Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat paid tribute to the way Bentleigh Greens kept his side at bay for much of Tuesday night's Westfield FFA Cup tie.
Victory had to wait until the final half-hour at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex to clinch a 2-0 win over the Greens, with the home side producing a disciplined defensive effort for the majority of the opening 60 minutes.
While Muscat insisted Victory were never truly threatened, he applauded Bentleigh's stubborn approach.
Victory into FFA Cup semis after second-half blitz
"They did well. They stifled any intensity out of the game by being so disciplined and structured and dropping off," he said after the match.
"So it was a matter of being patient and it was hard to create that intensity."
Marco Rojas and James Troisi scored Victory's goals in the space of five second half minutes as the reigning FFA Cup winners progressed to the semi-finals.
Victory will face local A-League rivals Melbourne City in the last four.
"I'm probably not as excited as everyone else. Just getting over tonight," Muscat said when asked about the semi-final draw.
"There's a couple of games at least before that game, so our attention now turns to Brisbane Roar."
But Muscat does hope Football Federation Australia decides to hold the Victory-City semi-final after the Canberra Olympic versus Sydney FC fixture.
The first FFA Cup semi-final is due on October 18, just three days after the first Melbourne derby of the A-League season.
"It'd be nice to have some space between the derbies for everyone, to build it up to what it should be - a massive night for Victoria," Muscat said.
