WATCH: Entertainment galore as goals fly in on Sunday
The Australian Championship continued to deliver with entertainment and dramatic finishes as goals flew in on Sunday to conclude Round 2.
Canberra Croatia 3-2 Preston Lions
Canberra Croatia came from behind twice to edge out Preston Lions in the first of two exciting early kick-offs.
The first half finished with a flurry of action. Adisu Bayew put the visitors in front in the 36th minute with a driving shot across goal, before Daniel Colbertaldo slid home an equaliser seven minutes later.
With only seconds remaining in the first half, Oliver Kubilay re-established Preston’s lead, giving the side a halftime advantage.
Maxx Green restored parity just before the hour by finishing off a neat move on the right with an emphatic strike past Lions goalkeeper Ryan Scott.
Green secured Canberra's win 76 minutes in, showing superb composure in the box to make room for a shot and slot a left-footed effort into the left side of the goal.
Sydney Olympic 2-3 Broadmeadow Magic
Broadmeadow survived a late scare to down Sydney Olympic in another five-goal thriller.
Jared Baker opened the scoring for Magic 18 minutes in, steering in Arran Cocks’ left-wing cross to double his Australian Championship tally.
The side doubled their lead soon after the hour mark through Ezra Palombini, who lasered a strike from the edge of the area into the bottom left corner.
Gloire Amanda came off the bench to significant effect for the hosts, halving the deficit in the 78th minute with a blasted effort past Magic goalkeeper Lewis Alvarez.
Cocks re-extended the away side’s lead eight minutes later, finishing simply into a vacant net.
Only two minutes after that, Auglah scored his second goal of the tournament with a sensational free-kick, but it proved too late for Olympic to salvage anything from the game.
NWS Spirit 3-3 Avondale
NWS Spirit and Avondale played out a six-goal thriller, with the points shared.
Avondale took the lead on the stroke of halftime courtesy of Bruno Fornaroli. The striker converted from the penalty spot, despite a touch from Spirit goalkeeper Christopher Marques on the way in.
Within the first minute of the second half, Avondale doubled their advantage. The side won the ball high up the field, and it bobbled through to Kristian Trajceski to poke an effort home.
Avondale’s two-goal advantage only lasted eight minutes, as Michael Konestabo buried a phenomenal long-range volley that flew into the bottom left corner.
In the 62nd minute, Spirit restored parity. The hosts broke down the right with a ball into the box, eventually falling to recent substitute Aedon Kyra for a tap-in.
With seven regular minutes left, the home side looked to have completed their remarkable comeback. Ollie Wiggin’s left-footed shot deflected into Kyra’s path, who fired the ball into the goal.
However, with only moments to spare, the visitors snatched a point. Avondale worked the ball across the edge of the box before Dillon Jakupi's shot fell to Aamir Abdallah to score and steal a point.
South Melbourne 2-0 Moreton City Excelsior
A 10-player South Melbourne outfit overcame Moreton City Excelsior thanks to two second-half goals.
There was a change to the free-scoring ways of these teams in Round 1, as they went into the sheds with the deadlock still to be broken.
The game burst into life soon after the break when Manyluak Aguek reacted fastest to a parried shot to score for South Melbourne with his first touch since coming on at half-time.
South Melbourne’s slender lead became more challenging to defend in the 73rd minute when Nahuel Bonada received a red card, leaving the hosts with 10 players for what remained.
The hosts soaked up Moreton City’s pressure and grabbed a second goal with two regular minutes to play. Aguek raced forward and unleashed an unbelievable strike from just inside the opposition half that dropped into the goal.
Bayswater City 1-0 MetroStars
A defensively diligent Bayswater City edged past MetroStars.
City worked hard to frustrate their opponents, being patient and picking their moments to break forward.
The sides went into the sheds level with the game firmly in the balance.
The hosts snatched an advantage 10 minutes into the second half. Declan Hughes’ free-kick caused chaos in the box, before Gyles Davies stabbed the ball in from close range.
Bayswater survived a nervy remainder of the second half to secure a narrow victory.