NWS Spirit v Melbourne Victory | Australia Cup 2024 Round of 16

for his place we know Bruno is a very competitive nature and doesn't like to miss a minute of games um so it'll be interesting to see that one watch that one pan out over the next few weeks as well so what are you thinking NWS Spirit Christy Park it's a wind tunnel there tonight against Melbourne Victory what are they going to have to do to potentially at least make it a fight make it a dog fight on their own term the best opportunity they have tonight is the weather conditions and the pitch because I think on paper Victory have everything in their Arsenal yeah I think Victory is going to be too good tonight once they get used to that pitch I they'll turn it on we've got Morton city exeler as well against Perth Glory any chance of a cup set there they'll be loads of goals they averaging five goals a game Earth loved to score and concede so oh look at Archie look he loves it he's King of the kids isn't he the man of everywhere course is our third Clash which will keep you across Oakley canons be H highberg United this taking place the king V the king of the kids at the home of the matildas three clashes heading way from the states across New South Wales Victoria and Brisbane tonight kick off to NWS spirit and Melbourne Victory heading away [Music] next e e e e e [Applause] he b b fantastic are on the verge of a major upset and L unites inaugural Cup winners Chris aamz wins the cup for melbour victory macur FC Australia Cup champions cppy FC they win the [Applause] cup good evening from a windy Christy Park as Melbourne victory travel to the Northwestern suburbs of Sydney to put their near perfect record against non-al League teams in the cup on the line 10 wins just the one loss and that was all the way back in 2021 tonight's opponent is Northwest Sydney Spirit the spiritual successor of the old Northern Spirit both teams about to make their way down the tunnel and go to battle Melbourne Victory hoping to advance to the quarterfinals tonight T Pazer with you for this one alongside Eric Paroo former sakuro and a bit of a homecoming of sorts for you Eric as you come back to this ground which you called home during your Junior days yeah good evening to yeah certainly brings back some memories uh being here particularly at christe Park and haven't been here since the artificial pitches being put in but let me tell you it used to be the coldest place on Earth well tonight it's the windiest place on Earth it it it may not be apparent in the pictures that you are seeing at the moment but it it is very blowy we will wait wait and see exactly how much that affects the game similarly the fact that tonight is being played on an artificial pitch something of a rarity for the victory either in their competitive games or even in their preseason friendlies Spirit FC there in the tunnel and you can see the captain Grant Cornwell is going to be bringing his young family look at that they're getting into the swing of things those young fans they've got banners made they've got the first names of all the players both in the starting 11 and on the bench lined up across the fence and they are going to provide part of the atmosphere a bumper crowd in it must be said it's at least four if not five times the size of the crowd that was here for Spirits win in the round of 32 against the glenor knights the only Tasmanian team in the competition and it has created quite an atmosphere for the occasion tonight yeah it's going to be brilliant to see all the young faces as well lots of young kids here watching and going to be watching some quality players on display tonight not just from from Melvin Victory but also from NWS Spirits so here come the two teams victory in their white away kit for this one and new gaffer Patrick kovo much like the away trip to the lampon jaffers in the round of 32 has not taken any risks and has really put out what he considers to be his strongest available 11 and a very deep bench as well for this one so let's get into those teams Spirit first they finished 10th in New South Wales npl a bit of an even spread of goal scorers too but Richie Darko did score against glori in the round of 32 and Jacob chak no relation to Victory and Matilda Alex is a player to watch as a Creator wearing that number 17 shirt David perkovich one of the high rated young stars of the coaching scene Rising through New South Wales and Melbourne Victory as you can see names like mashash aani also Teague and haml at the back and you can expect them to have a very experienced and Senior core Jack Duncan in goal and Daniel groski the youngster on the bench along with Jordan hoey his twin brother Jesse they were both important parts of a Melbourne Victory npl team that recently won promotion to the top division of npl Victoria so the Victory Academy coming off a fantastic winter and some of their youngsters getting rewarded with first te minutes as a result tonight's officiating crew Daniel Cook the South Australian will have the whistle a handful of a league centers as his experience and he is starting to really grow into one of the more regular referees we can expect expect to see in the a league this coming season melbour Victory breaking out of their huddle and doing one last shuttle run to the sideline before players take up their position of course the winner of tonight's match if it's victory they will be Hoping to either host Perth Glory or they'd be away at Morton Bay exelor and if Spirit was to get through then Morton Bay would have the upper hand in hosting right to they beat Perth otherwise it'll be the Perth Glory back here at chrisy Park there is Richie Darko and there are the fans it's uh yeah bring a headband sort of weather make sure that anything loose is tied down and so the spirit 10 wins four draws 16 losses in NL New South Wales they finished lower midt weren't in any real danger of relegation through the season and they did knock off some of the real luminaries of New South Wales football including former NSL team Sydney Olympic and former NSL team Sydney United to get to this point of the competition so they've taken down some of the big ones and now they take on one of the biggest in the nation two-time champion of this competition Melbourne Victory although their recent cup form has not been great ever since lifting the trophy in 2021 out in the round of 32 to Western United the year after out in the preliminary round on penalties to Newcastle Jets in 2023 so they didn't even make it to the round of 32 last season but after seeing off the Lampton jaff is 4-1 in the round of 32 they will be hoping to make it 11 wins and just the one loss against non a league teams in this competition tonight and it's spirit in there yellow and black to kickoff attacking the left of your screens towards the new club rooms here at Christy Park in the first half all in Readiness then this would perhaps be on the cupet ometer the biggest and the most surprising if it happens but you've got to play the games they don't play them on paper and uh the wind has its say and kickoff blowing the ball off the halfway line perhaps fitting perhaps for boting for what's about to come where underway at chrisy Park and Eric Paroo these first handful of minutes for Spirit are going to be so important not to concede an early goal and to get a foothold in the contest yeah they want to go forward quickly and I think when you see a lot of the a league teams how they've been performing against npl sides in the Australia cup it's about trying to manage the game and then find the right moments to go through and penetrate and create chances but for Spirit they have to start well they got to start well and they have here oh was nearly stolen away by Michael kavo who we heard from pregame scored against glori in the round of 32 and now Richie Darko he's trapped offside so the coin toss didn't go Spirits way they normally like to attack towards their Club rooms and the left of screen in the second half but I think so many of these players are going to have the adrenaline pumping they're not going to really care which way they're running at the moment the excitement of getting to take on a team of this magnitude especially for a side that is not chalk full of x a league players or x a League Academy Juniors so for many of them this is their first exposure and their first big test other than maybe the occasional preseason friendly that they might have played against a Sydney FC or a MacArthur or a Wanderers well let's head to Perry Park in Brisbane now because it's been a goal for Perth Glory fact it was terce Gula who is on Corner duties take two swung to a dangerous area and the glor are on the board early Zack Lisi the youngster so Perth glory in the lead against Morton City excelsia well if there's one thing we know about David perkovich as a manager it's that he's very malleable this is a coach who as we see the foul again won the warar cup as a second division Club the season that Spirit were getting promoted into the top flight so if anyone's going to who have done the homework and have a plan to defend and counter it will be perco as he's known here's a chance now for Su the Japanese national look at the effect of the Wind on the net it is billowing and blowing a gale as sigita tries to cross it in and there's no progress there as it's blocked away well let me tell you I'm sure that the spirit players are used to all sorts of conditions here at Christy Park and it's going to suit them trying to play with this wind blowing from the right to the left of the stadium here and they're doing well to keep possession can they go and Trouble the goalkeeper from this sort of area now Darko left the ball with kavo neat work in possession and that is an early Corner they don't have the tallest team it must be said Spirit but set pieces is one Avenue to goal that no doubt they will have prepared and victory early in their preparations for the new a league campaign we see what Patrick Kobo can do marshalling a set Pace [Music] defense here comes the corner right into the hot spot and victory had two players almost in each other's way a lack of communication there well the wind's going to play its part isn't it and I'm surprised that Jared Lum is able to get the ball into the box that's the first thing but the second thing is just to try and keep it away from The Tall Timber from Melbourne Victory so consecutive corners then this one high to the far post and the header is parried away Duncan makes the save shouts for a penalty foul given the other way instead and that was nearly the early goal that spirit so would have craved and what a moment that would have been for the under 20s regular KY Williams well what a ball to the far post and it just hung up and then dipped down and it was a great little save there from Duncan just to get across and identify that that was going to creep into that corner and they get away with it Williams only really in the starters tonight because one of the higher rated youngsters of the spirit team Kyle Shaw is out with an injury and he nearly introduced himself to the nation right [Applause] there restart from this free kick we got two balls on the pitch at the moment so they will have to clean that up Nishan valupet off screen as you see it is currently booting the ball out of play so we're back live at the feet of arani now Teague arani showed a little bit too much of the ball to his opponent and it was one [Applause] away Spirit up for the battle in these early exchanges Cornwell out to right back and player that had that chance a moment ago K Williams same spelling as Matilda star k Simon it's just one of those names that is appearing more and more in football and as the back pass here finds its way to Duncan an early test for him already valuet knocked off the [Applause] ball Sig everything a little bit stationary at the moment but spirit will happily take a throw in just trying to work themselves into the game here NWS spirit and they're looking good down this left hand side and probably because the wind's blowing them in that direction Darko coming all the way across to try and hold things up but Brennan Hamill doing a good job there marshalling that defensive line tonight Jared Lum he's taken the corners now he's taking the throws but that one only picks out valadon does the work with both the head and the boots and rodri Manda is able to launch a Counterattack well they had a shortlived [Applause] one chak down the line and then hurried on was sigita we've seen him roam from One Wing to the other but I think he's going to quickly go back to his position over on the left side rather than stay over on the right [Music] [Applause] [Applause] you can see how densely packed in the fans are with an earshot of both benches Patrick hobo earnestly giving instruction as Spirit get ready to take this set piece fantastic to see the first names of every member of the team on those little card banners