The Round of 32 match and two Round of 16 clashes saw Melbourne Victory, Melbourne City and Central Coast Mariners progress.  As per usual in the FFA Cup, the evening provided a number of entertaining and controversial moments.

Three FFA Cup Match Results

  • No giant killers in yesterday's FFA Cup clashes.
  • Two Round of 32 matches left including Tigers FC vs APIA match tonight.
  • Mathew Leckie scored his first Melbourne City goal to secure his side's progression.

The Full FFA Cup progression can be found on their website.

Adelaide City versus Melbourne Victory

The Round of 32 clash between NPL South Australia side Adelaide City and A-League side Melbourne Victory took place at the Maiden Sports Complex.  

It was the hosts who controlled the match, outshooting their opponents with sixteen shots to Melbourne's three and requiring Victory's Jerrad Tyson to rescue his team on a number of occasions.

For the second week in a row though it was a penalty that ensured Victory's progress to the next round. This time it occurred at the end of normal time in the 96th minute. Luis Lawrie-Lattanzio was taken down in the box forcing the referee to point to the spot.  

His teammate Anthony Leban, who converted the winning penalty which saw Victory go through to the Round of 32, was able to once again ensure Melbourne's progression. 

The match also saw the professional return of Matthew Spiranovic, who last played in May 2019.  The 33-year-old defender started and played 69 minutes.

Melbourne Victory next face Gold Coast Knights away for the Round of 16 match on December 22, 2021.  

Hume City versus Melbourne City 

National Premier League Victoria side Hume City FC met crosstown rivals Melbourne City FC in the Round of 16 clash at the ABD Stadium in Broadmeadows.  

The chances at goal started early for Melbourne City when the Raphael was brought down in the box in the 10th minute.  However, when taking the penalty his teammate Marco Tillio missed the goal completely.

Melbourne City's Mathew Leckie got his first goal for his new side in the 20th minute.  Receiving the ball in the box from a great pass from Manuel Pucciarelli, all Leckie had to do was deflect it past the keeper to make it 1-0 for Melbourne.

Leckie came extremely close to doubling Melbourne's lead in the 40th minute. A great cross into the  box by Raphael found the striker.  Leckie header hit the post with the rebound coming straight back to the attacker.  However, Hume City keeper Lucas Trenkovski was able to defend the ball and stop a second goal.

A close call occurred in the 60th minute, arguably Hume City's closest chance to equalize.  A great pass in the box found Mitch Cooper.  Sadly for Hume the attacker's strike was just wide. It was arguably their best chance of the evening. 

The game ended 1-0. With the win Melbourne City became the first Victoria side to reach this year's FFA Cup quarter final.

Wollongong Wolves versus Central Coast Mariners

NPL NSW side Wollongong Wolves hosted Central Coast Mariners at the Albert Butler Memorial Park. The hosts received a double advantage in the eighteenth minute of play.

Wolves' Leroy Jennings accidentally ran into Mariners keeper Mark Birighitti when both were going for the ball.  Unhappy with the clash Birighitti then stood over Jennings leading to commotion in the box between both sides.

The action saw Birighitti sent off with Wolves being awarded a penalty.  Striker Damian Tsekenis had to be subbed off to allow keeper Yaren Sözer to come on.  Sözer was unable to stop the Lachlan Scott's shot from the spot and Wolves were up by one goal and one player.

Despite being one man down Mariners were able to create a number of chances.  A corner in the 44th minute and a good pass into Wolves' box in the 62th minute which required a goal line clearance could easily have lead to a scoreline of 1-1.

It was a 70th minute Central Coast team goal that started Wollongong's undoing.  Cy Goddard provided a pass in the box that found the head of Josh Nisbet.  His headed pass ultimately found Moresche who scored his first Australian-based goal.

Mariners nearly got a second eight minutes later when another Moreshe shot required a second goal line clearance from Nicholas Littler. Their second goal came three minutes after that when Harry McCarthy was able to head in a corner to make it 2-1 for Central Coast.

Wolves defender Darcy Madden then received a red card in the 83rd minute, in what was Wollongong's last nail in the coffin.  Mariners have now secured their spot in the quarter final.

The FFA Cup continues this evening with NPL Capital side Cooma Tigers FC meeting NPL NSW side Apia Leichhardt FC.

PLUS...

Sam Kerr third in Ballon d'Or called disrespectful towards women's game

The 2021 Ballon d'Or was awarded this week and saw the Matildas captain finished third in the voting.

PLUS...

Phoenix get A-League Men's reinforcements

Wellington Phoenix have added a trio of players to their current squad, bolstering Ufuk Talay's playing group to twenty-four players.

All FFA Cup matches can be viewed on My Football YouTube.