Anthony Leban converted a 96th-minute penalty to see Melbourne Victory edge Adelaide City 1-0 in the FFA Cup Round of 32 on Wednesday.
Summary
Victory moved into the last 16 after a tight tussle at Marden Sports Complex, which witnessed penalty drama for the second straight week.
Leban stepped up to convert the winning penalty for the second time in eight days after Luis Lawrie-Lattanzio was brought down.
The other highlight for Victory was the return of Matthew Spiranovic, who produced a strong performance in his first professional game since mid-2019.
Victory was pushed back in the opening exchanges and City’s Nicholas Bucco curled a free-kick narrowly wide in the fourth minute.
After Asad Kasumovic had an effort ruled out for offside, Joseph Costa fired just wide for the host as Victory looked to find its feet.
Bucco tested Victory goalkeeper Jerrad Tyson from an angle in the 25th minute after City was awarded an indirect free-kick inside the area.
Tyson made a fine save to deny Kasumovic on the half-hour mark, before Aladin Irabona blasted the follow-up over the crossbar as City continued to push for an opener.
City looked the more dangerous side and Costa forced Tyson into a low stop again before half-time.
Victory made a far better start to the second half and Nishan Velupillay and Lleyton Brooks almost combined in the opening minute after the break.
Tyson tipped over a long-range Charlie Devereux strike in the 81st minute in what was an otherwise tight second half.
As extra-time looked certain to follow, Lawrie-Lattanzio won a spot-kick deep into additional time and Leban – last week’s hero – tucked it away to send Victory through.
Key moment
Player in focus
Tyson took centre stage in the penalty shoot-out last week, but the goalkeeper was far busier against Adelaide City. He made numerous good saves to keep Victory level before the late drama.
Implications
Victory’s cup run continues with a trip to face the Gold Coast Knights in the last 16.
Result
FFA Cup 2021 Round of 32
Adelaide City 0
Melbourne Victory 1 (Anthony Leban 90+6′)
Adelaide City: Ochsenham (gk); Corbo (Aloisi 88′), Barr, Halliday (c), Waters (Akuien 72′); Irabona, Devereux, Bressan, Costa (Kurikwimana 71′); Kasumovic, Bucco (Kur 59′).
Melbourne Victory: Tyson (gk); Bello, Spiranovic (c) (Lupancu 69′), Anderson (Ishak 75′), Nigro; Barnett (Wilson 69′), Kirdar; Brooks, Kruse (Leban 80′), Velupillay; Margiotta (Lawrie-Lattanzio 69′).
Yellow cards: Kirdar 35′, Halliday 51′, Anderson 61′, Kurikwimana 87′
Red cards: Nil
Attendance: TBA
Venue: Marden Sports Complex
Next up
Victory is back at AAMI Park in the Isuzu UTE A-League on Sunday, hosting Perth Glory, aiming to continue its perfect start to the season.