along the fence yeah it's brilliant and they'll need that 12th man tonight to try and get past one of the best teams in the country in Melbourne Victory and it's a big challenge for them too to come here and to try and navigate the conditions first of all and something that they're probably not used to playing on today is this artificial surface and it's probably will suit Patrick kiss Nora the way he would like to play but it's still difficult to get on that pitch as a ex player yourself how big a gear change is it when you're so used to manicured grass and nice surfaces and then out of nowhere or once in a blue moon you have to adjust and play on synthetic cuz for players who trade or play on it week in week out it's probably normal but what about for the pros coming back to do it I think the only problem you have is with the explosive players trying to turn and change direction and go with speed and it's that wear and tear on the unnatural surface but you know you're back for and your defensive sort of players don't have that problem it's the guys going forward and they're going to have to try and break this back line down tonight from Spirit and you can only do that with speeding behind so that's why they go on that back five let's head back to Perry Perth now it's been a very strong start for Perth Glory free kick for the glory for O'Neal and not at home once again all alone was Jacob mu Jacob mu on the score sheet 2 nil lead the night here last night climatizing for today's game they didn't fly up on game day as many of the npl level teams are prone to doing in this [Music] competition here's valadon Victory just looking for a gap Spirit very organized in defense OS made a run but goes ignored as the ball moves around the back line valupet get to see him right at the [Applause] defense now Spirits start to get interested in hunting the ball and maybe that will pull a few players out of position but a pass like that is a gift onto the head of Cornwell and now it is just booted Away by chak and looped out before he did think it might have been a hand ball there just got caught in the wind and that's going to be a big thing for the players tonight to watch out for just judging the ball when it goes into the air and we know what Mel and Victor can do from the set piece with their big boys and they all get up now the first real test for [Applause] Spirit get to see Chris Marks need to lay gloves on the ball so this is the first big moment as a defensive stand for Spirit in the game arani over the free kick and it's all Spirit at the fall second ball is there to be won valadon Loops it back in clears veros over his head kavo a shallow clearance at the edge of the box referee has a good hard look and didn't take any interest as arani went to ground and freak K given going the way of spirit yeah it's going to take some time for veros just to get himself into the game it's a great little piece of skill there from arzani I'm surprised the referee didn't blow for a free kick and then it was all about trying to get up and react and he gave away a foul unfortunately the number nine restart ball volunteered straight back to Victory shouts for hand ball and they go unheeded this time marks playing it out to right back long ball dark o can go and Chase trying to break between the lines but rodri Miranda has him out pointed on this occasion and eventually the ball Works its way over the line for a spirit throw 10 minutes gone it's been a busy 10 minutes or maybe that's just because we're Clinging On to all the broadcast gear up here in the scaffold as the wind howls through yeah it's good good to see the players haven't taken a backward step though hasn't affected them the way that they want to play the way they want to keep possession of the football and you can see once the ball goes in the air it's a complete mess long throw is going to clear the head of Darko and now bouncing back out from when it came for another throw hello this is us Eric give us a wave in the commentary box it's a great setup here at chrisy Park and it must be said even though it's windy it is not the Arctic Circle tonight it's not actually as cold as it normally is when you come out here for a game long throw again and Rising well in the air was Hamill Teague having to backtrack quickly Victory able to squeeze it to garer and now things calm down at the feet of Hamill and teag again well it's on up at Perry Park let's take a look neatly done chance perhaps here for Morton City Walters stays on side Marquez Walters Morton City excelsia hit back and the shark fins are out once again at Perry Park Marquez Walters with the Sharky 21 Victory trying to off the tempo if there is the odd missed pass or touch they're just trying to use their speed here to hurry Spirit bash can he slay them through he can't body check for his trouble Lum squeezes it back to Marks and that is a clearance under pressure from The Keeper you see the wind caused it to drop straight down out of the sky vicory not done attacking just yet contact on vergos sold it for all it was worth and the ref is buying a free kick in shooting range there was a few nibbles there on a few Victory players and the mws spirit players were stepping in they were trying to get something they're trying to get a piece of it and trying to break forward quickly it's a hefty challenge there from Nicholas maybe a little bit of stud just raising all the way down the back of vos's leg and a cheeky little nutmeg from mashash and it's a great position now from the set piece for Melvin victory no V at this level so the referee's decision is final Ryan teag appears to have pulled Rank and he stands solo that's a great look at four in the wall Chris Marks has left him the top right corner if he's good enough teag and the goalkeeper positioned himself perfectly to collapse onto the ball beautiful save and great to just get it in h hands Marx just brought it so well down in the windy day through bodies and straighten the Bread Basket veros is dusted himself off after the challenge a moment ago masach [Music] [Applause] [Music] arzani and arani with his hands full against kavo now he's leged and now he's fouled and must be said the the Replay for the previous foul was quite incriminating Eric so as much as arani may have already gone to ground once without drawing a free kick I think you've got to give him the benefit that a doubt that he is getting fouled here well it does draw attention he's got great feet and he knows exactly where the players are great awareness there a lot of aggression from the spirit players and they're going to have to taper that a little bit because players like arzani know exactly what they're doing and in dangerous areas that will come back to haunt them [Applause] 15 minutes gone still scoreless but Victory starting to take territorial dominance of this first half and another set piece opportunity two arms raised what does that mean from Daniel [Applause] arani making sure that everyone knows what's coming it means it's a sideways short pass Teague looping into kavo and after much anticipation that free kick came to precious little yeah what a shame Mel and victory there went for the short option and then to try and change the angle maybe looking for that deep Ball but Spirit are hanging on here and it' be great for them to try and mount some sort of possession they're going to try and play it from the back here given away valadon Spirit could be punished right here give away in an advanced position the ball is going to deflect and bounce towards the line S keeps it in and Har defending has at least forced Victory back to the halfway line and now potentially a giveway McKinley Conor stabo with it all to do he's done well to keep the ball at his feet initially but eventually it's extracted away masach valupet first time return pass and marks is out to collect it's quite dangerous isn't he when he gets the ball to his feet mashash steps forward Big Boy nobody really wants to take him on and he's got some great options in front of him valupet just trying to just dig that one into his path anything might have held up for him with this win tonight pass accuracy quite a gulf between the two it's his Spirit have just kicked to clear on a few occasions and booted the ball back to Victory no intention other than to try and find a bit of temporary relief although Victory with a misplaced pass there now it gets a little bit hairy at the edge of their own penalty area Sig he's got skills but he perhaps bit off more than he could chew valupet coming back with possession it's Nishan valupet and clear by Cornwell out for a corner beros was waiting at the near post it's really good defending and great positioning from Cornwell playing a more of a central role tonight in that back three back five but it's all about valupet so direct so quick to try and get something inside the box and he did the right thing trying to engage with his teammates so first corner of the night for victory aani on set PA Duty Free Kicks Corners the [Music] lot it's a packed sixy box as arani makes up his mind on what the option is and he balloons it out for a goal kick nothing worse everybody up for the set piece and the crowd were giv it to him as well on this side and just tried to angle that ball you can see possibly the artificial Turf not being used to playing on it you've really got to just try and be a bit more accurate and just get the ball in the Box you've got big boys in there there's a look at the fans who have taken up station behind the goal that Victory are attacking in this first [Applause] half Spirit at Their Own Worst Enemy coughing up possession again valadon and that one landed on the roof of the net it's a beautiful forward run though from valadon from Midfield something unexpected Central Midfield player running making a third man run and aani has got the quality to pick out those sorts of pass has just needed a little bit less on the contact see threw and flicked his right foot at it and tried to catch it the right little bit of slice but over the bar it went Spirit just can't get out of their own defensive half at the moment Victory must feel as though they're getting closer to an opening goal boss now valadon the wind about as strong as it's been all night going across the pitch towards our cameras ndon keeping it under control and now he's running into the wind as he tries to push it back out to the Left [Applause] Flank and that's probably the idea is that the players are all playing down this close side to us when we're commentating from us because they can't really get across the other side with a pass or running with the ball is quite difficult so down this right hand side for Melvin Victory if they're smart and get a bit more of an overload they'll have some Joy masach valupet couldn't find an opening so Retreat to Teague and then into the defensive half [Music] everything slows down just a little Victory had had a good little spell of turning up the heat trying to up the tempo on spirit and now they consolidate here masach and valupet try to wind it up once again but a clearance oh and that is absolutely soft one of the C in the car park as it's cleared overall andry inside the venue well I hope he's got insurance taking a quick look over our shoulder just to make sure there's not too much damage that's what the Australia cup can do huge crowd in at a Suburban venue and they are looking to Roar Richie Darko hoping to run onto that pass Spirit get a throw deep in attack it's really good play from Spirit and good defending from Brendan Hamill he's got to watch Darko tonight we know how quick it can be into those areas but once he gets the ball with Darko he needs to have players supporting him and you can just see here his options are plenty for him to run into space but great awareness from Brendan Hamill had that one covered do they have a long throw routine here spirit that they can try to catch Victory out with L giving instructions here comes the throw right to the edge of the 6yd Box first header is Teague and sug is going to have to track back to win possession pass around the corner came in from Nicholas and now Victory with garer have possession back it's just about trying to create a few more of those moments that raise the heart rate in the victory defense for Spirit yeah they've got to get themselves inside that 18 yard box I think a little bit more it's easier said than done against a really good team that keeps the ball and when they win the back they're very quick to play it and get around you so you fall back into this formation and that's why Spirit of call that backfire tonight you can see how compact they've making the middle of the pitch but there's a problem with the ball at the moment now yeah you can see here Hamill is saying it's not inflated enough so referee will come across check and fourth official will be quick on the scene to provide an alternative not much of a drama this they two to