Kemblawarra Fury vs Fraser Park

On Wednesday night Kemblawarra Fury hosted Fraser Park in the sixth round of the FFA Cup. Fraser Park are currently undefeated in the NPL 3 under the guidance of ex-A-League coach Branko Culina. These two sides last clashed in this year's Portuguese Cup, on that occasion Fraser Park won 2-0.

The Fury had a strong start to the match with Matthew McNab causing concern for Fraser Park, twice coming close to opening the scoring. In the 24th minute, the home side pulled ahead through Anthony Proia. Once again, McNab was involved, surging into the box before laying it off for the lethal Proia to lash into the left of the goal.

Proia and McNab continued to hassle the Fraser Park defenders but it was Shane Murray who came closest to scoring the second goal of the opening half. In the 40th minute, the Fury were awarded a free kick 25 metres from goal, the midfield maestro swerved his effort en route to the top right corner but Christopher Becerra in the Fraser Park goal produced a spectacular save to keep his side in the match.

In the 51st minute, Proia powered into the box and seemingly just had the keeper to beat but Fraser Park defender Musashi Kokubo managed to produce an incredible sliding tackle to poach the ball.

Fraser Park began to push higher up the field which forced the Fury to defend deeper but the main tactic seemed to be direct balls into the strikers which Alvin Ceccoli and Steven Wright managed to deal with. The towering Jordan Simpson did test Mitchell Blowes from distance forcing the Fury keeper to tip the ball over the bar in the 65th minute.

In the 72nd minute, Fraser Park drew level. The initial Fraser Park strike from the edge of the area ricocheted off Ceccoli which deceived Blowes who was unable to gather the ball cleanly allowing Peter Crevani to pounce and tuck the ball into the net.

In the opening minute of injury time, Murray darted into the left side of the Fraser Park box, he unleashed a strike which Becerra failed to hold on to with the ball falling for Liam Unicomb to slam into the top of the net. The dramatic goal from the young striker, who had only been on the pitch for 10 minutes secured the 2-1 win the Fury.

The win sees the Fury progress to the seventh round of the FFA Cup where they will face Hills Brumbies at Russell Reserve. This match is set for next Wednesday night and a win for the Football South Coast club will secure their passage to the national draw. The Fury are next in action on Saturday when they travel to Picton for round 10 of the Illawarra Premier League.

Click this link to listen to the post match interviews with Luke McGuire and Alvin Ceccoli - https://soundcloud.com/dylanarvela/luke-mcguire-and-alvin-ceccoli-after-fury-beat-fraser-park

Hakoah Sydney City East vs Albion Park White Eagles

On Tuesday night the Albion Park White Eagles travelled to Hensley Athletic Field to face NPL 1 outfit Hakoah Sydney City East in the sixth round of the FFA Cup.

The reigning Illawarra Premier League champions enjoyed a strong start to the match with Yosuke Tashiro having three good chances in the opening 20 minutes. The first goal came for the White Eagles in the 22nd minute when Shohei Okuno crossed the ball in for Tashiro who fired at goal. The ball rebounded off Hakoah goalkeeper, Anthony Bouzanis with Hikaru Kawasakiya on hand to slot the ball into the back of the net. Okuno and Tashiro continued to cause the home side plenty of issues but in the shadows of halftime, Hakoah pulled level through an Andre De Jong header.

Hakoah began the second half with purpose, forcing White Eagle number 1, Bryce Daenell into action. Despite his efforts, his goal was breached in the 51st minute when Hakoah midfielder Anthony Frangie launched a shot from the edge of the penalty area giving the home side a 2-1 lead.

The White Eagles pushed for an equaliser with Tashiro continuing to make himself a nuisance. With just moments remaining in the match, Vaughan Patterson was brought down just outside the Hakoah box. Okuno stepped up for the set-piece, he shaped to hit the ball to the right but instead, he curled it into the left of the net leaving Bouzanis rooted to the spot. With the Albion Park faithful in raptures, the game was set for extra time.

In the 94th minute, the White Eagles had one foot into the seventh round. Mitchell Del Turco played Tashiro through on goal, with the Japanese striker tucking the ball past Bouzanis and into the net. The heroics continued for Football South Coast club with Daenell pulling of two miraculous saves in the space of two minutes. Hakoah made it 3-3 in the 100th minute when De Jong latched onto a ball over the top of the Albion Park defence before tucking it past Daenell. With six minutes remaining, Del Turco managed to beat Bouzanis but a defender was on the line to deflect the ball away. After 120 minutes of action, the game was forced to a penalty shootout.

In the shootout, Del Turco and Chris Nathaniel made no mistake from 12 yards, however, talisman Okuno blazed his shot over the bar and Tashiro’s penalty was saved meaning Hakoah won the shootout 4-2. The shootout made for a tragic end to an impressive FFA Cup run for the White Eagles with comprehensive wins in the previous three rounds.

White Eagles coach, Jeff Allport would have been frustrated not to have progressed but he would have been pleased with his side’s efforts against one of the best clubs in the state. They now turn their attention to Saturday’s Premier League match at home to Tarrawanna where anything less than a win could cast massive doubts over their chances of playing finals football.

Report by Dylan Arvela on Twitter @dylanarvela