Souvlaki, Socceroos and goals as Adelaide United ends Northcote City’s Cup run

NPL2 minnows Northcote City more than held its own against the might of Adelaide United and Socceroos hero Craig Goodwin but its Australia Cup is over.

Northcote City goalkeeper Brandon Cuminao and Adelaide United skipper Craig Goodwin. Picture: Daniel Pockett

Northcote City’s fairytale Australia Cup run came to an end on Monday night.

The aroma of sizzling souvlaki wafted across John Cain Memorial Reserve as a big crowd packed in to watch the NPL2 club host A-Leagues heavyweight Adelaide United.

The visitors fielded three Socceroos and one of Australia’s brightest prospects and did just enough to secure a 2-0 win.

Goals to Socceroos World Cup hero Craig Goodwin in the opening minutes and English import Zach Clough at the death earned United a place in the Round of 16.

However, for the 80 minutes in between, Northcote - one of the lowest ranked clubs to reach the national stage - more than held its own against its fancied rival.

Adelaide United’s Zach Clough surrounded by Northcote City defenders. Picture: Daniel Pockett

Adelaide United’s Nestory Irankunda under pressure from Tremayne Sadler of Northcote City. Picture: Daniel Pockett

Hercules coach Zeljko Kuzman said it was a memorable night the entire club could be proud of.

“It’s no secret we’re a few tiers below our opposition,” he said.

“The message prior to the game was to soak in the occasion, make the most of what is a rarity.

“The club has been around for 63 years and this is the first time we’ve been in a contest like this, against an A-League team.

“We’ll take a lot out of tonight’s game, there’s a lot of learning opportunities, but it’s a memory-maker to be honest.

“Our aim was to go out and play a brand of football that everyone could be proud of and I thought we did that against a really good outfit.

“I thought we were a little overawed by the occasion early but we settled and found our feet and I thought we looked organised and started playing our brand of football.”

Goodwin, who scored Australia’s opener against France in Qatar, again opened the scoring in just the sixth minute of the match.

Jonny Yull of Adelaide United is taken down by Northcote City’s Leo Athanasion. Picture: Daniel Pockett

Adelaide United’s Giuseppe Bovalina tries to stop Zachary Bates of Northcote City. Picture: Daniel Pockett

Cutting in from the left, his powerful shot wriggled through Northcote keeper Brandon Cuminao’s hands and over the line.

Fellow Socceroos Ben Halloran and Joe Gauci and young guns Nestory Irakunda and Bernardo also featured.

Adelaide held sway with 60 per cent of possession, made almost 200 more passes and fired off 24 shots to five.

However, were continuously frustrated by some desperate, determined, last-ditch defending by the hosts.

Cuminao made a string of saves, including a stunning double save late, while Sam Warde, Kevin Lynch, Giorgos Tsalikidis and Tremayne Sadler made a series of stops, blocks and clearances.

The resistance came to and end in the 85th minute as Zach Clough finished off a counter-attack as Northcote’s off-side calls went unheeded.

Adelaide United coach Carl Veart left pleased with a win and impressed by the hosts’ showing.

“It’s always difficult at the beginning of the Cup when you play against NPL teams and Northcote made it very difficult for us,” he said.

“I think we were quite good in the first 45 and credit to Northcote, they came out in the second half and put us under a lot more pressure and made it a lot more difficult for us.

“You could see the rustiness in our attacking play, especially where it matters in and around the box, but we’ll take a lot of positives out of it.

“Northcote played some good football, gave us a few challenges that we needed to solve.

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“It was a great night, the supporters would have enjoyed the game, it was end-to-end at times and an entertaining game.”

Just two NPL Victoria clubs earnt progression to the Round of 16.

Melbourne Knights will host South Australian club Campbelltown City, which produced a Cupset 2-1 win over A-League club Macarthur.

After travelling to Queensland for its first match, Heidelberg United is again on the road as it faces NSW club Mt Druitt Town Rangers.

Originally published as Souvlaki, Socceroos and goals as Adelaide United ends Northcote City’s Cup run