The hype-train surrounding Tatura’s FFA Cup venture rolls on after the side produced a rousing come-from-behind victory against Falcons 2000 in the second qualifying round of the competition on Saturday.
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Featuring all the passion and grit a cup match typically yields, Ibises coach Tristan Zito’s decision to inject youngster Ismet Uguz late into the contest proved wise, producing a winner in the 90th minute on his senior debut to seal the Melbourne-based side’s fate.
Debuting a starting 11 disparate from the side that drubbed Old Melburnians 5-0 the weekend prior, five new additions to Tatura’s lineup made no difference to the end result — a factor Zito has labelled invaluable in such a competition.
“Internally we know that we’ve got quite a lot of depth, but it’s one thing to just say it, the boys that played on the weekend proved it and I couldn’t be prouder of them,” Zito said.
“The pitch didn’t really suit the way we wanted to play and Falcons were prepared to make it a scrap, the boys did well to adapt and fight it out.”
While the game was in the balance for the majority of the first half, