White Eagles 5 (Thai Tran 45’, 90+1’, Andrew Sellas 51’, Pep Varga 76’, Michael Djordjieski 90+4’) Queanbeyan City 0
Power, pace and passion – attributes that alone can be lethal but combined, as White Eagles did on Thursday evening, they are positively deadly. Roared on by the majority of a crowd of over 200 at Woden Park the Eagles dismissed the challenge of their perennial Capital League rivals, Queanbeyan City, thumping their old foes 5-0 in a performance that was a complete reversal of their League capitulation only five days previously.
There was little indication of the destruction to come in a rather tepid first forty-five minutes as both teams sized each other up with the match drifting into an arm wrestle in the centre of the park. Chances were at a premium, but it was the Eagles that created the better. Brad Sawyer fired wide before Milan Santrac, bursting past his marker with a sharp turn of acceleration, slotted under the advancing Anthony Dimoski only to see his effort hacked off the line.
The closest City came to breaking the deadlock was when Daniel Crkovski, their leading scorer, tested Nicholas Jones’ concentration with a fine shot on the turn that the Eagles stopper, plunging to his left, pushed around the post for a corner. Just as the match appeared set to enter the break all-square, the Eagles struck. A break down the right flank and a ball across the area deceived the City defence allowing Thai Tran to slot into an unguarded net at the back post.
To say that City failed to turned up for the second half would be a slight on what was a terrific performance from the Eagles. Their ruthless ability to counter-attack at pace, as City searched in vain for a way back into the match, was the perfect example of how to play Westfield FFA Cup football. The warning signs were there early as Marcin Zygmunt was forced to make an outstanding tackle to deny one raid.
But the City defence was cut apart again in the 52nd minute with a quite brilliant individual goal. Andrew Sellas showed admirable pace to beat his marker, somehow managed to keep the ball in play right on the by-line, advance infield and slot an outrageous finish from an acute angle in off the far post. And it was game over when Eagles broke rapidly with fourteen minutes to play to send Pepe Varga clear. The striker looked in complete control of the one-on-one situation as he clipped his finish into the net.
At the other end Zach Knight flashed a header over the bar and Nathan Walker saw a snap-shot pushed round the post but it was a sporadic resistance. The icing on the cake arrived in stoppage time as from another break Tran beat the offside trap, lifted the ball over Dimoski and gleefully slammed it into the empty net. Eagles weren’t even finished at 4-0 and put the cherry on top with virtually the last kick.
From a corner, Michael Djordjieski, a late substitute, took a short pass and took three strides infield before curling a stunning effort over a clutch of players and into the far top corner. It was a fitting strike to end a match in which the Eagles, most definitely, took flight.
White Eagles: 1. Nicholas JONES, 3. Alexander NEDELJKOVIC, 4. Matthew GRECL, 5. Michael RYAN, 6. Andrew SELLAS, 7. Pepe VARGA, 8. Thai TRAN, 10. Milan SANTRAC, 16. Brad SAWYER, 17. Stephen MACHALE, 20. Eric BONNETT
Substitutes used:2. Keenan WORSLEY, 9. Eoin DEVANEY, 14. Michael DJORDJIESKI
Queanbeyan City: 1. Anthony DIMOSKI, 3. Ivan PUCOSKI, 6. Zach KNIGHT, 7. Daniel CRKOVSKI, 8. Nathan WALKER, 9. Vele DUKOSKI, 10. Nikolce NOVESKI, 13. Danny BYRNE, 15. Marcin ZYGMUNT, 19. Mark WALKER, 21. Mat RYAN
Substitutes used: 16. John ZDRUNCA, 17. Ned ALEKSIC, 20. William TOWNSEND
YELLOW CARDS: 1. Nicholas JONES, 4. Matthew GRECL, 6. Andrew SELLAS, 8. Thai TRAN (White Eagles), 6. Zach KNIGHT, 13. Danny BYRNE (Queanbeyan City)
RED CARDS: Nil