Sydney FC are the first side through to the last four of the Australia Cup, securing their spot with a 1-0 win over NPL New South Wales side SD Raiders overnight in Fairfield.
New signing Takahiro Sekine continued his extraordinary start to life in Sky Blue, making it three goals in his first four games with a 33rd minute rocket that ultimately decided the quarter-final tie.
Patrick Kisnorbo’s side also had a huge shift from goalkeeper Gus Hoefsloot to thank for their progression, with the 20-year-old making seven saves in a Man of the Match performance.
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SD Raiders had been one of the stories of this year’s Australia Cup, knocking out Macarthur FC in the Round of 16 and they may feel slightly hard done by with their exit, owing to a controversial moment in the 79th minute.
Gus Hoefsloot stands tall for @SydneyFC with a HUGE match winning save!
The 20-year-old keeper comes up clutch to help secure the Sky Blues a 1-0 win and a place in the Hahn @australiacup Semi-Finals!
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Raiders forward Robert Eremugo was taken down by Jordan Courtney-Perkins after latching onto a through ball and it seemed as though the referee had pointed to the penalty spot.
“He’s legged! And the referee after consultation is seemingly pointing to the penalty spot”, said commentator Teo Pellizzeri on Paramount+’s coverage.
“Is he walking it back? He’s walking it back outside the box and the protests start from the Raiders. Massive flashpoint in the game!”
Andy Harper added: “I thought that was clearly inside the box, if it’s a foul… clearly inside the box! No VAR in the Australia Cup.
“That is in the box surely.”
Ultimately, the referee awarded a free-kick just outside the area.
Robert Fernandez’s effort from the dead ball was on target, forcing an amazing save from Hoefsloot to preserve Sydney’s lead.
Takahiro Sekine’s stunning start to life at @SydneyFC continues with ANOTHER goal!
The Sky Blues’ new recruit now has three goals in his last three matches, opening the scoring in Fairfield with a brilliant finish after a stunning long-range pass from Joe Lacey
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It was one of many strong saves from the young goalkeeper, starting in place of last season’s revelation Harrison Devenish-Meares, who actually watched the match in The Cove, Sydney’s active support section, with the club’s fans.
The reigning A-League Goalkeeper of the Year remains sidelined after a bizarre injury triggered the need for three surgeries in the off-season.
Elsewhere, there were strong performances from young gun Joe Lacey in midfield, providing an excellent assist for Sekine’s goal and completing 38 of his 42 passes, while Akol Akon looked dangerous again from the right as rumours continue to swirl over a possible move to MLS.
In the end, the Sky Blues did enough to go through to the last four, where they will meet the winner of Wednesday night’s clash between APIA Leichhardt and Melbourne Victory.