Two timely goals from Marijan Cvitkovic have sealed a berth on the national stage for Melbourne Knights.
Cvitkovic scored late in both halves of a 2-0 win over Port Melbourne Sharks in a cut-throat FFA Cup tie at Knights Stadium on Wednesday night.
The win put the Knights into the pot for the round-of-32 draw for the nationwide competition, along with other Victorian clubs Green Gully, Hume City and Bentleigh Greens.
Cvitkovic could not be more happy after playing his part in getting the Knights back in the national spotlight.
“To score two goals in such an important game, at home as well, was a fantastic feeling,” he told Star Weekly.
“We truly believe we belong in the pinnacle of Australian football.
“For our team to do that and bring it back again this year is a great feeling.”
Cvitkovic is no fly-by-night Knights player, as the 29-year-old came through the club’s famed youth academy.
He started as a 13-year-old, when the club was still part of the old National Soccer League, before leaving at the start of his senior career. He has been back at Somers Street for five seasons and in 2013 won the gold medal for the best-and-fairest player in the last season of the Victorian Premier League.
The midfielder is looking forward to the chance of featuring at the pointy end of the FFA Cup, which could bring the Knights face-to-face with an A-League club or rekindle an old NSL rivalry.
You get the feeling the Knights would prefer to take on one of the professional clubs, as it would generate recollections of a rich history at the top level passed on through the generations.
“Imagine an A-League club at Somers Street – it would be huge,” Cvitkovic said ahead of the June 30 draw.
“You want to feature as far as you can in this type of competition, so it’s the luck of the draw. Whatever happens, happens.
“We’ll take it, whether it’s an A-League club or not.”
The Knights are sitting outside the top six in the NPL league but Cvitkovic is confident there is enough time for his team to bridge the gap.
“There’s plenty of football still left in the season,” he said.
“We have aspirations to make the top six and go as far as we can in the FFA Cup as well.”
The Knights have also qualified for the final four of the statewide Dockerty Cup – a competition they have won on 10 occasions.
They will face Bentleigh Greens in the semi-final, while Green Gully will meet Hume City.