choose from now [Applause] [Music] and thankfully very little time lost playback live at the feet of garer here [Applause] [Music] Teague boss was trying to sneak down the left sideline but he was closely marked chak was watching him Bergos is off side flag up and a spirit restart it's a really nice line from Spirit there and very difficult to play when you're up against a league opposition we saw that last night with Lions FC Against The Wanderers you've got to get it right and you've got to be communicating at all times and it was a super line we have not cited Spirits number 17 Jacob chak much he was such a creative force in the round of 32 against gleni he's going to try and run onto this long ball here but he's out pointed in the air mainly because he is tucking back in that defensive five and keeping an eye on arzani and the overlapping Casey boss down that Left Flank for the victory so we'll know when spirit is starting to get a bit more aggressive because we might see a little bit more of him on the ball Clash of heads here is unfortunate and has left masach a little worse for where well these are the ones you've got to go into and you got to try and win the ball cleanly and masach didn't really know what was going on around him might be just a good opportunity now for both sides to reassess what they're doing in these first 24 25 minutes or so and I think for Patrick yova he'll be happy enough with the way that they passing the ball they haven't been able to penetrate because that Spirit backline and the Midfield is very very condensed at the moment an bakar is the Spirit player who masach collided with he was at Sydney United 58 last year so they actually won through to the round of 16 of the Australia cup as well so he's gone this far with two different clubs in consecutive years it is a bit of a rarity to see that in the Australia cup there's Patrick kovo you were a team of his Eric in your playing days how exciting is it to see him restarting I would say his coaching career back in Australia after his brief and unsuccessful stint in Europe well he's at the right place at the right club that he's hungry for for trophies and I think you know speaking with people around the club it's it's changed the atmosphere and you know this is this is a club that expects success and they got themselves to that Grand Final again last year didn't win it of course but Patrick Koro is a a Serial winner and he'll to win at absolutely everything whether it's training the Australia cup the a league um you know it's a great great pick up for Mill and victory and he still has so much to give you can't uh can't throw the baby out with the bath water because it didn't work out with that move to France and it's a big expected club that he walks into now hoping that his history of winning trophies as you can say at Melbourne City can be replicated with Melbourne victory Cornwell clears valadon garer Hefty challenge came in from McKinley Darko no one really running ahead of the ball Beyond McKinley here so Sig is just going to hold it up now long ball comes Miranda composed [Music] valadon boss for those of you wondering yes he is the brother of recently minted sakuro Jordi speaking of Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory connections the the Boss family with a foot in each Camp as we see this behind for a uh corner kick a foot in each Camp of all three Melbourne teams across the Boss family Western United Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City in recent times both of these boys left back it's very very rare to have that in the family two left backs isn't it well there there's enough of an age Gap that perhaps they weren't trading on each other's Toes or competing with each other for spots in junior teams really more of a backyard thing here's a corner for victory a little gift from the spirit defense can they make the most of it Cornwell's up and the ball slides on that looks like it'll be a victory throw on the opposite side of the pitch well you can see why Cornwell's been put in there tonight to lead by example with that extra man that spare man trying to win absolutely everything that comes through the middle masach a little too clever by half couldn't find a teammate and McKinley Safety First with the clearance once again HL teag looking for an incisive pass the little back heeld flick from vergos arani trying to capitalize valupet nicked off his toes at the last valadon able to retain the ball [Applause] [Music] masach turns and faces arzani lots of yellow shirts between him and go Teague will shoot from distance bred goal lashed in by Ryan teue and victory at almost the half hour mark do Score first and it's taken an excellent strike for them to do so what an absolute Thunderbolt there from Teague and and the NWS Spirit players heads were spinning it was great one-touch football there from Melbourne Victory it just came out to him nicely and he set himself up with a beautiful first touch on the outside of his foot and when he hit that it was just hit with so much power right into the bottom corner and marks had absolutely no chance trying to stop that one from going in but the pressure finally paying off for M Victory well on a night like tonight you'd be forgiven for not taking too many long shots given what the wind could do to it but he kept that low the trajectory was just about perfect and that behind the goal shot looking down the ground where we saw how much work the goalkeeper had to do it was well beyond the reach of the outstretched arm and it means that melbour Victory have the [Music] lead well it's head up to Perry park now because Morton Bay excelsia have equalized it may have come off MOA out the holiday Cuts back inside holiday oh yes this time we are back at level pegging holiday celebrate 22 between Morton City excelsia and Perth [Applause] Glory would be just what the spirit need Lum it catches the wind it takes an awkward bounce but it's not Hing in towards the Target and ultimately it beat everyone in the penalty area just needed Williams there to gamble and he just gave up on it at the last minute and the ball just died right in the middle there I'm telling you if Williams would have gone all the way and believed he was going to get on the end of it might have been a different story [Music] Victory not going with any pretentions of playing out here happy just to booted up into the attacking half and immediately they find themselves at halfway and with the spirit at the back [Music] [Applause] foot masach aani Valle Motoring gets to the ball and he looks to continue the run the cut across veros denied and scrambled Away by Spirits defense super football that from Melbourne Victory arani going coast to coast and just involving valupet at the right moment and didn't he show some great footwork to get himself away just wondered if it would have been a first time finish here rather than taking the touch and once he got that ball out of his feet couldn't find the corner AAR can't make any further progress Teague kabo just boots it away boss [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] players running back to their regular positions after the corner kick the formation a bit more established Victory go to [Applause] work masach collision at the top of the area has left vergos prone on the ground referee appeared to miss it free kick elsewhere in the meantime but nichas vergos is protesting to our Central referee Daniel Cook without any real sympathy yeah M had a lot of space there on that right hand side of the pitch and bit frustrated lost the ball and tried to win it back but you can see what Melvin Victory are trying to do there they're just trying to pass it around the backline and wait for that [Music] opening L McKinley now Kor stabo Darko barely had a touch of the ball in the game so far but he's able to win a free kick here not an easy job and it's great to see Richie Darko not go quiet playing that number nine role if you like by yourself against a team like Melvin Victory it's very easy to go missing and he's done really well to buy a couple of fouls and get himself into some good areas into space can they capitalize on this opportunity now a little bit further Advanced and a little bit wider than the free kick 3 minutes a go straight after Spirit conceded Lum has had one to hony's radar let's see what take two is like an in swinger and catching practice for Jack Duncan and quick distribution sets arzani away theup switching flxs veros it sits up and wrestled off the feet of arani initially veros extracts across the half volley was awkward off the shoulder darkos waiting for someone to come up and help him chak is the answer now popped back to Richie Darko an arm across his chest and eventually it's out spirit ball brilliant just brilliant for M Darko to buy that foul again showing everybody in his team which way the goal is we're going this way follow me and try and keep up with me if you can and Mel and victory are having a little bit of a problem trying to figure out a way to stop this guy tonight the next step is to get a shot away to get CER on the goal he is quite a capable long shot from distance too so even if he gets dragged up the pitch it doesn't take him out of contention to score there's the shots on target count just under 10 minutes until we find out first half stoppage it's been a Brisk game so far McKinley veros knocked off the ball and [Applause] foul melv and victory want to get this one started quickly and it's good to see Spirit just to keep on harassing you know the guys in the white shirts trying to slow them down and they're putting a lot of energy to go and press like that and trying to get in their faces but they haven't got a lot of players committing forward they're sitting in their positions they're waiting and they're going to do a lot of this tonight but waiting and waiting and waiting for melbour Victor to make a mistake Miranda's long ball headed Away by Cornwell arzani first touch really accelerated and burst up to valadon he is sent back in the other direction though garer vup now masach spins out of trouble vup Mark saw it late it sits up and the shot is put in by valadon or is it flag up well the a half decent penalty shot there as well Victory through veros but the ultimate decision is offside there's a great arrival there from Jason garer that helped that situation for Melvin Victory but had a great opportunity didn't they one or two bites at that cherry I want to see that one again Val's initial shot vergos clatt it in the followup and then valadon puts it in but the flag goes up and now varos perhaps taking out some of that frustration has put himself in the book yellow card for the foul on Cornwell well here it is there's that shot from valupet and it took a little deflection and just there was an opportunity foro in an offside position that's why he got called and here's the yellow card Eric every day of the week good refereeing and just shows that frustration maybe for you know Nik veros just trying to get himself into this game not an easy task waiting in that 6 Yard Box for something to come to you and when it does you're in an offside position well I mean he would and he would have felt the shirt grab there he would have been adamant it was a penalty but only to get up and see the flag race talking penalties one was a water between the Oakley cannons and hidle Berg United let's take a look did see the ball deviate a little bit when he Joe guest V SOA oh and it's missed the Mike Cal medalist he's barely put a foot wrong penal is missed nil nil it remains between Oakley and harderberg third all of a sudden the ball is down in defense and Captain Cornwell with some cool skills to get out of trouble and set sua away can he freeze feet for across he's got G for company trying to skip around two Victory players now and the cross never swung in it's another good moment though for Spirit to try and pin Melvin victory in here it's almost like Park football sometimes to try and get those percentages right win the ball back in those areas you're in business beros falls to the ground and he gets pushed by buckas bakar who himself has played extensively professionally in Croatia Slovenia it's been a a journeyman player that was raised in Sydney so he's seen it all before well the ball went in there and it was just a bit of a clash of bodies and there was no retaliation really from vergos on the ground that I could see was there a hand ball and he had every right to put his body in the way there and there was no trailing arm whatsoever bakar's the defender getting up to try and press with the attack it's left potential gaps at the back here veros is a lone hand and now players break forward in support vup very firmly struck return pass had too much on it into the last 5 minutes of Regulation at the end of the first 45 [Music] Darko combining with McKinley only as far as rodri Miranda azani mashach now [Applause] Val masach stuck in one on [Applause] two Darko and while he was looking for perhaps a step over touch to try and out Fox and ended up out foxing himself well drama Galore at Perry Park between Mort City excelsia and Perth Glory Glory down to 10 men CH free kick and another and in fact it's a second yellow [Applause] card just before halim wasn't too much in that but referee Adam KY so 10 men and what a fight they will have on their hands because 22 at Perry Park I've been scared to to [Music] face chak wiped out play continues te the goal scorer finds arzani masach B blew to his feet tonight but he goes and wins it back in Earnest valuet great save Marx tips it round the post fingertips and Nishan valupet is foiled that is a top draw save you may not see one better in the Australia Cup this season that's Sensational the ball went all the way across and had all the Whip and all the curl from volup at had fingertips types of stuff there it's beautiful action right hander right in the corner it was going in it's a great save still got a corner to deal with aani [Music] honing in on the far post now one attacking the ball and it will tumble out for a throw so Victory can still try to pin spirit in their defensive half well that's two corners now for arzani and you'd expect to see something a little bit better and particularly when you haven't got one in the first time you got to make sure the second one at least hits the target can Spirit get get to halim only a goal in AAR then perhaps start to brainstorm Grand plans of hunting and equalizer which has not really been on their agenda for much of this half it's really been a story of Victory trying to put them in a vice and squeeze [Applause] [Applause] [Music] Hamill [Applause] [Music] vle tempted through ball is hit a little narrow chidiac clearance now McKinley very nice nicely done by Jared McKinley but he's in a one on Three now support comes kavo he's going to ground before contact was even made no free kick masach through the middle veros can he drag it onto his shooting foot eventually he turns and faces and across to no one in particular it might still sit up on the synthetic though boss arrived late marks collects just needed some more help there didn't he the big man he was trying to hold something up and wait for a runner to come through and nobody from Melvin Victory decided to try and help him out it's been a frustrating half for Nik [Applause] vergus masach feros again theup wouldn't be tonight this time it took a top draw save to foil him once but Nishan Val has doubled victory's lead right on the stroke of halim and the a league Powerhouse are looking good have they put the tie to bed well the celebration of masach indicates maybe as much well that's much better from Melbourne Victory they went Central they got support and vergos got himself involved and that's all you have to do as a big Target man sometimes wait for the runner to go alongside you and run off you and volup knew exactly where that ball was going to go to him and he just rolled in the bottom corner he tells the guys here at chrisy Park I can't hear you well it went dead silent here in chrisy park even the wind died down briefly as valupet puts that ball in the corner he scored a double against the Lampton jaffers so that's three in the National rounds for him so far and with so much expectation that this season will be his breakout a League season where he becomes a league leading Talent he is certainly showing excellent form in the Australia cup we've ticked into two additional minutes at the end of the first half one of them has already expired Mourne Victory now with a firm foothold in the quarterfinal exactly who they're going to face in that quarterfinal remains a mystery though given the chaos that is going on in the other game which we've been getting the updates from we see a long ball here Darko looking for a play on the ball but he can't get there and now boss in the left back corner clear Away by rodri [Applause] Miranda and the offside flag is up which is a bit of a killer right at the end of the first half and it's a killer conceding that second goal T just before halftime as well it changes the team talk now because it's not just getting one goal back you've got to get two and they've never really looked like troubling Jack Duncan in this first half but from set pieces and for you know playing the ball in for Richie Darko they need to do more of that but when they go and risk a few things it always seems like you know one step forward two steps back for them so a big halim team talk coming for David perkovic can he Mastermind to come back Melbourne Victory are jogging to the rooms as the whistle goes they have laid down a marker here and are looking in an enviable position to advance to the quarterfinals of the Australia cup sech of winning this trophy for the third time in their history start of the kisnorbo era going pretty well as things currently stand Spirit the home side they've got a hopeful home crowd will they have something to cheer after the break right now it's NWS Spirit nil Melbourne Victory 2 it's looking good for Melbourne Victory we are off to a short break I'll be back with Danny mcbr and Royo Donovan to run ey over all of the action this round of 16 Australia cup night because it's a goal Fest between Mort City excelsia and Pera no goals just yet between ugly cannons and harderberg we'll see you soon going to keep on pushing cuz I'm never going stop no I'm never going stop my [Music] foring e e e e for [Music] welcome back to the Australia Cup round of 16 and Northern suburbs of Sydney there tonight at Christy Park it's a pretty windy one a little bit of spice out there as well NWS spirit from the South Wells npl up against Melbourne Victory Nishan Bel has been pretty busy got himself a goal there as you can see as that is our main game there are games across three states this evening we're keeping you across all of the action because we are across all of the action and the various screens that you can't see at home but are beyond the cameras here welcome back to Danny mcbrine and Roy O Donovan one of you made of the opening half Melbourne Victory sitting in the lead pretty comfortably 2-0 at the moment yeah look uh and WS Spirit they put up a good fight they didn't make it easy um but as we do see as these competitions go on when the the uh a league team are a little bit further into preseason we start to see them dominate a little bit more and again it was two great finishes really wasn't it Ryan Teague with a ThunderBolt from distance and then nup who's looked dangerous down this right hand side creating this time taking the chance to curl one in the bottom corner shows again just that little bit of class difference between the step up between the a league um but they have been dominant Victory they have and spirit won't be happy with themselves either just the way they've they're not taking any chances at the back which I understand they're getting the ball forward as quick as they can but up front are not getting hold of the board they not really giving Victor anything to think about to worry about and uh I think Victory going to go home quite easily with this the result tonight Daniel azan's been heavily involved pretty busy on the left what are your thoughts on Nichol feros we're seeing him for the first time their Greek Striker led to a foul and a moment for them but also really busy and heavily involved in the action yeah look he's been there and there about causing problems for them um you can see he's got the quality there but you can also see that you might be able to get him a little frustrated and wind him up as well uh the one that came down on his foot I thought could have been a yellow card cuz they do hurt and it was late uh he's probably feeling a little grieved that that wasn't as well but uh the the other one that was off side that he was close you know he was in the right position looked like he's about to score whe B screaming penalty and then up top side so he's there he's in the right positions and he's putting his body B and trying to just learned to to Jael with his teammates and and what they their best qualities are and how he can work with that we'll take a look at the first half highlights now yeah some uh High Rapid winds at Christy Park a great crowd building as well but you can see the opening opportunities at Melbourne victory of fashing a great job from MZ the goalkeeper too yeah he's a really good keeper he's kept him in the game uh at times but as MAA touched on two really quality finishes from Teague uh this one from distance against a really good Keeper in Marquez and then vup the next one after this one was that's been the difference really just that little bit of quality in the final third the ability to hurt the opposition that uh spirit don't look like they have at the moment well that's what we saw last night too wasn't it with lions and Western Sydney when we saw the um who was it scored the opening goal um was it milanovich yeah milanov milanovic yeah when he hit that got him into from a similar distance fatigue Thunderball into the bottom corner and then the tide starts to open up the heads go down a little bit and the and the a league team starts to get a little bit of confidence they haven't made it eat they easy they've been lots of bodies around the edge of box you can see there's loads of body there but he he just tucks it away nicely and it was a lovely little back heel as well um from the new Striker to to lay it on so they're starting to combine they're starting to get to know each other and I I agree with Roy I think that now that Victory have the lead they'll um they'll go on with this and see the game out comfortably yeah they will they're looking pretty good they headed into the sheds pretty pretty quickly and we're going to take a look at the stats there as well as you can see that dominance when you look at the shots in total on the shots on target from Melbourne Victory their possession as well you can see their class above there yeah look they they've had most of the do dominant uh display in the game they've had most of the field possession as well you can see passes made all that stuff is in their favor uh NWS spirit is the only shot on to goal was that header in the first few minutes of the game but they've really struggled as Roy said to get forward darko's tried to be that man but he's been a bit isolated at times as well really battling on his own um in a physical sense but uh it has been a dominant display let's take a look and we'll go to the home of the matildas now and this huge heavyweight clash between the powerhouses in Victoria it's the Oakley cannons and heidleberg heidleberg aren't playing finals but they gosh they've had their opportunities haven't they Oakley well they have um we knew this would be a tight game third verse fourth in in Victorian League um two teams that know each other quite well um but um you can see there's a little bit of spite these two guys obviously when they played against each other before few chances at each end but when the penalty does finally come which R we had a bit of a discussion about whether we thought it should be a penalty or not but we can see both sides and you can see that it's been quite an open game with chances at each end but um I think Oakley will be disappointed having a penalty and not being ahead at half time the game is on a knife edge definitely as you said they know everything about each other and they're pushing each other is a good vibrant crowd there but uh as you as you touched on Oakley getting the penalty I think is the next clip coming up the hand ball here you can see it hits his hand I know you're talking about he slides almost sliding past the ball but for me it's a penalty Jo guest won't sleep tonight after missing that one uh you would have put your house on him uh their Captain their main man and look how happy Yar saer is there bit her going on there it's a rarity isn't it that we would see Joe guest Miss from the spot when he steps up in that moment as well there's a bit of feeling out you just get the feeling as well the longer this game goes on we could be headed for extra time and penalties I thought that from the start with this one nothing's changed my mind what are the stats telling us Roy when you're looking that and the complexion of the game and said it's been open I of course had that penalty that could have changed it all for them yeah look at it it's finally balanced two shots on target for Oakley uh heidleburg have had a few Penalty Box entries without taking their chances I know Kan Shepard has been in there once or twice and it's kind of instead of pulling the trigger he's looked for a pass so they need to be a bit more selfish but uh yeah it's going to be tight margins here you know could be a set piece and one break away to win the game well let's get out there now because Michael oppon has been keeping a very close eye on all of the