Hume City threw away a perfect opportunity to qualify for the Football Federation Australia Cup, going down to State League 1 side South Springvale in the quarter-finals of the Dockerty Cup last Wednesday night.
National Premier League side City entered the game at Olympic Village as favourite but was comprehensively beaten 3-0.
City coach Louie Acevski said his side’s performance was embarrassing.
“We were completely outplayed and bullied on the field.
“South Springvale wanted it more than us.
‘‘[Our] players went out there and thought it was just going to happen and someone else would do it for them.
“I don’t know if we took them lightly as they are ranked lower than us, but from the outside it looks that way.”
City was on the back foot from the first 10 minutes, with an error by goalkeeper Evan Alexandrow-Ridley allowing Springvale to score an early goal.
“We still had 80 minutes to get that goal back,” Acevski said.
“But we didn’t end up doing it. It was a negative performance from the first minute.’’
The four cup semi-finalists automatically qualify for the FFA Cup, which will feature the top teams around Australia.
“We’ve had a very good fixture. Everything has been working our way,’’ Acevski said. ‘‘We didn’t have to face anyone from our competition [NPL]. We threw it away.”
City managed to bounce back with a win in the NPL on Sunday, defeating Northcote City 2-0.
In NPL 1, Springvale White Eagles were too strong for the Whittlesea Ranges, winning 5-2 on a soggy ground.
The Eagles made the most of their early chances, opening up a 2-0 lead.
Ranges got on the scoreboard just before half-time through Matthew Iuliano, but conceded a goal from the restart to be 3-1 down at the main break.
The Eagles scored their fourth goal in the first minute of the second half.
Whittlesea pulled back the margin with its second goal after a penalty in the 80th minute, but the Eagles put away a fifth goal in injury time.
