The Gold Coast Knights on Tuesday night became the third Croatian community backed club to qualify for this year’s national stage of the Australia Cup.
The Knights defeated the Rochedale Rovers 4-1 at Underwood Park. They joined sister clubs Sydney United and Canberra Croatia in advancing through to the final 32 of the nationwide cup competition.
A rampaging Knights started off like a house on fire. The visitors found themselves leading 3-0 after the opening 20 minutes.
Marquez Walters opened the scoring after just three minutes. Then ex-Brisbane Roar player Ty Cobb doubled the Knights’ lead on 18 minutes.
Just four minutes later, Shelford Dais found the back of the net. This increased the reigning NPL Queensland champions’ lead to 3-0.
Minor setback in second half
Cobb secured his brace in the 35th minute, after elegantly directing the ball from close range past two Rovers’ defenders.
In the second half, the Gold Coast Knights suffered a setback in the 61st minute. Sam Layton was awarded a red card for bringing down a Rovers’ player inside the penalty box.
Harry Talbot duly converted to pull one back to 4-1 with just under 30 minutes to go in the match.
Thankfully the Rovers’ goal didn’t signify a miraculous comeback. Just over half an hour later, the referee blew his whistle with the final score at 4-1 for the victorious Gold Coast Croatian community backed club.
The Knights have now qualified for the Round of 32 stage of the Australia Cup for the fourth time. They have qualified multiple times since the nationwide Cup’s inception in 2014.
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.
Watch the full replay of the Knights’ 4-1 win here.