Adelaide Croatia capped off a tumultuous week off the park by causing arguably the ‘Cupset’ of the season. The Raiders defeated old rivals FK Beograd 1-0 on Tuesday night at ServiceFM Stadium. This victory allowed them to advance through to the national Round of 32 of the Australia Cup.
Just 24 hours after announcing the club had parted ways with its coach Vlado Blažeka, the Raiders sensationally defeated FK Beograd. The current NPL SA leaders conceded a penalty in the 87th minute. This happened when Massimo Falco had handled a cross inside the penalty box.
Donatien Niyonkuru stepped up to slot the ball past the Beograd ‘keeper Jamie Signorello. This sent the Croatian contingent amongst the 1500 strong crowd into a wild frenzy.
With a further six minutes added on in stoppage time, the tension around the ServiceFM Stadium was palpable. Finally, the referee signaled the end to proceedings, igniting the post match celebrations of the Croatia supporters.
After the game, Adelaide Croatia’s goalscoring hero Niyonkuru (pictured above) was understandably a very excited man.
“It was amazing, man,” he breathlessly told the sideline commentator Johnny Keko on the Football SA livestream.
“We always had that belief we could do it from the start, even though our season hasn’t been the best,” he commented.
Striker Anthony Costa paid special tribute to the outgoing coach, Vlado Blažeka. He was replaced by Phil Scardigno late Monday night.
“It’s been a tough week, to be honest, obviously losing our coach,” Costa said pitch side after the Cup triumph over Beograd.
“We have a massive amount of respect for Vlado. He’s done a really massive job to get the club back onto the biggest stage in South Australia. He helped bring us back in the NPL.
“We’re really grateful for what he’s done,” concluded Costa, echoing the sentiments of many of his teammates.
Raiders’ first appearance in national Round of 32
To illustrate just how even the contest was, the Raiders had a total of six shots to Beograd’s nine. They had three on target, while the Eagles had four on target.
But the one goal that mattered came from a penalty and off the boot of Croatia’s Niyonkuru.
By overcoming the Serbian backed club, the Raiders secured their first-ever appearance in the national Round of 32 phase of the Australia Cup. They have never achieved this since its inception in 2014.
Prior to that, Adelaide Croatia had participated in the first ever nationwide Australian Cup in 1962. They also reached the quarter finals of the now defunct NSL Cup back in 1985.
The South Australians have become the fourth Croatian community club to qualify for this year’s Australia Cup. They join Sydney United, Canberra Croatia and the Gold Coast Knights.
The draw for the Round of 32 of the Australia Cup will be held on the 25th of June. The first matches are set to be played mid to late July.
