Tolios ‘super proud’ of Bentleigh

A 347-game A-League star has left Kingston Heath “really impressed” with his opponents, Bentleigh Greens after they backed up their Dockerty Cup win with another “great show.”

Nick Tolios lifts the Dockerty Cup with captain Jack Webster in celebration. (Football Victoria)

Sydney FC flexed their muscles against an impressive Bentleigh Greens who challenged to the final whistle in their Australia Cup round of 16 clash at Kingston Heath.

Bentleigh looked the better team in the first 20 minutes with most of the play happening in their forward half as Sydney FC put their new formation to the test.

“Haven’t called Le Fondre much and that sums up their first 20 minutes,” Michael Zappone said in commentary crediting Bentleigh.

Just before halftime however Sydney struck through a long ball from skipper Alex Wilkinson which found the run of Adrian Segecic who gained controlled and finished swiftly.

In the 67th minute, Sydney FC’s Aaron Gurd, in his first start for the A-League club, added another one to the scoreline with a header.

Bentleigh striker Ajak Riak brought life into the game in the 86th minute when he headed a ball superbly into the bottom left corner to pass the glove of Andrew Redmayne.

Ajak Riak of Bentleigh Greens (L) and Max Burgess of Sydney FC compete for the ball. Picture: Graham Denholm/Getty Images

Sydney FC captain Alex Wilkinson was impressed with Bentleigh's performance including the challenge of striker Riak.

“They got a big boy upfront who is a big presence and wins lots of balls in the air so they were really impressive,” Wilkinson said post-game.

“Difficult game, I thought they played really well.

“It’s always the way NPL teams come up against A-League teams, they put on a great show.

“Bentleigh did that tonight, they put us under pressure in certain times of the game.

“Obviously they scored a late goal which brought the crowd into it a little bit.

Alex Wilkinson of Sydney FC in action during the Australia Cup Rd of 16 match. Picture: Graham Denholm/Getty Images

“But overall just happy to get through, there’s things we did well and things that we definitely need to improve on still.

“We’re just happy to be able to stay in the cup and keep the competitive games coming.”

Wilkinson who has played 347 A-League games said he thought Bentleigh handled the pressure well.

“We tried to press them high and that worked a lot of the time but they played through us a number of times,” he said.

He said the calmness on the ball and passing were some strengths of Bentleigh.

Bentleigh have had a busy schedule in recent times having beaten Oakleigh Cannons on Saturday to win the prestigious Dockerty Cup while also playing Australia Cup and NPL matches.

Bentleigh coach Nick Tolios said he was “super proud” of his players.

“We came out on a quick turnaround, the boys were up for it, you saw the first 20 minutes, I thought we were probably the better side, we moved the ball around well,” Tolios said.

“But obviously we got tired towards the end of that first half and unfortunately we conceded the way we did.

“I wished we got one a little bit earlier, it would have been great but credit to Sydney, they’re a quality outfit.

“But I think we held our own and made the club proud.”

The confidence building performance caps off a great few days for the club who won their third Dockerty Cup title on Saturday.

Nick Tolios with the thumbs up following his Dockerty Cup win. (Football Victoria)

“It’s fantastic any trophy you win especially something as historic as the Dockerty Cup, an 113-year-old trophy,” he said.

“To win that for the third time, it’s a fantastic week for the club having this game and then having the win on Saturday.

“Now we regroup and get ready for Port Melbourne on Sunday.”

Tolios says his side has good potential this season to challenge for the NPL title.

“I think we got to get into the finals that is the main thing,” he said.

“I think if we can get into finals, I think we will give it a good shake up.

“The club’s been around for a while now, they’re one of the most successful clubs outside the A-League and hopefully we can push and make it really hard for the guys higher on the ladder.”

The last team to have won the NPL title and Dockerty Cup in the same season was Green Gully in 1982.

Tolios said recover was important as his side faced a busy schedule and already had a few injuries.

Bentleigh had to use players from their underage teams after injuries to key players including Benjamin Carrigan, Christian Cavallo, Lucas Derrick, Pierce Waring and Jack Painter-Andrews were leaving gaps in the side, particularly in their final third.

“We changed our formation and I thought they were fantastic the way they played tonight but just super proud,” he said.

“As a coach, a lot of people don’t happens behind the scenes and what they have to do to get to this point.

“To put on a performance like that is tremendous from them, shows real maturity and professionalism in the team.”