Monterey Reserve was the venue for Saturday afternoon’s FFA clash between State League Division 1 club Frankson Pines and the NPL’s Avondale FC.
It was ninety minutes of solid football, however a solo effort by Bran Blumenthal was all that separated the teams as Frankston Pines held on for an upset win.
Blustery conditions greeted both teams, forcing each to keep the ball on the ground and confidently play out from the back most of the time.
Avondale looked the stronger throughout the first half, however as the match went on, Frankston started to find their form.
The Avondale back line proved to be a formidable barrier sitting in front of keeper Frazer Siddall, but it was their forwards who didn’t seem like themselves, unable to penetrate into the area with force to put pressure on the Frankston goal.
The break came in the seventy first minute when Pines’ Nicholas Giannopoulos, just inside his own half, played it forward to a sprinting Bran Blumenthal launching down the left wing.
He outpaced the last defender coming into the area and dinked to the byline to avoid the rushing Siddal, taking his time to open his body for a right foot strike which went straight across the face of goal to hit the upright.
Luck was clearly favouring the Sky Blues as the ball bounced straight back at Blumenthal who was able to head it towards the net.
Burakhan Koca was on hand to clear the ball off the line for Avondale, however the assistant referee adjudged the ball to have crossed the line, registering what was the winning goal for the Pines.
The remaining nineteen minutes would see Frankston on the back foot holding out an aggressive Avondale attack.
There were multiple opportunities and corners, however Avondale just couldn’t seem to find a way through.
The visitors bow out of the FFA Cup for 2015 whilst Frankston Pines progress to the next round, comprising of Victoria’s final eight clubs – potentially just one win away from facing an A-League club.
Speaking to The Corner Flag after the match, Frankston coach Danny Verdun said, “we didn’t come into the match with any expectations. It allowed the boys to relax and I told them to just go out there and have fun. It is a great result not just for the players but for the whole club”.
