Two wonder-strikes from unheralded midfielder Chris Naumoff helped Sydney FC quell a spirited Sydney United charge to move them into the FFA Cup quarter-finals.
They were joined by three other winners tonight – A-League clubs Adelaide United and Perth Glory and Palm Beach Sharks.
United lived up to their storied history with a passionate display before ultimately falling short of a famous result with Sydney FC securing a 3-1 victory and advancing to a last eight showdown with Adelaide United.
The result was up for grabs until the dying seconds when Ali Abbas secured an injury-time sealer to conclude a highly entertaining contest.
A crowd of 8,125 flocked to the Sydney United Sports Centre to provide a noisy and colourful backdrop, and the one-time powerhouses of Australian football matched the A-League side for long periods.
United kept up with Sydney FC’s tempo and workrate in a sometimes feisty contest which occasionally threatened to boil over.
Their hopes of maintaining an early deadlock were dashed midway through the opening half with Naumoff rifling an unstoppable strike from all of 30 metres past goalkeeper Anthony Costa.
The semi-professional United almost equalised within a minute as Ante Tomic struck the post with a header.
However, United were not to be denied and Stjepan Paric slotted home on the stroke of half-time after taking full toll of some woeful Sydney FC defending.
United’s Mirjian Pavlovic then had the ball in the net just after the break only for the goal to be correctly ruled out for a narrow offside.
Sydney FC slowly started taking a grip on the contest and they went ahead just past the hour mark with Naumoff thrashing a volley from an acute angle over the head of Costa and inside the far post.
New Sydney FC signing Bernie Ibini impressed with a strong performance in attack and nearly capped his match with a goal after hitting the woodwork in the second half.
In Melbourne, A-League club Perth Glory eventually saw off the challenge of St Albans City winning 4-1 at Knights Stadium with three second-half goals.
Adelaide United collected a confidence boost to go with their spot in the last-eight thanks to a 2-0 win over A-League champions Brisbane Roar.
Goals either side of half-time from Bruce Djite and Sergio Cirio were enough to get the Reds over the line in Adelaide.
The final match of the night saw the fairytale run of third-tier Melbourne side South Springvale come to an end on the Gold Coast 1-0 with Palm Beach winning thanks to a late strike from Jack Boxall.
FFA CUP QUARTER-FINAL DRAW (HOME TEAM FIRST)
Sydney FC v Adelaide Utd
Perth Glory v Melbourne Victory
Palm Beach Sharks v Central Coast Mariners
Bentleigh Greens v Adelaide City
– Dates and venues TBC
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