APIA Leichhardt have pulled off a huge upset in the FFA Cup, stunning Western Sydney Wanderers to reach the last eight of the competition.
The Tigers, who currently sit eighth in New South Wales’ NPL competition, produced a 2-1 win against a Western Sydney team that is yet to taste defeat in the A-League.
A first half mistake by Ziggy Gordon was pounced on by the hosts, allowing American forward Jason Romero to calmly roll home – APIA would double their lead through a stunning Tynan Diaz free kick on the hour mark.
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Diaz stood over the dead ball some 40 yards from goal, but noticed keeper Daniel Margush creeping forward and went direct for goal, and found the back of the net.
Tass Mourdoukoutas gave Wanderers a lifeline with 20 minutes to go but they couldn’t find an equaliser, despite a couple of good chances.
The pressure remains on coach Carl Robinson, albeit the XI that was named for this clash was very much second-string.
APIA needed extra time to navigate their way past Cooma FA in the round of 32, but showed no signs of fatigue against an A-League outfit
APIA are the last team from outside the A-League still standing, and will now face the Central Coast Mariners in the quarter-finals. The Mariners themselves fell behind against lower-league opposition last week, coming from a goal down to beat Wollongong Wolves.
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