Inglewood United’s FFA Cup dream is over after being beaten 1-0 by Perth SC in this afternoon’s Fourth Round encounter at Dorrien Gardens. Taki Nicolaidis and his players were left to wonder what might have been after Nicco Sabatini’s second half penalty eliminated them from the prestigious knock-out competition.
“It was a bitterly disappointing result and, more importantly, a missed opportunity to progress in the FFA Cup … I expected a bit more from our playing group,” Nicolaidis said. “It was always going to be a close encounter and unfortunately for us they made the most of their one moment and opportunity.”
The first half was a tight affair that had the defences on top and very little created in the way of genuine goal scoring opportunities. Andreas Theodosiades found himself within sight of goal on 12 minutes but Inglewood goalkeeper Alex Dunn proved up to the task, keeping out his opponents’ goal bound strike.
It was with an attacking frame of mind that Inglewood emerged for the second half. Brian Woodall looked set to break the deadlock with a swinging free-kick before Soale tipped it over the top. And the Perth custodian came to his teams’ rescue again shortly after by keeping out Kenny Keogh’s back post header.
The deciding goal arrived midway through the second period, Sabatini converting from the spot after Dunn had impeded Gustavo Catarcione inside the 18-yard box. Inglewood piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser and although Woodall did find the net, goal celebrations were short by the offside flag.
Match stats
Perth SC 1 (Nicco Sabatini 70)
Inglewood United 0
Perth SC: Francis Soale, Jordan De Leo, Adrian Madaschi, Rocco Pizzata, Tom King, Harley Orr, Paul Zimarino (Frank Furfaro 76), Andreas Theodosiades, Nicholas Ambrogio, Nicco Sabatini, Gustavo Catarcione
Inglewood United: Alex Dunn, John Migas, Adam Tong, David Cyrus, Jason Colli (Scott Blackmore 81), Matthew Ntoumenopoulos, Victor Brauner, Chok Dau, Brian Woodall, Kenny Keogh (Mark Pritchard 69), Alex Salmon (Ashley Rosindale 60)
Bookings: Catarcione (30), De Leo (38), Colli (41), Zimarino (50), Madaschi (58)
Dismissals: Nil
