With some last-minute heroics and a thrilling penalty shootout, the Dockerty Cup is officially down to eight teams, all of whom will compete for a place in the Hahn Australia Cup in mid-June.
Lakeside Stadium was witness to a late show courtesy of a winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time via the boot of Jordon Lampard. South were staring down the barrel of an unfathomable exit, with Pascoe Vale, at the foot of the VPL2 table, scoring early to take the slenderest of leads into half-time. Sporting a youthful outfit featuring many of its U23 squad, Pascoe Vale maintained their advantage deep into the second half only for their lead to evaporate at the hands of a clutch header from Marko Jankovic. The small but vocal turnout at Lakeside did enough to bring the hosts home for a third win in four matches across all competitions.
Frank Holohan witnessed a Dockerty Cup classic, with Brunswick City showing no ill-effects from a 3-0 hammering to Melbourne Srbija only days earlier. Kamil Hegazi gave them the lead in the 22nd minute before former Melbourne Victory midfielder Jesse Makarounas doubled their advantage twenty minutes later courtesy of a cool finish after missing from the penalty spot. Dandenong City finally pulled one back on the hour after Jackson Lino scored in a goalmouth scramble, but appeared destined for an exit until a penalty was awarded in the seventh minute off added time. Kenny Athiu made no mistake from the spot to take the match into extra time.
Thoughts of Brunswick City rolling over were quickly put to bed, as Dylan Allshorn gave the visitors the lead once more after another tenacious strike from inside the box. Enter captain Jack Webster, who equalised in the 115th minute, the game ultimately ending in a 3-3 stalemate with a penalty shootout required to separate both teams. Will Bower was the first to flinch, his tame shot saved by Nicholas Mooney, putting Brunswick in the box seat. Atay Ibrahim had an opportunity to seal victory, only for his shot to agonisingly bounce off the crossbar. Brad Plant sent Mooney the wrong way to give the hosts the advantage, before Matthew Marrum saved Kobe Timms' shot down the middle to cap off a remarkable victory.
In the other matches played on Tuesday, a hat-trick to Stefan Zinni sealed a comfortable victory for Avondale over Manningham United in their home-away-from-home at BT Connor Reserve. Dandenong Thunder sealed their spot in the final eight comfortably dispatching Whittlesea United and in what proved to be the upset of the evening, North Sunshine Eagles fell to a heavy defeat at home to Nunawading City.
With Round 7 now confirmed, the final phase of Hahn Australia Cup qualifying means that it is winner take all, with a spot in Australia’s premier Cup competition at stake, as well as the final 4 of the Dockerty Cup.
Northcote City will take on the form team in Victoria, Heidelberg United visiting John Cain Memorial Park to take on City for the first time since 2018. Avondale and Dandenong Thunder will lock horns in what promises to be a mouth-watering clash, while Dandenong City will be encouraged by their recent form against South Melbourne. Nunawading City will be dreaming of an even greater cupset as they play host to Hume City.
Round 6 Results
- Northcote City 3 (O'Hea 61, Nassis 72, Webb 77) Melbourne Knights 2 (Lettieri 3, 56)
- Hume City 3 (Isgrove 30, Okane 67, Debele 83) Oakleigh Cannons 2 (Guest 18, 36)
- Heidelberg United 4 (Bisetto 4, Dau 41, James Ngor 66, Fulton 90) FC Clifton Hill 1 (Lorenzi 15)
- Avondale FC 5 (Ahmed 42pk, Zinni 48, 84, 89pk, Aguek 77) Manningham United Blues 0
- Dandenong Thunder 3 (Clark 45, Taylor 49, Romanovski 90) Whittlesea United 1 (Shain 58)
- South Melbourne 2 (Jankovic 81, Lampard 90+5) Pascoe Vale 1 (Sacco 18)
- Dandenong City 3 (Lino 62, Athiu 90+8, Webster 115) Brunswick City 3 (Hegazi 22, Makarounas 42, Allshorn 97)
Dandenong City won 5-4 in penalty shootout - North Sunshine Eagles 1 (Elibol 6) Nunawading City 4 (de Kretser 10, Abboud 12, Brown 36, Lupino 48)