THE Goulburn Stags are off to the fourth round of the Westfield FFA Cup after coming from behind to beat Canberra City in the first cup match held in Goulburn creating a little piece of football history in the process.
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The home ground advantage proved invaluable for the Stags as they came away with a 2-1 win thanks to goals from Robert Dorsett and Aaron Swanson.
It wasn’t an easy start for the Stags as Canberra City began the match at full pace, with winger Joel Olney and striker Ben Garrard looking dangerous with a number of opportunities to score.
The early intent to attack paid off as Canberra City took the lead in the twelfth minute when Garrard capitalised on the miscommunication between the Stags’ keeper and defenders and had an empty net to calmly slot in the first goal of the game.
Canberra City almost gifted the Stags an equaliser in the twenty first minute when defender Phil Mackay passed the ball back to goalkeeper Brendan Stillis who misfired a clearance and skewed the ball just wide of the goal.
By this stage the Stags had started to look dangerous going forward thanks to some great attacking play by midfielders Dorsett and man of the match Swanson.
The breakthrough came in the twenty-ninth minute when Swanson’s pinpoint cross from the right wing was met by Dorsett who volleyed home a beautiful shot into the bottom right corner to level the game one a piece.
By the end of the first half it was back and forth action with both teams looking to counter attack on every occasion.
Canberra City tried to beat goalkeeper Ricky Eddy from distance on a number of occasions and the Stags looking to go out wide to cross into the box was looking like the most threatening option.
Canberra City protested for a penalty in the thirty-ninth minute when striker Jason Whittingham looked to be fouled in the Stag’s box by defender Chad Cosgrove.
No penalty was given by the referee, which then led to a counter attack by the Stags with Swanson in the action again, with a close header saved by Stillis just before the end of the half.
The second half began like the first, with Canberra City coming out guns blazing.
The Stags were almost caught napping in defence in the first minute when Whittingham broke through and was one on one with the goalkeeper only for defender Chad Cosgrove to make a last minute challenge to stop the shot.
It was all Canberra City at this point with Whittingham continuing to trouble the Stags defence, but still unable to get past keeper Eddy.
Not finishing their chances came back to hurt Canberra City with the Stags breaking through and scoring in the fifty-fifth minute, thanks to a magnificent solo effort by Josh Watling.
A fierce shot at keeper Stilis, who managed to get a touch on the ball, wasn’t enough though and Swanson was in the right place to knock the ball into the net to give the Stags the lead.
After taking the lead, the Stags looked dangerous and began to dominate the match in Canberra City’s half looking fairly comfortable until the closing stages.
With ten minutes remaining, the City boys produced their best attack of the half with shots on target by Whittingham and midfielder Joshua Reakes, but the attackers still couldn’t break a strong Stag defence.
The Goulburn Stags were too good in the end, deserving winners, and will be motivated going forward with their first Westfield FFA Cup win of the year and a place in the last sixteen amongst the PS4 NPL giants.