action zis have you seen it yeah thank you Tara and entertaining first half here but still nil nil the best chance of the night going to Oakley with a penalty Joe guest one of the Stars the captain of the club who's been outstanding for them for many seasons now he stepped up and completely missed the target giving heidleberg a reprieve heidleberg weren't happy about the Waring of the controversial penalty in their in their opinion they thought it wasn't a hand ball because the supporting arm was used down at the other end a few minutes later they did have a shout Anthony Leota getting forward and calling for a penalty as well so as the teams were walking off John anastasiadis wasn't happy at all he'll now need to regroup and know that his side can come back into this contest still nil nil at halim Oakley have the edge they've had the edge all season over heidleberg can heidleberg overcome them we'll find out very soon yeah what a big Clash that is of course to see how it plays that a big second half heading your way across Network 10 as well Mackey said it you're expecting there'd be go old school law between Morton City excelsia and Perth Glory you got what you wanted it's 22 red card man sent off of Perth Glory I mean this could go any which way look Perth are just doing Perth things aren't they you think you know they're going to score goals but you also know they're going to concede goals and you you were thinking with all the changes this year and the staff and and the way the club's changing direction that maybe that would change well 5-4 in the last game 2-2 in in this game at half time a player sent off as well um so yeah it's entertaining as always we love Perth Glory when they're out there because you know there's going to be action can Perth hold on they're a man down Roy I don't think so I think uh it's a proper cup toy we we said that we didn't think there'd be an upset but it's it's definitely changed things I think uh there great movement here for Marquez walers lovely slip ball great finishing you got to say Marquez Walters must be favorite for that Mike cockal medal this year the way he's playing uh and yeah this out of nowhere just got Morton City Excel here back in the game um as we're going to see this one the break away he runs at the defense commits him splits the defense Marquez Walters under the keeper oi s and they're back in the game now this is the goal yeah it comes wide he comes inside RZ no cover from defense what a great finish that was he's on a holiday what a finish you're right it's it's a great finish but you're right who's who's coming to protect risden there when he cuts inside where's your other Center back where's your six defensive midfielders to come in and step in those areas there it's poor defending but it's you can't take anything away from holiday he's cut inside and that is a great finish Ben holiday with a finish to make it 22 and that is well and truly game Let's head back out to Chrissy park now because Eric Paro and trist McManus are standing by team what have you made of all the action that you're seeing out there in a very windy night in the northern suburbs of Sydney Erica real Sucker Punch right before the halftime whistle there um are you seeing enough in spirit here to maybe potentially get back into it well it's going to be a tough one for them they''re done really well defensively staying inside their own 18 yard box and not a lot of things getting you know put in centrally but that last goal was a sucker punch wasn't it I think they're looking good victory when they played out wide and theyve got the players to kill you you know through that middle it was great to see you know um the big number nine try and get himself involved a little bit more veros and then that lay off to um you know vup was a great finish from him but they need more of that Melbourne Victory but I think for Spirit right now if they risk a little bit more it could be you know even more for Melbourne Victory to score goals so I think for NW Spirit now it's about trying to contain this first 5 or 10 minutes or so and then look for more of you know the runs of Richie Darko getting for they can do it um but they have to believe in it and in terms of Victory I mean granted they're two-nil up but are you happy with how they're playing will PK be happy with the with the way they're playing today I think so I mean 2-0 half timee job's not done but they have a a lot of players on the bench they got Bruno forer R he's still sitting there walking towards us now and um you know they've got the quality in them it's it's about keeping possession for them it's about getting through the 90 minutes with with East um but it's good to see some of these players I mean some of these young kids watching the lights of Daniel arani and um Nishan vup walking forward and you know taking all these players on it's great to see a bit of attacking intent so um it's been a good good night of football yeah it's been great well we got the spirit tribe here we got all the academy players here behind us the under nines the 14 the 15s H the spirit is right and let's keep going here for the second half back to you guys in the studio thanks so much team a big second half about to start now so it's back over to to pallet Siri so the start of the second half here at Christie park Melbourne Victory attacking the left of your screens as they get back underway with a 2-n lead in Pocket no substitutions at halime from either side so what does Spirit have in store massive team talk for David perkovic to try and get his side to spark up maybe given their best chance to score in the first half Eric paralo was that early header which was saved by Jack Duncan these first couple of exchanges of the second period might be their best chance to get an Avenue back into the game it always is tell you and that's the thing about playing in the Australia Cup against a league opposition you've got to take those opportunities when they arise and it's usually early on before you know the a league sides can get their confidence get their shape get their little bit of you know it's good move here Conor stavo run on Q perhaps this is the moment Darko Conor stavo numbers over on the left can Spirit make it work the ball just held up on the synthetic and masach taking no risks booted it away it won't find the safety of the line you can see the graphics on your screen showing you the teams that are out there at present this man KY Williams in the number 36 had that great chance the header which was battered Away by Jack Duncan when the score was still nil nil Spirit haven't really had a great opportunity to score since then boss's header break Central a little awkward for Hamill but he steadies and puts it on the head of bakas now sug he's going to shoot oh and he Shin it away and it's missed the Target by a mile the the chances when you get a side at front and goal you've got to make those count and what do we say about trying to test Jack Duncan and test him early on especially before they can get set into this second half you can tell why he's a left-sided player unfortunately with this attempt well it bounced around everywhere to be fair to him but he should know this Surface by now getting the ball out of his feet he's got to hit the target from there takeru sigita we saw him on the ball plenty of times on that Left Flank In the first half but often without any support or the ability to make a combination play Spirit tried to build an [Applause] attack they do have a throw in here Jack Duncan one significant save in the game of course coming over to Victory from the Wellington Phoenix where it is expected he will be back up to Mitch langerak for the majority of the season but he's still just a very very accountable honest professional who's going to turn up every day and keep himself in shape and and ready to play of called upon that was nice from Miranda there nice touch you could have easily thrown kavo into the fence there and he tried to save him and the cameraman but you spot on about the goalkeeping position it's going to be really talked about in the next couple of months and I'm sure that Patrick kova has said to Jack Duncan that even though Mitch langra is coming here if you're playing regular you're playing well there's no reason why I put you in and be number two at that point in time Spirit want to make some work for him but they can't keep possession in their attacking half here te his go the opener garer valet Hamill trying to distribute to boss defensive header break Central Cornwell takes an unkind deflection here leaves Williams having to Scurry but it will be a spirit throw very deep Melbourne Victory bench very senior bench any particular players or Subs you think might be in the offing based on how early it is in victory's preparation for the season ahead or the level of exertion you've seen from players out there so far tonight well there's only one name on that bench that wants to play you know in terms of may he thinks he should be playing and that's Brun for a Ry I had to chat to him quickly at half time there and he's just waiting for his moment in this game and still hungry as ever to get on the the pitch and pull the victory shirt on and score goals he believes that he will continue that and maybe just tonight just resting him on this surface he isn't the the youngest chicken at the moment is he he's still getting on in years but BR forer you know there's goals in there there's class in him and I'm sure that kiss nor will use him a little bit later on there is a look at the victory bench including bro fory arms folded I mean you say he's not the youngest chicken our man back in the studio Roy o' Donovan played right here on this pitch and ended up with a 20 goal npl season uh for Sydney Olympic this campaign so he shouldn't be too daed if Roy O Donovan can do it shortly Bruno fori can do it oh Roy had a great season and wish him well with whatever he's planning after football as well Royo Donovan ball through the right channel here valupet trying to to accelerate onto the ball and the line wins out it is a goal kick so 5 second half minutes played and spirit yet to really launch an attack of note while Victory are still warming into the second half long ball for the runners to go and Chase ham has best position and doesn't take any risks with Darko on his case hooked it high and then it landed at the feet of garer he goes to ground the end result is a victory throw Patrick Koro right there on the scene Arthur dilles one of his assistant coaches in the background former Weston Sydney Wanderers National Youth championship winner for making the move South to Melbourne [Music] Miranda try for the improvised through ball McKinley valupet plenty of space here tries to thread it through for masach and he wins a corner and that's a worry if you're giving Nishan valupet any time on the ball he likes to dribble but he's just shown there he can make a really good forward pass into that space a great connection with mashash hasn't he trying to find that little pass inside the box and they win themselves another Corner Melvin Victory right under the awning of the club rooms where the balcony is packed and that corner of the pitch has a lot of Spectators watching this in swinger hone in on the back post and it clears everyone in the air it's going to be retrieved out on the left side valadon keeps the attack going [Applause] boss really confident first touch arzani he's just put a little bit too much on that passer unas ball which sails out it's a shame because the wind has died ever so slightly and I think for Daniel arzani there he was hoping that would have hung up in the wind in the first half that would have been the case it's you know dropped significantly here in the second half pass around the corner was a little hurried and so boss can combine with arzani valadon and arzani everything slows down just a little though for victory so they reset Center of Defense masach valadon zenine masach and that one has gone over what would have been two frames of goal it just caught on and kept Rising well let's head to Melbourne the deadlock has been broken between the Oakley cannons and hardenberg United Defender over the top for guest who flicks it into the middle or real danger and the opener for [Applause] Oakley Jordan Hall with the goal Oakley cin in the lead 1 n fine but nobody in support of that long ball once it does go [Music] forward Spirit throwing in deep at right back vicory have sent their subs to all go and warm up Spirits are all currently still Seated on the bench as we approach 10 minutes into the second half [Applause] there is David perkovic and his bench it's a bit of a doubleganger some belief Aiden Gillan the uh actor from The Dark KN and also little finger from Game of Thrones it's intended as a compliment by the way who will they turn to though on the bench spirit with seen Zach chanii play really well against glori in the round