Canberra Olympic fans are grateful that the team’s keeper Angelo Konstantinou, cut short a holiday in Las Vegas to return in time for its FFA Cup quarter final against Green Gully last Tuesday.
Not only was Konstantinou instrumental in helping his team keep a clean scoresheet against the visiting Victorian NPL team, but he scored the match-winner with virtually the last kick of the game to ensure the fairy-tale run continues for Olympic which now becomes the last remaining NPL team in the FFA Cup.
Konstantinou, who recently returned from overseas duties with the Futsalroos at the World Cup in Columbia, was called into action in the first half making a telling save from a goal bound Liam Boland free kick. The visitors looked the more threatening team in the first half but Olympic made a more positive start in the second half. However it suffered a set back in the 60th minute when it was reduced to 10 men when Adam Rogic, brother of Socceroo Tom Rogic, received a second yellow card for an illegal challenge on Gully defender Daniel Jones.
Before the match, Gully coach Arthur Papas predicted that the home team, which had played more competitive matches than Gully recently, could have the edge in fitness especially as the match wore on. And so it seemed to prove, especially after Olympic coach Frank Cachia introduced sub Jeremy Habtemariam into the match. His energy revitalized Olympic and the decision to introduce him proved a masterstroke, when late in the game, he won a penalty, going down under a miss-timed challenge from veteran Gully defender Rodrigo Vargas.
Enter Konstantinou, who despite the opposition’s attempts to sledge him and put him off his kick, kept his composure and fired home a left foot drive high into the net, above the Gully keeper, sending the home team into a historic FFA Cup semi-final meeting against A-League team Sydney FC, to be played in Canberra.
After the match, Konstantinou told Fox Sports “I scored one two games ago in the FFA cup and I’ve scored four or five this season, so that’s what I do. They (the Gully players) were trying to talk me during the penalty and I was just smiling and laughing at them. They can try but I’ve been there, done that, so a goal’s a goal and we’re going to celebrate.”
Immediately after Tuesday night’s quarter final matches were decided, Canberra Olympic learnt their semi-final opponent is A-League club Sydney FC.
For Olympic coach Frank Cacchia, he now has his pre-tournament wish of a meeting an A-League club. He told Fox Sports, “I think they’ll fancy themselves … They’re not in the A-League for nothing. I don’t think anyone thought we would get as far as we have. We’ve gone three games in an FFA cup without conceding. I’m sure Arnie doesn’t care but it’s something we’ll hang our hat on for a while. We’ll give it our best shot.”