Hume City may have lost on the scoreboard in Wednesday night’s FFA Cup semi-final against Melbourne Victory, but it was a winner in every other way.
City was the fairytale of this year’s cup – the only side outside the A-League to make the final four of the nationwide tournament.
Last year, City was knocked out in the final stage of the Victorian qualifying rounds.
City coach Louie Acevski knew his side’s dreams of a grand final berth would be difficult to turn to reality as it was up against the reigning A-League champion.
City almost got off to the perfect start when it appeared that the hand of Victory’s Jason Geria hit a Theo Markelis cross. The referees didn’t see it the same way with no penalty awarded.
“The replays show the call should have been given our way, but we’re not making excuses,” Acevski said.
“If you can get a goal in the first 10 minutes of the game it puts them on the back foot and puts the pressure on them.”
Victory opened the scoring, with Besart Berisha converting a penalty late in the second half.
For the first 30 minutes of that second half, City was able to match Victory’s intensity.
City goalkeeper Chris Oldfield, named man of the match, repelled several Victory attacks and showed why he’s likely to be an attractive target for A-League sides.
City’s lack of match fitness started to show in the dying minutes, with Victory scoring goals through Kosta Barbarouses and Geria for a 3-0 win.
“We matched it with them for 75 minutes,” Acevski said. “The last 15 minutes or so we deteriorated a little.
“When you don’t play an official match for five weeks, it’s going to hurt
“Looking at the score of 3-0, you’d think Victory dominated. But everyone who watched the match live and on television would have seen it very different.”
Acevski said that while there had been many plaudits for his players, there was no bigger Hume City fan than himself.
“I’m naturally not happy with the result, but I was definitely happy with the endeavour, motivation and attitude of them all,” he said.
“I’m very proud of their effort.
“The application, workrate and attitudes couldn’t be faulted and they were phenomenal in sticking to the game plan. It’s been a great experience for them.”
