Darwin Olympic have flexed their muscles in the Northern Territory’s Westfield FFA Cup preliminary rounds, crushing a 10-man Palmerston 9-2 on Wednesday night.
James Walsh finished with a hat-trick for the hosts, while Ross Tsounias and Peter Roditis also got multiple goals in an entertaining clash at Darwin Football Stadium.
The opening goal came on 17 minutes when Palmerston defender Kieran Tamaotai gave away a penalty – and was subsequently sent off – with Walsh making no mistake from the spot.
See Walsh score a cracker in an earlier Cup round
It was all downhill for Palmerston from that point on as Olympic made their numerical advantage count in devastating fashion.
There was a boilover in Queensland as Stratford shocked Mareeba Bulls 3-1 to set up a clash with Far North Queensland Heat in the next round.
Lions FC also got through in Brisbane as they saw off a brave showing from Albany Creek.
Cup wrap: Tuggies triumph, Avondale edge shootout
A tight clash was settled in the second half as a Michael Butters strike (50th min) and a Warren Moon penalty (90+5’) gave them a 2-0 win.
Richie Cardozo’s goal handed Mark Rudan’s Sydney United 58 a 1-0 over North Shore Mariners while Tigers FC won a thriller over Canberra FC 4-3 in the nation’s capital.
And a penalty shootout was needed for Coffs City to get past Boambee in Northern NSW.
Scores were locked at 0-0 after a tense 120 minutes but Coffs survived, winning 5-3 in the shootout.
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