It took a titanic effort on Thursday night for Bentleigh Greens to see off a stubborn Broadmeadow Magic in an Australia Cup Round of 32 game that hung in the balance thanks to herculean goalkeeping by Broadmeadows’ teenager Zac Bowling.
George Lambadaridis opened the scoring for the Greens in the 31st minute only for Jacob Dowse to scythe his way through Bentleigh defence to pull one back just a minute later at the Kingston Heath Soccer Complex in Cheltenham.
Hosts Bentleigh went all out for the winner with 17 shots on target to their opponent’s four. The home team forced 16 corners and dominated possession as the game went into extra time.
Broadmeadow’s Bowling who came on as a substitute for Ben Macnamara in the 66th minute repeatedly frustrated the Greens’ assaults on his goal, earning a yellow card in the process.
It was another substitute, Ken Krolicki a former US Major League soccer player, who broke Broadmeadow’s resistance in 117th minute of the game.
“Unbelievable effort from the whole team, at the end I got a tap in but it was a whole team effort and I’m so happy we get to advance to the next stage,” Krolicki told Melbourne City News. “Super good saves from the other keeper, he came on early in the first half and did really well but we knew we had to go forward and keep trying and luckily we had two goals so we’re looking forward to the next game.”
Mark Tolios the Bentleigh Greens coach praised his opponents on the night.
“They were fantastic, they came here with a game plan, they were unlucky to have their goalkeeper injured but how good was the young boy that came on.
“He was phenomenal, what credit to him and that’s what the cup’s about, bringing out heroes in every game and he stood up.
“Look it was nerve racking, they almost got us in the end but credit to our boys, they fought really hard, it’s been a tough month for us, a lot of games but it’s good to get the win that’s for sure,” Tolios said.
Oakleigh Cannons travelled to Bonnyrigg in Sydney to register a crushing 5-0 defeat on their hosts. Daniel Clark scored a brace with Joe Guest, who opened the scoring in the 32nd minute, Chris Lukas and Wade Dekker each contributing to the score in a dominant display at the Bonnyrigg Sports Club on Thursday night.
Next week, at 7pm on Wednesday, 27 July, Heidelberg United host A-League team Brisbane Roar at Olympic Park in their Australia Cup Round 32 fixture.
Every match in the competition can be seen live online on 10 Play.
