KEILOR Park was given an almighty fright before advancing through the third round of the FFV State Knockout Cup on Saturday.
The Parkers had to work their way from a deficit to eliminate a plucky Westvale Olympic 2-1 at Keilor Park Recreation Reserve on Saturday.
Parkers secretary Paul Portelli told the Weekly it was an uncomfortable outing for the home side.
“They played very well and really made us earn it,” he said.
“They played a fast brand of soccer and their goalkeeper had a tremendous day. It was a relief to come away with a win.”
The Parkers had the upper hand in the first half.
They peppered at goal for zero reward.
Lorenzo Carbone had the best chance for the Parkers, dribbling around the goalkeeper and staring at an open goalmouth.
His shot lacked power and the last defender cleared off the line.
“There were a lot of chances that we really should’ve finished,” Portelli said.
“It looked like it was going to be one of those days.
“We tried everything and couldn’t score.”
Olympic made the hosts pay with a goal five minutes after the resumption.
The goal stood until the 70th minute when red-hot striker Grant Mussel found the back of the net after a nifty through ball from second-half substitute Ben Malaga.
Mussel was the man on the spot again a minute later, picking up the scraps after a long-range effort from Daniel Commisso.
Olympic had one last push for parity in the dying second from the corner but was denied by a clearance from Parkers captain Derek Galea.
Reno Damianou was one of the Parkers’ best after being shuffled from wing to left back when Julian Di Vicenzo went down with a groin injury.
Sean Sacco dictated most of the play from the central midfield.
Malaga, the attacking midfielder who came off the bench, had the biggest impact.
“He shifted the momentum of the game in 30 minutes,” Parkers coach Anthony Sacco said.
The opening matches of this year’s regular season kick off for state, provisional and metropolitan leagues this Saturday.
