Melbourne Knights progressed to the FFA Cup round of 16 in extremely wet conditions with a 2-1 victory, defeating Western Australian outfit Cockburn City at the Knights Stadium in Melbourne.
Jacob Colosimo put the hosts ahead in the 21st minute, but Cockburn’s David Araya managed to equalise on the stroke of halftime. The Knights went on to secure the win through Stipo Andrijasevic’s 70th minute strike.
Melbourne Knights
Michael O’Farrell – 5.5: Made a massive mistake in the first-half which went unpunished. Could do nothing about the goal and was otherwise quiet.
Nickolas Glavan – 6.5: Had a high work rate while being strong on the ball. A smart player who kept his opponent under wraps and contributed to the opening goal. Rock solid.
Milan Batur (C) – 7: A central-defender who showed his experience with a number of composed tackles. Great aerial presence and was smart in possession despite the wet conditions. Captain’s performance.
Nikola Jurkovic – 6: The young centre-back was caught out aerially at times. Used his body well to draw the occasional foul.
Timmy Purcell – 5.5: The Irishman kept his composure throughout and performed strongly after an error prone first-half. Exhibited a mental resiliency.
Anthony Dezic – 6: Played the defensive-midfield role well. A ball-player not overly strong in a tackle, but he did not need to be.
James McGarry – 7: Possesses a great first touch with an eye for a killer pass. Drove the team forward in midfield but his effort could be improved.
Jason Hicks – 7: Quick across the ground, the midfielder was cutting in on his left-foot with real venom. Unlucky not to score before being substituted late on.
Stipo Andrijasevic (C) – 9.5: Was a level above on the night, putting in a match winning performance for the home side. His ability to beat a man, be a creator and goalscorer was superb.
Nikola Jurkovic – 8: Great at holding up the ball and distributing to his teammates in extremely wet conditions. Showed his class with silky skills throughout the match.
Jacob Colosimo – 7.5: The striker made a great run to open the scoring. Held the ball up well and worked hard for his team before being subbed in the latter stages.
Substitutes
Ivan Grgic – N/A: Was only on the field for a handful of minutes to provide defensive cover to see out the result.
Caleb Mikulic – 5.5: Had a chance one-on-one which was hit with minimal power, allowing the defender to clear. Had limited time to influence the match.
Luke Juric – N/A: Came on as injury time approached, which meant he had no time to make an impact.
Cockburn City
Luke Radonich – 7.5: Poor kicking throughout the contest, but made a couple of excellent saves in extremely wet conditions.
Daniel Dols – 6.5: Had a tough job attempting to contain Andrijasevic, yet managed to force him to swap to the right to find space. A solid performance.
Euen Grant (C) – 6: Marshaled the defense well throughout and made some important tackles. Slow and steady.
Joshua Kuser – 6: A quiet night really. Had to make one goal-line headed clearance, but pressured his opponents well.
Blake Adams – 4: Seemingly invisible on the ball and in his attempts to defend. Was exposed by Andrijasevic on numerous occasions with both goals coming from his side of the pitch.
Ruban Tristao – 6: Put in a workmanlike shift as a defensive-midfielder on the night. Was utilised as a man-marker not spending much time on the ball.
Cameron Edwards – 5.5: Played rather defensively alongside Tristao, but when on the ball looked to be the creative link in the team. Limited chances to influence the proceedings.
Harry O’Brien – 5: Kept the possession well with a fine touch, though played narrowly which made it difficult for his team to create space. Ended up at left-back.
Aden Da Luz – 7: The danger man for Cockburn City. His surging runs down the right-side created a number of chances.
David Araya – 6: A crafty player with a great work rate. Scored the equalising goal for the visitors, proving difficult to contain in and around the box. Was subbed off early in the second-half.
Angel Andres – 7: Great first touch and used his speed well to counter-attack. His presence generated plenty of opportunities for his teammates, with a sublime turn to assist the first goal.
Substitutes
Ali Gholami – 5: Came on to provide balance in defensive-midfield. His team went behind soon after which made his job difficult.
Liam Murray – 6: Was lively and heavily involved as the second striker, although could not craft a chance. Needed more time.
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