of 32 it is otherwise a bench filled with youth team players who primarily have been bench options in the seniors and under 20s in the npl so if he does have a young Tyro there that he wants to unleash maybe he's just waiting until a little bit later in the night when the fresh legs might be able to do a little bit more penetrating well they're not out of this game yet T that's the thing and you know they look very comfortable meln victory in and out of possession but they can get a few players forward and try and test the goalkeeper a little bit more I know it's easier said than done but they've got to try and get that ball into Darko and play off him a little bit more valadon vergos back to goal plenty of Defenders on his case valadon and perhaps you right but players haven't readjusted to going back to hitting their passes a little bit more naturally now that the wind has died down from that rather wild first half yeah valadon there it's great to see a move of the ball and sometimes that longer ball in the air hasn't been on tonight and where melbour Victory have got their Joy is playing it out wide and coming in and connecting playing quickly across that edge of the D sort of area there's another ball on the pitch here yeah I wonder if the referee's going to stop play with near had bot for a moment there as they went ping it towards each other but all's well that ends well referee sees no need to stop plate little flick on and now masach is on the Move gaps opening up just a little here for victory vup hones in from the right brilliant first time ball put it on a silver planner for veros to tap in and make it three and Melbourne Victory would devastating there champagne football at its finest beautiful to watch worth the ticket price alone all started with Daniel arani what a beautiful little flick and then it just opened up for them and masach playing that ball forward into space and volup first time getting it right across for the big number nine Nik veros to get a goal for Melvin Victory and it just looked so good and so quick NWS Spirit could not keep up with it and where do he want the ball if you're a striker it's there well when they did The Scouting and Drew up the plans for vergos bringing him into this Melbourne Victory team you can see how happy he is and I imagine many of the goals that they were aspiring to score would have looked something like that just a beautiful move and just when you thought you'd go and get close and press players and try and get close and not allow them to have time and space you know there's three or four players on a different level on this pitch tonight for Melbourne Victory and now Spirit have sent their own bench to go and warm up too so we might be about to see a raft of substitutions from both teams can Spirit grab a goal back in the blink of an eye McKinley heads it down into the danger area but Teague was first to respond and neither Sig nor Darko were really in a good position to attack the ball nor to take a risk and just to try and flick a foot at it and test Jack tun and now they're crying out for them and know this whole crowd here at Christie Park wants to see some goalmouth action up this end well you down at ground level the cheer when one of the kids hit the crossbar in the halftime Crossbar Challenge was so loud it gave us a great indicator of what it might sound like if we have a goal can Spirit do it right here good headed by teer Wade now the volley from Conor stabo and it's cleared out of the pack of players it takes an deflection and sits up for a chance it would have been offside it wouldn't have counted for Cornwell well that's better from Spirit just have a have a crack and it started with a volley on the edge the box and that's much better from the guys in yellow and black and it was offside Jack Duncan easily gathered that one Grant Cornwell was the scorer when Spirit last made the national rounds it was there Debo in the competition in 2022 they lost 2-1 up in Brisbane or redcliffe uh to Peninsula power Cornwell was the scorer in that game two years later they find themselves in the round of 16 so they've won a tie in this competition for the first time but firring an alltime comeback it looks like it is going to end here in the round of 16 and this is their final competitive game of the season they haven't made the finals in npl New South Wales so this will be handshakes and thanks for the year at fulltime unless they can score at least three here's kavo and he puts it right down the throat of Duncan well well done on a stara having a crack when maybe there was a pass on for his teammate in a better position but it was Jason garer giving the ball away and trying to play his teammate Brendan Hamill and they got mixed up it's a good gather from Jack Duncan as well and it is just a sign that if Victory dropped their intensity due to having a three-goal buffer and feeling like the job is done Spirit can start to really take some Liberties and you've been calling for them to take some risks and take the game on a little bit more well the crowd want to see it and it's one thing that the crowd are watching a very very good football team in Melbourne Victory come here and it's great to see so many young people out here watching the lights of arzani and fup play on the ball and showing them skills and little tricks and flicks Cornwell now doing what he is more accustomed to doing which is having to defend sug now first time clearance Darko tries to bring the ball under his command Spirit bench think there was a foul by Teague referee doesn't agree however the back pass has been sharped Conor stavo went in and stole it away he's a lone hand up top now the Cavalry arrives but McKinley can't take possession of the ball well that's twice now going to staro on the same wavelength of where the ball is going to end up and you're right T Melbourne Victory may be just getting a little bit casual in the way that they want to play out from the back of course they'll have a a mix of austral cup ties and preseason friendlies against both A- League teams but also other npl Victoria teams that have been knocked out of the finals they played Alona magic a week ago and they've got a league opposition lined up as well before the season kicks off but these are the best games aren't they packed crowds everybody against you it's a great learning curve for some of the younger players in the squad as well and also to get you in that mode of traveling for the League games boss has made a forward run high ball can't pick him out though chak he's going to have to commit to the slide challenge against [Music] [Applause] arzani conversations going on with the fourth official but still no players up standing next to him just yet Sam Kelly so we're yet to see the first sub of the night he's good to watch Daniel ar ar he and he's definitely in the mood tonight early free kick here appears to have caught out the spirit defense veros denight oneon-one marks extended himself as wide and as horizontal as he could go and block the ball and it launches a Counterattack kavo Darko swept upon by Teague very attentive Midfield covering work by Ryan teag he really is a Workhorse and he's one possession back there well we identified a lot of players in those different areas being stretched a bit of end to end stuff marks out of his area valupet has the ball hooked clear out to safety by Simon Nicholas he's that chance and he couldn't return the favor couldn't find his teammate vup and he just got his wise cross didn't he could have easily just swung his right foot at that and he could have had another goal to his name given that Bruno fori is sitting on the bench a double to Nicholas veros could have been absolutely Priceless in that campaign to be the team's starting center forward the ball into the box here is looking threatening and is that a penalty no it's a foul Spirits way after a coming together just inside the area well I think that's what Patrick K noro has been good at is keeping this squad hungry you've only got look at what happened with the likes of Alex Lee who had a really strong game in the last round of the Australia cup and he's left him out of the squad entirely he's just trying to keep everybody hungry and there's been a sub here for NW Spirit yeah Cory kavar coming on think he parked right next to you in the car park coming in Eric earlier tonight he seemed he did he didn't seem overly confident about spirit's chances of winning he comes on for Jared McKinley who I must say has been one of the more noticeable players in an attacking sense for spirit so far in the game but that's the first and only change so far and it looks as though Victory are going to have a double sub at the next break in play to Signal their first changes of the night here's a spin on the ball from Buck [Applause] Mar now chak kavar first touch Off the Bench then step over from Conor stavo little bit too hot to handle and it goes out for a throw and that is going to prompt Victor first substitutions as Patrick kisnorbo gives final instructions to two players next to the fourth official here some 20 minutes into to the second half and the first change we see nup a is getting some instructions it appears as though he's going to stay on I think that was niik vos's number coming up people are shouting at him it's you Bruno fori is there along with Reno Piscopo and now the message has made its way to vergos he leaves the pitch on the opposite side and Zinedine masach will jog over to the victory sideline as the other substitute to leave the game so it's fori on for vergos and Piscopo on for masach a real display of the depth that Victory have brought up to Sydney for this cup time he keeping them hungry and it's great to see the way he's rotated his squad tonight but also after BR a couple of goals up now what a bad substitute to throw on Bruno foral the up front is it the score line already 3-0 could it signal more pain on the way depending on how hungry Victory are to keep the intensity up Spirit have just started to grow into the half as far as a bit more territorial opportunity they're not turning it into clearcut chances on a regular basis just yet they would love to score one I do think this ground is going to make a great noise if they can hit the back of the net tonight Darko is possessed by aani great close control and he slips away into space goes for the killer ball and nearly the perfect introduction for fory valupet follows up to make it four fory foiled but not valupet he's got a double and Melbourne Victory have four it's that change of pace and that change of thought from Melbourne victory tonight that's been first class arani getting away from a couple of challenges and then just goes into space and he sees Bruno fori who's just come off the pitch and tried to get that ball past the goalkeeper it was a good save initially and then marks didn't know exactly where the ball was going to end up and it was vup who just hanging about and waited for scraps and it's a good little sidef footed finish and victory are in cruise control here at chrisy Park so a double in both the round of 32 and the round of 16 for Nishan vup now we saw Liam Boland overtake a Melbourne Victory man bessard bisha as the top scorer in the National rounds of the Australia cup with his double for Olympic Kingsway last night mishan valupet in one tournament alone is starting to put together a very decent little goal tally here and so the scoreline spirit won't want this to get out of hand but there is a determined bench of Victory players eager for minutes and still plenty of time to go on the [Music] clock sug bmar chips it into space it's entirely the victory back line occupying IT Crowd still having a bit of fun with Jack Duncan but he's not looking too flustered the ball clipped over the top kavo making a run he's leged and the referee waves it away wow that could have gone either way and it's gone well Victor's way I'd want to see another replay of that that was definitely contact there was a great pass from Jared L out of the center of Midfield it's set up beautifully for Conor starbo to run onto getting a first look picture in picture we might do a bit more forensic work on it with another look but gee the crowd were expected and then Daniel Cook waved it away pretty decisively too he is a referee that's refereed the Cup Final in South Australia he's taken charge of a number of the big games over in that state before getting his a league opportunity so he's not over foul here let's have another look Eric that's a great little ball from Lum wasn't it and he got right between the two Defenders it looked like there's definitely contact there from Brendan Hamill I'm not sure where the contact occurs we're going to get a great angle of it here it's a late challenge again on Jason garrier as well but maybe that was the best chance for NWS Spirit to take a goal away from Melbourne Victory there that foul led to Jared Lum also getting a