Tara Murray
The magic of the cup is alive for the Whittlesea Ranges in the Australia Cup.
The Ranges are through to the sixth round for the first time after beating Ballarat City on Tuesday night.
A goal to Daniel Anagnostopoulos in the 31st minute would prove to be the difference in the 1-0 win.
Ranges coach Safi Ayoush said the win was really exciting for the club.
“It was a big win for us,” he said. “It’s the first time we’ve come that far.
“We’re now in round six and the top 10 teams in Victoria form about 182 clubs. We’re joining a lot of the NPL [National Premier League] clubs.”
A win in the seventh round would mean the Ranges are through to the national stage of the competition.
Ayoush said if they were to achieve that it would be massive for the club and show they’re on the right track with the work they are doing.
“It means what we’re doing from the start of the year and giving opportunities to younger players,” he said.
“There’s a great culture with the players and the club, even the junior structure. We’re all working together as a team.”
Having already beaten one NPL side to get to the fifth round, the Ranges faced another one in Ballarat.
Ayoush said the playing group was up to the challenge.
“It was a great performance,” he said. “We faced a hard NPL side
“We saw the fight in the boys and they made me really happy as a coach. They worked as a team and continued to try and score.
“They were more than competitive against them.”
Ayoush said the most pleasing thing was that they weren’t relying on one or two players to get the job done, but spreading the load.
The Ranges will be back in action on Saturday in the FV state league 1 north-west competition against Corio on Saturday.
Ayoush said they were happy with their form in that competition as well. The side sits in ninth spot.
“We had a points deduction due to an admin error,” he said. “We’re still getting good results.
“The average age is 21 or 22 and some of them weren’t in the starting 11 last year.
“Stefano Giusti is 17 and was in the starting 11 for the first time on Tuesday night.
“We’re trying to provide for those young boys.
“I’m really proud to see those boys work really hard. It’s not easy to gel 22 players together.”
While the Ranges are through to the next round, Upfield, Lalor United and Whittlesea United’s runs came to an end.
Lalor United lost 3-2 to the Goulburn Valley Suns, with Ayodeji Omoboye scoring both of Lalor’s goals.
The Suns scored the winning goal in the 87th minute.
Upfield lost to Dandenong City 4-2 after scores were level at 2-2 at half time.
Whittlesea United lost to St Albans Saints, 2-0 having had chances in the first half to get on the scoreboard.
