Macarthur FC have cruised into the Round of 16 in their first ever FFA Cup after a comfortable 3-0 win over Newcastle Olympic FC.
The Bulls made light work of the home side in Newcastle, scoring all three goals in the first hour of the match to secure their spot in the next round in the FFA Cup.
Key Moments
Olympic gave the Bulls a warning sign which saw captain Rhys Cooper have a shot from outside the box. However, it went wide in the 7th minute.
Craig Noone had an excellent opportunity to open the scoring in the 9th minute. However, a good save from Adam Pearce prevented Noone’s close-range shot.
Bulls defender, Tomislav Uskok, decided to have a long-range shot, which saw the ball go well over the bar in the 17th minute.
Macarthur had a golden opportunity to take the lead when Daniel De Silva’s close-range shot came off the post in the 20th minute.
Noone tried the spectacular by curling the ball in the top left-hand corner from the 18-yard box, which continued to go wide in the 25th minute.
Things turned our way when we took the lead in the 39th minute from a corner-kick that found the head of Aleksandar Jovanovic, which he had to backtrack to put it past Pearce.
Macarthur then doubled their lead minutes after with another header, but this time from Lachlan Rose. The assist was delivered in the box by Noone in the 40th minute.
Rose had the opportunity to add another goal to his name after Olympic defenders blocked his shot inside the box in the 45th minute.
De Silva found some space to take a shot towards the top-right hand corner from the edge of the box, but it missed the target before half-time.
Olympic had a chance to get back into the game when Jared Muller took a shot towards goal but got blocked by his player in the 54th minute.
Things turned quickly short after when Rose had a close-range header on the other side of the pitch, which Pearce comfortably saved in the 55th minute.
The Bulls increased their lead to three as Noone crossed the ball in the box, which Rose headed well in the 60th minute. Rose could have had a hat-trick of headers when his chance went wide in the 62nd minute.
Rose thought he had his hat-trick for the night after tapping the rebound into the net before it was ruled offside in the 73rd minute.
A fantastic goal-line clearance from Olympics’ Marcus Duncan, after a good strike from Noone in the 75th minute.
Olympic had their best chance of the night when substitute Luke Vallone took a shot inside the box, which forced Nick Suman to make a great save in the 77th minute.
The Bulls finished the match with their first FFA Cup victory. The result should give them confidence next week against Wellington Phoenix for the new A-League season.
Newcastle Olympic FC: 0
Macarthur FC: 3 (Jovanovic 39’, Rose 40’, 61’)
Newcastle Olympic FC: 1. PEARCE Adam (GK) (21. EISENHAUER Daniel (GK) 87’), 3. DAVIES Tom, 4. DUNCAN Marcus, 5. RUTLEDGE Luke (27. FAUCHON Kye 87’), 6. CURRAN Tom, 10. COOPER Rhys (C) (17. BURSTON Jackson 46’), 11. MULLER Jared, 14. GREEN Blake, 15. TOWNSEND Louis (19. VALLONE Luke 66’), 16. DODDS Jarrod (12. MCKINNON Daniel 66’), 20. TREBLE Kane
Substitutes: 2. HODGES Kyle, 8. BAILEY Jacob
Macarthur FC: 1. SUMAN Nicholas (GK), 4. MEREDITH James, 6. JOVANOVIC Aleksandra (15. SUSNJAR Aleksandar 88’), 7. DE SILVA Daniel, 8. MUTCH Jordon, 10. DAVILA Ulises (C), 14. NAJJAR Moudi, 17. NOONE Craig (21. HOLLMAN Jake 76’), 20. USKOK Tomislav, 24. M’MOMBWA (11. OAR Thomas 76’), 31. ROSE Lachlan
Substitutes: 30. KAYE Levi (GK), 22. ROSE Liam, 29. MARTIS Antonis
Venue: Newcastle Sports Ground No. 2
Referee: Ivica Covic
Assistant referees: Ryan Gallagher and Conor Markovich
Fourth Official: Craig Fisher
