FFA Cup: Gold Coast Knights defeated by Melbourne Victory 2-1

Melbourne Victory escaped Croatian Sports Park with a 2-1 victory over Gold Coast Knights on Thursday evening but local goalkeeper Josh Langdon is certain their paths will cross again.

MELBOURNE Victory escaped Croatian Sports Park with a 2-1 victory over Gold Coast Knights on Thursday evening but local goalkeeper Josh Langdon is certain their paths will cross again in future FFA Cup campaigns.

The Victorians trailed 1-0 after 26 minutes thanks to a Cai Tipaldo header but found their equaliser half an hour later when incisive passing from man of the match Nishan Velupillay found an unmarked Luis Lawrie-Lattanzio in the box for a tap-in.

The Knights, running on three weeks of preparation, held on until the 96th minute to concede again, when a curling shot from substitute Will Wilson found the top left corner from the edge of the penalty area.

The damage could have been worse for the Knights if not for multiple athletic saves from Langdon, who produced his side’s best-on-ground effort to keep the underdogs in the fight for all 120 minutes.

Langdon said if the Knights were capable of this calibre of performance in their first start under new head coach Scott McDonald, overcoming major squad turnover and disrupted preparation, 2022 would surely see the club make another deep run through the FFA Cup.

Gold Coast Knights goalkeeper Josh Langdon saves Nishan Velupillay's shot in FFA Cup match v Melbourne Victory at Croatian Sports Park. Picture: Mons Photography

“It was an unbelievable game and an amazing experience,” the 22-year-old shot-stoppper said.

“Obviously it was quite tough. A few players left at the end of last season so we probably had eight or nine new players and only three or four weeks to prepare. We didn’t even play a game leading into it.

“I thought we played extremely well considering how new we were. We showed in how well we played as as a team that despite the preparation we were able to put on a performance like that.

“Going in we were underdogs with no expectation to win and that gave us freedom on the field to go for it and see what happens.

“I think this won’t be a one-off and I expect us to be here every year.”

There could be few complaints about the Knights’ energetic football under former Socceroo Scott McDonald, who surprised even his teammates by selecting himself on the interchange bench.

It was no mind game.

Gold Coast Knights goalkeeper Josh Langdon v Melbourne Victory in FFA Cup match at Croatian Sports Park. Picture: Mons Photography

After 68 minutes McDonald injected himself into the fray, relieving goalscorer Tipaldo and marshalling the club’s attack, producing a late scoring opportunity that could have tied the match.

Langdon said the former Celtic striker’s leadership was a key contributor to the side’s staying power against a professional outfit.

“Scotty is a real professional and he’s really driven the team to a level I haven’t seen before,” the fifth-year player said.

“It was a real good start for the next year and I think it will set the groundwork. I know we’ll easily be up there in 2022.”

Oh Schnit! Club plays chicken with FFA Aus and Melbourne Victory

GOLD Coast Knights powerbrokers will demand its postponed FFA Cup clash with Melbourne Victory is played before the year is out or that Football Australia bundle their opposition out of the tournament

Football Australia announced on Wednesday, hours before kick-off, that the Knights Round of 16 FFA Cup game with Victory at the Croatian Sports Centre in Carrara was to be postponed due to the detection of multiple Covid cases within one club.

Melbourne City’s clash with Wellington Phoenix was also delayed indefinitely.

Knights president Adrian Puljich confirmed they were advised by Football Australia that a player or official from Melbourne City had tested positive to Covid after the club’s derby with Melbourne Victory on Saturday and the number had grown to seven inside the club since.

Gold Coast Knights coach Scott MacDonald. Picture: Tertius Pickard

Puljich said they were pushing to have the game played between Christmas and New Years eve in a bid to ensure the $40,000 invested into the game via infrastructure and food isn’t lost and to keep the competition on track for a January 23 grand final given the winner has to participate in the Asian Champions League qualifiers.

If not, Puljich wants Victory bundled out of the tournament and Gold Coast be given the green light to progress to the quarters where it would play Adelaide United.

“If we can’t play Melbourne Victory between that period we would be advocating strongly for that to occur,” Puljich said.

