Polonia progress in cup after thriller

Polonia held on in a thrilling second half to move through to the next round of the 2020 FFA Cup WA preliminary draw, after winning their opening round clash over local outfit Albany Rovers on Saturday afternoon. Polonia and Rovers are the only Albany teams in this year’s WA preliminary rounds, which determines which teams qualify for the national knockout competition round of 32, which involves the A-League. Last year, Polonia were eliminated by Gwelup Croatia Soccer in the third round but they got this year’s campaign off to an impressive start, holding on 2-1 in a tense finish against Rovers. Polonia missed a terrific chance to score just 10 minutes into the contest as Jason Wilson earned a penalty but the spot kick was put well over the crossbar. With just two minutes left in the first half the ball was thrown in from the sideline and Tom Hunt rose above the Rovers defenders to head the ball into the back of the net and give Polonia a 1-0 half-time advantage. Davide Scaka got on the end of a good ball for Rovers as he equalised five minutes into the second half. Polonia would hit back as Nathan Griffiths found himself in the perfect spot at the top of the box, converting cleverly to put his side ahead five minutes after the Rovers goal. The game could have been level again if not for a missed Rovers header from a corner kick midway through the second half. Both sides had multiple opportunities to score in the last 20 minutes but the respective defences stood firm, Polonia hanging on to win 2-1 and advance in the knockout competition. Rovers and Royals drew 5-5 all in the men’s reserves game that was played in the lead-up to the main fixture while Polonia defeated Rovers 5-1 in the women’s match.