Four clubs from Football Canterbury competed in the Australia Cup on the weekend with two of them winning through to the third round.
Balmain DFC and ACU FC both won their matches to secure their place in the next round, joining Roselands FC, Marrickville Red Devils, and LFC Sports who were drawn to go straight into Round 3.
Hurlstone Park Wanderers and Enfield Rovers both bowed out in Round 2.
Balmain took on Riverwood Glory from the St George Association and went down early: Jayden Todorovski giving Glory the lead in the 23rd minute.
With just over half an hour left to play, Balmain finally equalised through Ryan Chomphunut. He scored again in the 84th minute before Shay Spitz sealed the victory in the 90th minute to make it 3-1.
This is the first time Balmain have won a match in the Australia Cup with their victory earning them the right to take on Dulwich Hill, from Football NSW League One, in Round 3.
ACU FC defeated Fairfield Eagles in dominant fashion, winning 4-0 over the team from Southern Districts.
Jacob Yousif opened the scoring before a red card to Fairfield in the early minutes of the second half opened the floodgates.
Jacob Windon, Ayman Hill, and Brad Payne all got on the scoresheet in an historic day for the students: winning the club’s first ever Australia Cup match in their fourth attempt.
ACU take on South Coast Flame, a team in Football NSW League Two, in Round 3.
A hat-trick to Matteo Pandolfo was not enough to save Hurlstone Park Wanderers as they fell 4-3 to Chatswood Rangers.
Chatswood, from Northern Suburbs, came out of the blocks quickly and established a 4-1 lead by the 70 minute mark. Two quickfire goals from Pandolfo in the 86th and 89th minute plus four minutes of additional time was not enough though: with Chatswood just holding on.
Unfortunately, it was a different story for Enfield Rovers who were downed 4-0 by Como Jannali SC. Despite it being 0-0 at half time, it was the club from the Sutherland Association who took the ascendancy after the break: scoring four minutes into the second half and never looking back.
Round 3 Fixtures
Roselands FC v Fraser Park FC (FNSW League Two)
Tuesday 21 March (7:30pm) at Fraser Park, Marrickville
Quakers Hill JSC (Blacktown Football) v Marrickville Red Devils
Wednesday 22 March (7pm) at Quakers Hill Park, Quakers Hill
ACU FC v South Coast Flame (FNSW League Two)
Wednesday 22 March (7:30pm) at Thomas Hassall Anglican College, Middleton Grange
Bonnyrigg White Eagles (FNSW League One) v LFC Sports
Fixtures details TBC
Balmain DFC v Dulwich Hill (FNSW League One)
Fixture details TBC
Feature image credit: Sara Giannini