yellow card so he's in the book has to behave with 20 minutes to go now we going to see a fou Spirits way just Jason G up getting his own back for that late tackle but a few chances coming now for spirit and it's going to make it very interesting the last 20 minutes or so well it was a midweek that threatened potential for a number of cup sets but we haven't had one come to fruition so far Kingsway gave it an Almighty tussle against Adelaide United last night and even though the final score was 40 Lions FC as there's an offside against Darko coming back here Lions FC went down 4-0 but had chances at nil nil chances at one n down chances of two-on down which they didn't take and ultimately got punished by the Western Sydney Wanderers unfortunately this game hasn't had quite the same level of Jeopardy to it so everyone's got goal alerts on here as do I keeping a very keen eye on how Bon City excelsor versus Perth glory is going because we may have a cup set before the night is out and they're a man down as well I think per Glory y so you never short of action in the Australia cup especially on nights like tonight where it happens at all different venues it's great work from kava he really wants something from this game tonight he wants to finish finish his season on a high well especially with the confusion around the national second division which appears to not be for now at least going ahead as a a winter alternative League to the npls it seems as though the npls will continue uninterrupted as normal for next year so a lot of these players are heading into an offseason where I'm sure NWS spirit will have plenty of competition to keep them exposure to the National stage of the Australia cup always gets people looking in from all corners of the country never mind further a field southeast Asia and professional opportunities outside of Australia here's a corner for Lum but sadly it Tails away and doesn't even hit the side netting as it goes out looks like a feel more substitutions now for NWS spirit so number is up here for ante bmma to leave the game and he had that Clash of heads in the first half but shook it off and Zack chanii who was excellent against gleni in the round of 32 he going to get some minutes here and also Jesse Michelle is coming on he can be a very slippery customer to try and Mark in attack so some fresh legs there to run up the victory defense and Applause now for Jared Lum he's leaving the game and he acknowledges the home support the veteran as he goes to the sideline Chi is the man who's coming on it's that a good game Jared lump playing those balls over the top and doesn't look out of place at all on a football pitch against noelvin Victory let me tell you so new faces and fresh legs for NWS Spirit as they chase a goal as they chase something from this first Clash that the club has had against an A- League opponent just their second visit to the National rounds of the Australia [Applause] cup headed by Teague slides off the head of Williams now forner Ry trying to take command of the game slips it on it's nicely done to Piscopo haven't seen much of him since coming on arzani it's a meaty slide challenge coming in from kavar it's a great Challenge from Cory kavar there good to see the youngster get a run tonight as well very foul throwi by chak but the referee lets it slide now Miranda being harassed by Michelle the other latest sub into the game and he's done so to good effect because he's won his team of [Applause] throw maybe at a different level that would have been given as a [Applause] foul I imagine at a different score line it may have been a bit more earnestly protested but 4-0 I think many of the players are letting bygones be bygones here's Williams now sug uses his left foot that's a beautiful Cross Field ball and chanii let's see what he can do the sub that's just come into the game sizes up the Defenders and doesn't take them on Darko Patrick isoro waves his defense up he's running every kick of the ball still you wouldn't know the score line is what it is from his body language there's a real intensity to his coaching [Applause] Chi tries to show a turn of pace but valupet is sticking to him stride for stride tries to create some [Applause] separation and that's why Patrick is noo keep keeps giving instructions on the sideline he wants players like volup who are expected to try and take the ball and create things for the side it's also about getting back and helping out defensively and you know 75 minutes gone you want want your players to buy into that team's philosophy of having to be solid defensively Patrick is noo I'm telling you at 40 he'll want five he'll want six he'll want seven eyeball here is going to get over the head of Hamill and then kavar really let the ball hit him more than a fashioned header of any real attempt to find a teammate and so it's cleared away Williams down to marks Darko received the ball in space which was very quickly closed down by Piscopo closed down illegally according to the referee he's been good tonight and it's been a frustrating game for him he hasn't really had to do any sort of Striker work inside the box it's all about Hold Up play and buying fouls and doing the dirty stuff and it's proba not austo into doing that on the weekend in the npl but he's done a really good job substitution here for victory Daniel arani is coming off and this is a great moment for young Jordan Hy he's going to make his first team Debo and he is the twin brother of Jesse hoey they both played in victory's npl team that won promotion after the Top Flight in npl Victoria Jesse's made youth national teams Jordan is just trying to get his feet back under him after a bit more of an injury affected season but these two twin brothers they've got massive wraps on them from the victory youth setup and given they've just come off a very successful winter season it makes sense that Patrick isoro is exposing some of those youth to senior level yeah how good is it having a tournament in pre-season and being able to identify young talent and then slip them in and we talked about Alex Lee before this could be another one of those for Patrick Kiza wind is uh picked right back up to its first half ferocity here across the ground so hugging the very line which Spirit are trying to attack from now ball into the box will hold up in the air header slides on for valadon his clearance though is errant and Conor starbo got a shot away but ultimately wasn't that close to the Target oh he deserves to get something tonight he's worked ever so hard and tried to get himself a little yard of SP and couldn't direct that one across goal it's all about pinball inside the box and showed a really clean pair of heels just to try and manufacture space for himself and kavo if he goes across the goalkeeper might have been in the back of the net here is Jordan Hoy showing real Fleek feet to break the lines and find Val Lup who's on a hattick don't forget one tackle two from Williams but can't repel the victory too far valadon and now fori fory NE one two with Piscopo but they can't connect teag po making space out on the right flank puts his head down and tries to show his Jets he's a quick player he's not able to get on the end of a onew here but again another hungry sub coming off the bench bringing a bit of new vigor the victories play even with a comfortable arms length lead yeah it's easy to get in that mindset isn't it when you four up and keeping all the possession you need to you know keep going that mindset of what your coach is asking for you and I'm sure kiss noro's philosophy this year is to be aggressive yes to be in control in the Australia cup but I can tell you that Mel and victory are going to have a very good year this season you can already see the foundations are are there to be really aggressive in that wide area and they're not going to stop they're going to play all the way into the 90th minute with aggression garer Hoy holds off Sig then in came kabo to make it a two-on one the referee says a little bit too much free kick Victory it's going a little bit quiet now and some of the supporters thinking about getting in their cars early to get in the car park but Mel Victory there's still a little bit of work to be done and it's good to see Spirit not giving up and still fighting for those lost causes and those 50/50 balls they might be away here kavar just got the ball glued to his feet at the wrong time and then trying to make up for it went bowling through Ryan te free kick G te's had a great game hasn't he open the scoring but just his General rol in there he knows what he's doing he's calm he's collected he's keeping possession well rides tackles well ho again they've really fed the ball to the youngster since he's come on and now Piscopo squares it can't find a teammate they were lined up at about the penalty spot as opposed to the edge of the sixy box where the path pass ended up going so the clearance a way to safety into the last 10 minutes of Regulation here at chrisy Park [Music] [Applause] [Music] G pops it over the top Hoy off and running yet again and he will get to the ball before the lines this time he's dispossessed though Darko back in defense tracked him every step of the way and took the ball off him that's great to see Darko getting back there and he's definitely changed positions isn't he he's playing on the left hand side now and not playing up top he's done a lot of work tonight as have a lot of the spirit guys and they're having the match Victory here who are just trying to use their perhaps fitness advantage to try and overcome the match hardness of the spirit the real burning question is Victory they know they're going through to the quarterfinal is it going to be at home against Perth Glory or are they going to be off to Queensland to face Morton Bay we've got a player down here it is Richie Darko we just saw him struggling with cramp a little bit earlier is this his final bow in the game the trainers out there helping him already well he's been absolutely everywhere and he's getting the power raids in you can see there the sport strings getting ped down the throat he doesn't want to come off that's for sure and I'm sure for NWS Spirit they want to finish this season with a bang well let's head to Perry park because it looks like we have a cup set on our hands chance still on for Morton City the cross and the header Is On Target and Morton City Take the Lead Joe got the substitute the Super Sub getting in on the action Morton City celsia in the lead semi-regular starter in the team more so in the first half of the Season than the second so rodri Miranda is one of the players making way and Ryan Teague also coming off too and look at the uh congratulations from Patrick kizn noo there very expressive saying thank you to his starters they're going to see Michael kavo come off too so that is Noah peacock the son of Television presenter Adam peacock who football fans in this country will know all too well his son one of his children uh I believe the oldest of his children now a regular senior player for Spirit scored actually quite a few goals in qualifying for the Australia cup through the New South Wales round so great to see him on this National stage getting to test himself against the Melbourne [Music] Victory and he came on for Richie Darko who did indeed have nothing left in the legs the other sub that came on is right here on the ball now James Dyer who replaced Michael Conor stabo he's quite a tall lad as well his peacock Towers was over his old man that's for sure speaking with Adam just earlier before the game started and it's great to see him break into this Spirit side and you never know where that can lead you and you know we talk about players playing in the Australia cup and getting noticed and you've got to do something magical to get the the attention of the A- League clubs but isn't it great that the young players get to go toe-to-toe in a real professional encounter against a team like Mel Victory well he's got a KNE a goal he scored a double against D Hill and then he scored against Sydney Olympic in the qualifying rounds of the cup so if Spirit Come Away with the goal who knows it might be Noah peacock that provides it they're running out of time to do so we're into the last 5 minutes there has been some late drama at the home of the matildas a penalty awarded Tober United there and pick out his player I thought the play that had gone there with the SHA pen touch he could Stand and Deliver again against Nick FY it's sha Ellis the super scotman delivers another magic moment for heidleberg United we're all square Scott for sha Ellis could be going to extra time blank to the Box forner Ry loses handle on the ball yeah just on Josh Rollins he was captain of the Australia under 20s team and he was Sensational in their most recent under 20 Asian cup so he's played really well for his country and we've seen him play excellently for Perth glory and so he's