Sydney FC had to overturn a 1-0 deficit and a spirited Sydney Olympic outfit to move into the FFA Cup Round of 16 with a 4-2 win at Belmore Sports Ground, but the result may be marred by an ACL injury to Luke BRattan.
The second tier hosts were rewarded for a positive start when Adam Parkhouse tried his luck from the left and saw his deflected shot loop home beyond Andrew Redmayne.
It was competitive, entertaining and felt like a Cup-set could be on the cards. But the Isuzu UTE A-League side started to force the issue towards the end of the half and got their reward when Adam Le Fondre prodded home the equaliser.
There was a youthful flavour to the goals as the Sky Blues went 3-1 up, courtesy of a dazzling Patrick Wood strike, while Elvis Kamsoba bundled home in a goal mouth scrap – although there was suspicion of a handball.
Olympic breathed life back into the game when Ben Van Meurs, once of Sydney FC, made it 3-2, but Trent Buhagiar made no mistake off Joel King’s supply to make it 4-2.
Before moving onto Saturday night’s clash with Macarthur, Steve Corica will be sweating on what looked like a potentially serious injury for Brattan.
“[Brattan] He might have done his ACL, he’s going to get a scan tomorrow, so obviously it’s not very good if that’s the case and if he has that injury he’s out for the whole season,” Corica revealed.
“We’ll wait to see tomorrow and fingers crossed it’s not that bad but if it is, it’s very disappointing for him and the club.”
Victory into the main draw
Tony Popovic’s side needed penalties to edge past Perth Glory after their FFA Cup play-off was locked at 1-1 after extra-time.
Popovic and Richard Garcia heavily rotated their sides for the clash in Adelaide and it was Lleyton Brooks who seized the moment after just 37 seconds with an extraordinary strike.
Victory featured the likes of Robbie Kruse, who supplied the pass for Brooks’ opener, as well as Francesco Margiotta, in his first start, and Marco Rojas.
But their lead was erased in the 26th minute as Joshua Anasmo headed home the equaliser, parrying past Jerrad Tyson, making his Victory debut.
The teams couldn’t be split thereafter, with Tyson the star of the shootout, making two excellent saves off Aiden Coyne and Giordano Colli, while also blazing a penalty of his own wide.
