Melbourne Knights cruised into the Dockerty Cup quarter-finals with a 4-1 smashing of Green Gully last week.
Despite conceding a goal to Green Gully’s Patricio Vargas three minutes into the clash, the Knights refused to give up in front of their home fans.
Melbourne hit back eight minutes later when Daniel Visevic’s corner kick found Antun Kovacic, who sent the ball into the back of the net.
Both sides had opportunities to hit the lead in the next 20 minutes, but it was the Knights who were able to seize their chances.
A Shayan Alinejad pass to Leo Athanasiou finished with a goal and gave Melbourne the outright lead in the 30th minute, and on the eve of half-time an Ivan Grgic header doubled the advantage.
The 3-1 margin looked as though it would be too tough for the Cavaliers to peg back. It became next to impossible when the Knights were the first to strike after the break.
A deadly corner kick from Visevic ended in a header from Nikola Srbinovski, who sealed the win in the 69th minute.
After his side lost 1-0 to Green Gully in the National Premier League three days earlier, Knights coach Andrew Marth was rapt with his team’s performance.
“It was a case of us putting our chances away,” he said. “That’s something we didn’t do against them on the Saturday before.
“We have six long-term injuries, which means our young kids have stepped up, which is a bonus.”
The Knights will take on South Melbourne in their Dockerty Cup quarter-final, which is scheduled for Lakeside Oval tonight.
Melbourne will again have to dig deep to replace captain Ben Surey, who will be overseas for five weeks in the second half of the season.
“He’s a great leader,” Marth said.
“He has been at the club for five years now and he’s going to be sorely missed.
“He will probably miss five games.”
