St George Saints hosted Sydney United in this week’s instalment of the FFA Cup which resulted in an 8 goal thriller between the two clubs. The two sides played out an exciting game which went right down to the wire in extra time, with Sydney United claiming a 5-3 win and advancing to the next round of the FFA Cup.
St George started out the game strong by dominating possession and creating several chances in the opening fifteen minutes but it was the visitors who struck first with Patrick Antelmi tapping the ball in the back of the net after a scrappy cross.
Sydney United doubled their lead early in the second half through Josh MacDonald who received a pass in the box and flicked the ball over the keeper to make it 2-0. The game looked done and dusted there until Musashi Kokubo headed the ball home from a set piece and gave his team a lifeline.
The home side levelled things up when Marcus Beattie made a fast break after finding a gap in the Sydney United defence and coolly slotted the ball past the keeper to make things 2-2.
Fans were left on the edge of the seat when Sydney United midfielder Yianni Perkatis headed the ball past St George’s keeper to give his side a 3-2 lead in the 93rd minute. United’s players were running wild as they had all but booked their place in the Round of 16.
Or had they?
St George provided more excitement in this game when Musashi Kukubo grabbed his second of the night as he finished a scrappy ball in the box to level things up in the 96th minute and the two teams were headed to extra time.
The two clubs played out a tight contest in extra time and both sides had their fair share of chances but it was Sydney United who took the lead when the ball fell to Tariq Maia and he hit it first time past the keeper to make it 4-3. The travelling side added another goal to their tally and made it 5-3 through super sub Michael Ruhs.
