With the Round of 32 draw almost upon us (June 29, live on Fox Sports), #MagicOfTheCup tragic Aidan Ormond offers his top Cup moments in the tournament’s three-year history. Here’s the top six!
Aido's top 12 Westfield FFA Cup moments: part 1
6: Demons’ goal extravaganza caps incredible comeback in Sydney Derby
Lilys Football Stadium witnessed an extraordinary clash, where home side Blacktown City beat Sydney United 58 FC 6-2, with four of the goals – all for Blacktown – coming in extra-time.
In fact, Sydney United 58 had led 2-0 after just 13 minutes!
5: Danny Choi goes viral
Going viral is one of the Cup’s killer marketing tools – so just sit back and enjoy the majesty of Choi.
TV stations couldn’t get enough of this footage as his 70m howitzer helped defeat Sydney United in an extraordinary eight-goal thriller.
4: University student Love slays mighty red and black
A few months later the Wanderers were to make history in front of 60,000 in Riyadh in the ACL – but little known Thomas Love, just 18 and a Uni student, channelled Maradona from 1986 with a breath-taking individual effort for Adelaide City to knock the mighty Wanderers out in the Round of 32 in 2014.
3: Liam Boland goes viral, too!
The big man with the big smile lit up a cold winter’s night in Melbourne’s western suburbs with a moment of sublime skill to slay an A-League opponent.
Liam Boland's long-range stunner in added time gave Green Gully a famous 2-1 win over the Central Coast Mariners, the 24-year old beating veteran goalkeeper Ivan Necevski with a memorable strike from 40 yards.
2: Redlands rock the Reds
An NPL club beat the reigning A-League champions!
It was trending immediately after one of the most extraordinary nights in the Cup when Brisbane club Redlands made history, stunning reigning A-League champions, coming from a goal down to win 2-1 at a heaving Perry Park in Brisbane.
1: South Springvale kick-start Cup fever in Oz
The Aris boys! Who could forget them? South Springy embodied the spirit of the Cup on the opening night back in July 2014. At the time I wrote... 'Melbourne’s self-described “pub team”, from the third tier of Victorian football, were thrust into the national spotlight after a breath-taking shootout victory over South Cardiff in the inaugural Westfield FFA Cup Round of 32 on July 29, 2014.
The fans, the drama of the game, the whiff of souvlaki over the suburban ground Kingston Heath: it was a night to savour and one that set up the FFA Cup as something truly unique in our sporting landscape.'
Rani Dowisha became an instant sensation with his penalty shootout save to win it for an exhausted Springy.
The Cup’s magic had been sprinkled over the Aussie sporting landscape. Other codes could only sit back and admire.
Hashtag #MagicOfTheCup was trending like crazy. Our part-time footballers were the talk of the town.
Australia was hooked.
And guess what? It’s all set to go again in July. The draw happens on June 29, live on Fox Sports.
What will be your Magical Cup Memory in 2017?