just one of those players that I mean he wouldn't want to be a bench option for victory he'd want to be their starting right back so that's going to create a level of competition in this Victory team for the upcoming season to no brainer in the squad isn't it you want to have players that are hungry to play and fight for places and I guess that's what the coach is looking for is building a squad to be competitive and let's not forget this team lost the Grand Final last year they want to go one step further and how do you achieve that do you like you said throw everything out with the bath water and start again you can't you got to try and build what you've got already and just fine tune a few things but it comes down to mentality as well chitt a just got the B of Boss however boss's goal side and now closing down the space great defensive challenge really risky pass back into his own penalty area but M was composed plays it Central and victory might be away here piso has space to dictate and Runners breaking ahead of the ball really nice pass Bel is on a hattick but he's foiled by the assistant referee's flag just slowed down on the surface there and that's all it takes that little Split Second and volup couldn't angle his run to the left a little bit more it was a good line from Spirit they had to keep running [Music] back now Michelle at the other end for Spirit they haven't given up on leaving with a goal of course these scores remain in the history books they wanted to say 41 rather than 4-0 but they won't get the chance here down to the last two minutes of action [Applause] and they do have a throw it B out to the left d one of the most recent subs for the spirit showing as what he can do great little side step but then can't find peacock with the slide ball in from the left [Applause] fori much by way of support he just bues his time and waits for the runners to press up the trying to turn provider and he couldn't quite slide it in time for M good little passer play and good goalkeeping good awareness for Marks to come out there and tread that line on the edge of his box he had to be aware and he had to be sharp to get out to it right on the edge of the box it's good goalkeeping and so this will be the end of npl New South wales' participation in the Australia Cup this year and the only two New South Wales teams left in the tournament Stay With Victory here as Marx is going to watch his defense scramble it away in Williams the only two Sydney based teams left MacArthur and wanders are both going to be away in the quarterfinals so unless they can win on the road this might be the last Cup tie in New South Wales for 2024 make the most of these last couple of minutes as we TI into stoppage time here at Christie Park well I can tell you there was a lot of interests here tonight UK T was walking around the stadium as well to try and get a glimpse of I guess Melbourne Victory and to see what they're all about this season as well so lots of things to think about you know that recently appointed soccer's assistant coach Luke wilshier is here as his National under 17s coach Brad Maloney so plenty of discerning eyes amongst the punters we've ticked into three additional minutes of stoppage time to finish this one and again Victory turning up the heat looking for a fifth to round out there n Hoy M Misses his Mark with the pass Cornwell peacock leans into the header but the ball is cleared [Music] away valadon over the top valupet he's still hunting that third goal can he round out his hattick here Nishan valupet and he went for the outside of the boot not really a pass or a shot in the end thought it was offside valupet just getting away there on that left hand side good to see him keeping that energy up in the 91st minute and the same with valadon hasn't he had a good game tonight we talk about all the stars pulling the strings going through the middle but valadon even Ryan Teague in the Midfield they've been really good at recycling possession and winning that ball back when they've needed to oh M's fallen over is this spirit's chance kavar with the shot it goes just over the bar and that was nearly a spectacular end of the night Cory kavana almost got that goal for Spirit over the top of the keep and has it taken a touch no it hasn't from here it looked as though it was odds on to go over the top of Duncan and he did not know where that ball was going to sit down it's very unfortunate that would have been a really nice way for Spirit to finish not just the night but their season and the sort of thing that would have Cory kaver I imagine first player to turn up at pre-season training ready to go what a spectacular it would have been they're still not done yet the spirit they're hunting a goal can they leave with something here CH heard the shot from chak and he twists across in at the near post which is cleared shots of hand ball perhaps more hopeful than expected and valadon brought the ball under his control back at his feet into the last minute of three M fory protected the ball well is their one last Hara for the victory here fori wants to make sure they is he just pushed it into a gap between his teammates oh given away and fori he's frustrated with M there you can tell that even in the very last minute of stoppage time he wants a goal and the spirit don't want this game to win all their young Subs are really enjoying the chance to get out there and play at the end of the night referee's whistle is looming and there it is Melbourne Victory are heading to the quarterfinals of the Australia cup and Northwest Sydney Spirit they get the handshakes and congratulations at fulltime they couldn't leave with a goal but they did work right to the end against a victory team that we are expecting big things from not just in this competition but in the a League season as well Shan valuet has four goals on the national stage a double in both the round of 32 and the round of 16 and after Ryan Teague got things going and a goal for Nicholas vergos as well Melbourne Victory stride through to the next round NWS Spirit nil Melbourne Victory four well Melbourne Victory are into the quarterfinals I haven't been there since 2021 and if you remember what happened in 2021 it's when they lifted the Australia cup a great performance from them tonight Christy parks on tough conditions for the home side but you can see the class were outmuscled by the visitors just too good on the park across the entirety of the 90 or plus minute G absolutely I thought victory yeah the outclass them could have had a couple more In fairness to Spirit in the second half they came out and gave a better account of themselves and uh were definitely more attack-minded but yeah comfortable for victory some beautiful goals in the mix as well Mack and a chance to see a couple of their new faces and where they might perhaps gel into this Melbourne Victory side come the a league next season well Tristan mcmanis said it at the start of the before the match that they have an an abundance of attacking options um Nishan vup is really starting to come into his own um he's been you know just increasing his his output year on year and he looks like he's really going to take the mantle this year to to lead that attack obviously you've got Daniel arzani the new new striker in vergos add some um um competition for Bruno Bruno which is a big big one really actually so would be interesting to see how that pans out if Bruno will be happy to be on that position well let's get some reaction now to a man who's on the ground there Tristan with Manis Tristan thanks ter yeah I'm here at Ryan teag Ryan you got the goal scor started tonight enough was made about the conditions how difficult was it out there yeah look obviously it was a it was a new ground for us to play on as well good crowd here and bit windy but you know both teams played in the same conditions and it was a good battle and fair play to Spirit and you know we move forward to next week now yeah 4-1 uh in the in the last round 4-0 here clean sheet no injuries by the looks of things was it the perfect night in the end yeah look there was a lot of positive tonight there's obviously little details that we've got to work on you know probably a few too many chances they had tonight and you know these are little details that moving forward if we want to get better we have to zign in on them the last time you made it this far you went on and won it it's going to be an awful lot hotter in Queensland in the next round the quarterfinals for you right yeah look as I said before both team play in the same condition so it's no excuse for us so we'll go out there play our style football and win and and in terms of I was talking before the game how exciting your tack line is Nishan Valu for me is on a different level already this this season and he could really have his breakout season yeah look he's what a player he's H he's started this uh this cup well um you know he'll take into the season and I'm sure he's going to keep on going on huge congratulations today thank you superb good on you and guys I'm also here with Jared LOM H Jared disappointing result in the end but you must be very proud of the team yeah definitely um I mean we put out a good shift in front of a big crowd that um doesn't usually come at Christie Park so I'd ask them to come a bit more often but um no it was good to have a an a leag club down here at Christie Park it's yeah it's good it says a lot about the support that you guys had and how much excitement that you built up over time um I I I suppose you knew it was going to be difficult tonight was it harder than you thought I mean what how how did you feel the gulf out there while you were playing uh to be fair I mean 4 nil says a lot but to be fair it's just uh they're a bit more clinical than the teams in the npl um I mean we didn't play bad we didn't play poorly uh we just gave them a couple of chances and the difference is that they're a bit more clinical um ruthless so they put away their chances and is what it is and in terms of yourself now we've heard a few announcements this week Roy of course retired Daniel mcbrain's got rid of the long hair as well uh yourself what what what's gone forward for J yeah look um I've done things that I never thought I would do football's given me everything um so now is the time to hang it up I guess and um a nice night to do it in front of my family who have sported me my entire life um and yeah I don't have that much words to say but no it's been it's been a pleasure and I'll be forever grateful to football so um yeah fantastic well you're going out to history maker well done congratulations on your whole career thank you love you all right a great night there for Jared Lum who hangs up the football boots I know that was happening though from Brian teige who we saw him last season was such an important part and a full of Melbourne Victory it was a beautifully constructed goal Roy beautiful goal beautiful strike as you said he had a great season last year he's a real pivot man for victory in that Midfield but uh yeah this is the second goal here vup uh all class the way he rolls that ball onto his left foot we saw in the previous round against lampon Jaffa as he looks like he's in the mood and uh yeah he's going to have a big season the timing of that goal was important as well just before halftime at 1 n uh spirit FC might think that you know halim we can you one goals it's achievable when they get that second goal it was a it knocks the wind down of a this was class wasn't it right through from Daniel arzani through masach out to valupet and then uh a lovely ball across the goal for vergus to get his first goal for the club he worked hard was in good positions and this was just great free flowing football that we uh accustomed to see from Melvin Victory uh over the course of their their um career as a club but it was Cruise mode second half let's be honest and Nishan volup I think we can expect big things from him this year yeah I think that we said that about desan Val last season as well we did we' said it a couple don't to just really P the pressure onto him too much but I know what you mean but especially you know against NWS Spirit they finished 10th across the season you know they they took some good sculps in in defeating Sydney Olympia and Sydney United during the cup and on their cup rung but you could see the class I know I know you looked at the eyebrows and you said that was my team thanks for having a dier me and yeah please don't retire from the couch don't retire from the couch um there is still action of course going on in the cup we've gone into extra time a huge Clash of course in Victoria at the home of Matilda's late late drama in this one Oakley cannons V heidleberg united a late penalty the Great Scott Sean Alis who converted it so it's 1 at the moment that's gone over to extra time so you've got all of the action there as well but we've seen so much incredible cup