Sydney’s Hellenic clubs put on a strong display in the fourth round of the Australia Cup on Wednesday evening with Sydney Olympic progressing and NSW second division side Canterbury Bankstown FC falling just short of a major upset.
Olympic secured a dominant 5-2 win against St George FC at Valentine Sports Park on Wednesday evening to book their spot in the fifth round.
The Blues were spurred to victory through an imperious second half which saw braces scored by Seth Clark (47′, 58′) and Cyrus Dehmie (50′, 64′).
The game capped off in most impressive fashion as Dylan Ruiz-Diaz scored an unbelievable free kick from well outside the box (approximately 30-35 metres out), hitting it into the top right in an attempt that Alessandro Del Piero and Giorgos Karagounis would have been proud of.
Olympic was not the only Hellenic-background club playing with Canterbury Bankstown FC squaring up against current NPL league leaders North West Sydney Spirit FC.
The NSW League One side lost 3-1 after extra time at Jensen Park, pushing their opponents to their absolute limit in a highly commendable performance.
The Berries’ effort was even more impressive given they fielded a predominantly Under 20s squad, with only four regular first grade players in the team.
Zayn Moussa’s 66th minute equalise gave the hosts hope of sealing a Cupset over Spirit, but the visitors’ quality came through in extra time as they struck twice to win the game and end the Berries’ cup run.
Canterbury coach Andrew Fotakopoulos praised the effort post-match in a media release, saying:
“We were very happy with the way our players handled the pressures of the Cup against a benchmark squad like Spirit.”
