A stunning Australian Championship debut from Oakleigh Cannons headlined Friday night’s competition double-header, with Avondale FC also taking a crucial bonus point on the road, winning a penalty shootout over Adelaide City after the contest finished 2–2 in regular time.
Oakleigh Cannons 4–2 Sydney Olympic
At Jack Edwards Reserve, Oakleigh found themselves behind inside the opening ten minutes after Michael Ruhs’ finish put the Sydney side ahead.
Cannons captain Joe Guest soon equalised, before Alex Salmon gave the hosts the lead after a thrilling first thirty minutes.
Ruhs would strike again at the hour mark to level it up at 2–2, before the Cannons stormed home. Brodie Boyce followed up Guest’s header in the 83rd minute, before Joseph Knowles put the exclamation mark on the result, handing Oakleigh a fourth goal with an overhead finish in stoppage time.
Adelaide City 2–2 Avondale FC (Avondale FC win penalty shootout 7–6 for bonus point)
At Adelaide City Park, it was Avondale who claimed the bonus point with victory in the penalty shootout after the contest finished 2–2 in regular time.
Adelaide’s Josh Mori very nearly opened the scoring inside the first 15 seconds of the contest, finding himself in space at the back post but failing to finish.
Avondale stopper Jack Gibson then pulled off a spectacular double save, first denying Yuki Kitano’s header low to his left, before scrambling off his line to stop the follow-up to keep it scoreless in the shadows of half-time.
It was the home side, making their long-awaited Australian Championship debut, who opened the scoring in the 53rd minute, converting from the spot after Mori was brought down inside the area, with Daniele Bressan calmly slotting the Panenka finish.
The Avengers would then come from behind twice in the crucial period of the contest. Blake Carpenter’s 66th-minute header was followed soon after by another converted penalty from Bressan, after Mori was again brought down.
But the visitors would again respond, with Niyah Joseph getting the final touch after a goal-line scramble to again level the scores.
Neither side could find a decisive breakthrough in the remaining minutes despite plenty of chances, leaving the bonus point to be decided by a penalty shootout for the second night running.
After four successful penalties each, City’s Giorgio Parhas and then Avondale captain Kristian Trajceski would miss successive spot kicks. Later in sudden death, Adelaide’s Yared Abetew blasted his penalty high over Gibson’s crossbar, leaving the experienced Adama Traore to slot the winning penalty into the bottom corner to gift Avondale the bonus point.