Sunday amateur club Tea Tree Gully produces massive FFA Cup SA shock, beating Marcelo Carrusca’s West Adelaide 1-0
Amateur club Tea Tree Gully has produced a massive FFA Cup SA shock, knocking out former National Soccer League champion West Adelaide in the first round with a thrilling home win.
Local Soccer SA
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Soccer SA. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Amateur club Tea Tree Gully has produced a massive first-round FFA Cup SA shock, knocking out former National Soccer League champion West Adelaide with a 1-0 home victory at Tilley Reserve on Sunday.
The Gullies narrowly avoided relegation from the Sunday top-flight amateur competition last year but stunned the Premier League side, which featured ex-Adelaide United star Marcelo Carrusca, when they scored via Scott Williams in about the 75th minute.
West went all out attack in search of a late goal and had several late corners, yet the underdogs held on.
#FFACup #SAQualifying âš½ï¸ #TeaTreeGullyCitySC vs #WestAdelaideSC âš½ï¸ #FFSA #TilleyReserve #MatchPhoto #80kms https://t.co/wI8uNvykeX pic.twitter.com/pNwdOs3aG8
— Adam Butler (@8zerokms) March 31, 2019
“It’s crazy – we’re ecstatic,” Tea Tree Gully attacking midfielder Rhys Devlin said.
“We’re still in a bit of shock, to be honest.
“We played well ... and took the game to them.
“(At the final whistle) it was jubilation – all the players on the bench, all the crowd, stewards and supporters all ran on and we sang the song on the pitch.
“It was good scenes out there and we’ll definitely be celebrating tonight.”
The surprise loss was the latest blow in an already disappointing campaign for coach Steve De Giovanniello’s West, which sat 10th in the Premier League with one draw and four defeats.
West was the only top-tier club to be drawn to play in the cup’s first round.
“They were shocked – all the players were sitting on the floor and couldn’t quite believe what had happened,” Devlin said.
Neither side had scored after a tight first half and Devlin said that gave his side confidence it could match its highly-fancied opponents if it continued to play out from the back and took its opportunities.
Tea Tree Gully took that chance after striker Morgan Taylor hustled off a West defender then Williams ran onto a lob to slot the ball home.
“Drawing West Adelaide was the toughest team we could’ve got just about but us as young players, we took that on and were buzzing to get such a big team in the state – we didn’t need any motivation,” ex-Modbury Jets player Devlin said.
“All the boys were determined to get the result.
“They were peppering away towards the end but our defence and midfield held firm.
“There were lots of late corners and goal-mouth scrambles but we managed to hold on for the win.”
Devlin said the club was already anticipating the next round of the cup.
“No matter who we get, it’ll be a tough game but we just knocked off one of the best sides in a state so we’re looking forward to seeing who we get and taking it to them as well,” he said.
Meanwhile, Port Adelaide Pirates are eyeing more giant-killing heroics after dumping seven-time holder West Torrens Birkalla out of the cup at the first hurdle.
The State League Two side downed its State League One opponent 1-0 at Jack Smith Park on Saturday to progress to the round-of-32 of the knockout competition.
A Samuel Sesay wonderstrike 19 minutes from time settled the contest and ended Birkalla’s interest in the cup, eight months after it was relegated from the top flight.
Pirates coach Derek Hall said his ambitious club was targeting another big scalp.
“It was good to go in as underdogs and that really suited us,” Hall said.
“It was a great result and a good performance from the boys that put down a big marker.
“Going there and beating a side of Birkalla’s stature, should only give us lots of confidence.
“To have a good cup run, it’s a break from the league and it’s something to look forward to.
“We would love to draw a Premier League team at home (in the next round). That would be great.”
Port withstood spells of pressure from its more-fancied hosts before the break, as youngsters Angelo Mehic in defence and Cody Watson up front impressed for Pirates.
Off-season recruit Sesay sealed a memorable triumph with a piece of second-half magic, when he dribbled inside and unleased a 25m thunderbolt to send his side through.
“They (Birkalla) perhaps had the better of the first half, but we changed a couple of things tactically at half-time,” Hall said.
“We were by far the better side in the second half and thoroughly deserved our win.
“It was a wonder goal by Sammy Sesay to win it.
“He’s a lovely lad who’s embraced our football club and he does a great job.
“We’ve also got some big injuries at the moment and we were without four senior players.
“The boys that came in have done a really great job and at the moment they’ve secured their places in the team.”
The result capped a remarkable turnaround for Pirates, the state’s oldest surviving club, which was demoted from the second tier last season.
They moved into their new Taperoo Reserve ground this year and sat third on the third division table after five rounds.
“For the rest of the campaign our aim is to get promoted,” Hall said.
“It’s not easy to get out of this league because everyone wants to try and do it.
“The club is still in a building process, but our new facilities are amazing.
“We’re massively close with the community now, so we just want to try and build and do the peninsula proud.”
In other standout results, last season’s FFA Cup surprise-packet Ghan Kilburn City beat State League Two Mount Barker United 4-2 on the road.
Playford City thrashed fellow State League One outfit Seaford Rangers 6-1, while Sunday amateur powerhouse Elizabeth Downs trounced Adelaide Cobras amateurs 11-0.
Raiders embrace ‘underdog’ tag, new recruit scores winner
An NPL side enjoying its second season in the top flight is making a strike for the top of the table, while another club coach says his side is playing a brand that’s ‘nice, it’s good, it’s sharp’. Check out The Messenger’s reports from the weekend’s action.
Top women’s soccer coach quits, cites ‘difference of opinion’
A top flight women’s soccer coach has quit mid season because “differing opinions” despite leading the side to first spot on the table with just one loss after six rounds.