“Such leniency wasn’t given to the Knights when we asked to play in the New Year. We were given three options: December 21, 22 or forfeit.

“We would be seeking FFA applies the same set of standards to Melbourne Victory.”

Gold Coast has pre-sold 1800 tickets for the game and had catered for 3500 spectators, had invested in a deck that can hold up to 500 people, temporary fencing, toilets and food, including 1000 chicken schnitzels and bread rolls, band and fireworks.

Puljich said he had already spoken to Football Australia officials about being reimbursed the $40,000 that had been spent on the game should it not go ahead in the time frame provided.

Security is also a concern given many services are booked well in advance leading up to the Christmas and New Year period.

“We have been in discussions with Football Australia about it and we will be seeking to recover all of our costs,” Puljich said.

“We are of the view that Melbourne Victory being unable to play is not our concern. We are the home team, we are willing and able to play and the game has been sanctioned. We are good to go.”

EARLIER:

THE Gold Coast Knights Football Club have been rocked by the postponement of a highly anticipated FFA Cup clash with Melbourne Victory just 10 hours before kick-off at Croatian Sports Park.

Football Australia confirmed the detection of multiple Covid-19 cases within one club and “potential close and/or casual contact exposure” at another had forced their hand in shutting down two FFA Cup fixtures on Wednesday.

Fixtures between the Knights and Victory on the Gold Coast and Melbourne City’s home game against Wellington Phoenix have been delayed indefinitely.

Football Australia apologised for the inconvenience to supporters.

“Football Australia is committed to working with all four clubs and key stakeholders to reschedule these matches as soon as possible, and apologises for any inconvenience caused to supporters who were planning to attend tonight’s fixtures.

“The postponements are due to confirmed positive Covid cases within one of the participating clubs, and potential close and/or casual contact exposure to representatives of another participating club.”

Victoria’s latest Covid outbreak has seen 1383 new cases detected per day over a seven-day average.

More to come.

Meeting with Football Australia that kept Knights in FFA Cup race

GOLD Coast Knights chairman Adrian Puljich has revealed the club came close to withdrawing from the FFA Cup due to the lengthy delays between fixtures forced upon the competition by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Knights secured safe passage into the Round of 16 with a 2-nil win over Edge Hill United way back on September 15 and have since waited for the rest of the competition to catch up.

Melbourne Victory’s penalty shootout win over Perth Glory on November 24 means the Knights are now one step closer to knowing their Round of 16 opponent in the prestigious national knockout competition.

Victory will travel to face Adelaide City FC on December 1, with the winner to play the Knights on the Gold Coast on a yet to be determined late-December date.

Puljich told The Bulletin that December 21 and 22 were the mooted dates for the blockbuster clash, with the club angling for the latter.

But the delays to the competition nearly forced the club to exit entirely.

Puljich revealed the club and Football Australia had been in talks about changing player eligibility rules to allow for new signings to play in the remainder of the competition.

Previously, once the competition reached a certain stage a club’s list of eligible players was locked. However, Knights have released a large portion of their squad since the close of the NPL Queensland season and would have struggled to field a competitive team with the few remaining eligible players.

“We were mulling over the possibility of withdrawing from the FFA Cup – that was a discussion that we had purely because one, they’re asking us to play three days before Christmas and two, the eligibility of players and ability to sign new players,” Puljich said.

“The FA has managed to resolve (the player eligibility) issue for us.”

The Knights’ last competitive fixture came on October 24 – a 4-nil NPL Queensland loss to Gold Coast United.

It will mean almost two full months will have gone by when they host either Melbourne Victory of Adelaide City at the end of December.

“It’s been a long season already … the fact this game is now being scheduled three days out from Christmas is a tough ask,” Puljich said.

“We’ve let go of half of our squad and are having to usher in new players and fast track them for what we hope will be a good game.

“We can almost bank on Melbourne Victory being our next opponent and that would be amazing, to play Victory in a sudden death match at the Croatian Sports Centre.”

Puljich said the club would start announcing signings early next week, including a new-look coaching staff.