Palm Beach Sharks 1 (8) South Melbourne 1 (7)

Palm Beach Sharks 1 (win 8-7 on penalties).

Matik (p 38’)

South Melbourne 1

Lujic (34’)

Palm Beach’s love-affair with the Westfield FFA Cup has continued after they beat South Melbourne in a gripping penalty shoot-out 8-7 at Cbus Super Stadium on Wednesday night.

After scores were locked at 1-1 after extra-time, goal-keeper Shane Viitakangas was the hero saving two spot kicks in the shoot-out.

He first denied Stephen Hatzikostas before keeping out South skipper Michael Eager’s attempt in sudden-death to send the home fans into raptures.

After a frenetic opening half an hour it was the visitors who produced the breakthrough from the prolific Milos Lujic.

The impressive Nicholas Epifano spotted a surging run from Bradley Norton who got to the byline and clipped a cross to the far post where Lujic rose to power in his header.

It was just what the few hundred South fans who had travelled north wanted to see but their celebrations lasted less than four minutes.

South Melbourne ‘keeper Nikola Roganovic inexplicably barged Rees Duncan down in the box for a penalty, which was coolly converted by Florian Matik.

Both sides had chances to win it in normal time before the Sharks had to survive 12 minutes of extra-time with just 10 men after defender Eoghan Morgan was given a second yellow card after a tangle with Andrija Kecojevic.

But it mattered little as Viitakangas came up big for the home side to send them through to the last 16.