Adelaide Olympic sets sights on FFA Cup round-of-32 after downing Adelaide City in SA final
Big scalps on the FFA Cup national stage are the target for an Adelaide Olympic duo after its goals crushed the dreams of former club Adelaide City in a dramatic SA knockout final.
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An adelaide Olympic pair which crushed the FFA Cup dreams of its former club is eyeing bigger scalps on the competition’s national stage.
Captain Ricardo Da Silva opened the scoring and Jacob Butler-Bowdon grabbed the winner as the Ferryden Park side downed Adelaide City 3-2 in the SA knockout final on Saturday.
The come-from-behind success secured Olympic’s maiden major silverware and its place in the national round-of-32, where it will meet an A-League or interstate outfit.
It came 15 months after Butler-Bowdon departed the Black and Whites, and six years on from Da Silva’s second stint with the former NSL giant.
“It’s unbelievable to come back and get a result like this against a great team,” Da Silva, 35, said.
“Adelaide City always treated me well … and I had some great times there.
“But hopefully this is just the first step for Olympic, because big teams do it consistently so we have to back it up.
“The (national) FFA Cup is exciting and what soccer is all about — playing on the best stage you can.
“I’ve worked really hard to achieve something special at my age and I’m really happy to be involved in this team and leading by example.”
Da Silva, who notched 29 goals for City from 2009-11 and 2012-13, gave Olympic the lead in the third minute at Hindmarsh Stadium as he pounced on a rebound from Fausto Erba’s shot.
The Portuguese playmaker then whipped in a menacing corner 13 minutes from time for substitute Butler-Bowdon to float in at the back post and head home the sealer.
It sparked wild celebrations among the loyal Olympic fans, who had watched their club rise from humble origins as Adelaide Asteras in the amateur league’s sixth-tier in 1978.
“We’ve been working hard all season for this moment, so we’re definitely enjoying it,” said Butler-Bowdon, who joined from City last March.
“I didn’t have much time (on the pitch), so I just tried to make an impact where I could and I was lucky enough to score a goal.
“It feels amazing going into the (national) round-of-32.
“It’s a different level to what we’ve been playing here, but we’re all looking forward to it.
“(Facing) any A-League team would be great, but no matter who we get we’ll just look to play our game and see what we can do.”
Olympic would join A-League side Adelaide United and National Premier Leagues champion Campbelltown City as the state’s representatives in Wednesday’s FFA Cup draw.
Its passage to the national phase was far from straightforward as City recruit Fabio Ferreira nabbed a brace in the decider.
The ex-Reds winger, who signed for the 17-time cup winner midweek, headed in expertly to level the scores in the 20th minute.
He then put his new club in front early in the second half from the penalty spot, before Christos Pounendis calmly finished to square the ledger again in the 67th minute.
The Black and Whites also missed a spot kick, when Marcos Flores’ effort was brilliantly saved by Daniel Vaughan.
City veteran Adriano Pellegrino said the drama-filled defeat typified a stuttering campaign for his team, which was languishing in the NPL SA relegation zone.
“It was a bit of a roller coaster,” said Pellegrino, who resumed his playing career a fortnight ago.
“We came out firing … and got up in the second half.
“But some lapses of concentration and a couple of mistakes led to two goals and brought them back into the game.
“We gave them a sniff and they took it with both hands.
“Losses hurt and we’re very disappointed at the result.
“Credit to Olympic. They were better on the day today and good luck to them going into the round-of-32.
“But we need to get organised and get ready because we’ve got another cup final next Saturday against Raiders (in the league).”
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