberts

Subs - Ackov, Howard, C. Hall, Morley

 

Report by David Atherton

Photo Archive: Pedro Garcia