Two goals in 11 minutes from Olympic FC’s Jake McLean were enough to end the Melbourne Knights’ FFA Cup soccer campaign in the first round last week.
The Knights travelled to Brisbane’s Goodwin Park for the Tuesday night clash and showed no signs of nerves in the inaugural Australia-wide competition.
In fact, the away side dominated the first 15 minutes but was unable to make the most of the advantage on the scoreboard.
Enter McLean, who scored his first goal at the 17-minute mark before backing that up with his second after 28.
Both sides scored in the second half but there was no coming back for the Knights, who lost 3-1.
Knights coach Andrew Marth was disappointed not to capitalise on early chances in the first term.
“I think that was where we definitely lost the game,” he said. “Our intensity wasn’t there.
“I have to give [Olympic] full credit for that first half, but we fought our way back into the game in the second.”
The Knights’ only goal came through 16-year-old rising star Jordan O’Doherty, who was red-carded later for a second yellow card.
Knights’ player Tomislav Uskok said the club wasn’t surprised by Olympics’ firepower.
“We’d studied them and knew they were great going forward,” he said.
But the news isn’t all bad for the Knights, who will contest the Dockerty Cup final this month.
After a tough season in the NPL, Marth was happy with the way his squad was performing.
“We have had a pretty up and down season,” he said. “It was probably well publicised that we lost seven [players] out of our starting 11 from last year.
“We’ve blooded about 10 players under the age of 18.
“That’s what the NPL is structured for and we’re probably the only team in Australia that has done it.
“From where we were to where we have come is a pretty good performance.”
Fellow Brimbank-based soccer outfit St Albans will play its FFA Cup match away at Parramatta FC tonight.
