Hat-trick hero Aaron Mooy transferred praise onto his Melbourne City team-mates after a comfortable 5-0 quarter-final win over Heidelberg United in the Westfield FFA Cup.
City had too much class for their PS4 NPL Victoria opponents with Mooy the star, scoring a treble sandwiched in between Bruno Fornaroli’s two goals.
The Socceroo midfielder’s performance overshadowed the appearance of veteran Greek international Kostas Katsouranis for the home side.
Heidelberg's FFA Cup fairytale crushed by City
Mooy has now scored six goals in the FFA Cup this year to be the competition’s leading scorer.
Asked by Fox Sports the last time he scored a hat-trick, Mooy said: “I don’t think there was a last time.
“The boys made me look good so I’m very thankful to them.
“It’s what we wanted to do, we wanted to progress tonight and I thought we played really well. We’re through so it’s great.”
In front of a bumper crowd of more than 11,000 at Olympic Village, City’s superior quality shone through from the outset with Fornaroli giving them the lead inside two minutes.
John van ‘t Schip’s men had to wait more than an hour for their second as Mooy lashed in a shot from 25 metres out to douse any flickering Heidelberg hopes.
Three more goals were added in the last 21 minutes as City ran rampant, their reward a semi-final trip to either Perth Glory or Western Sydney Wanderers next month.
“We’ve got to back ourselves against anyone,” Mooy said. “We’ve got to take out the best, to be the best.”
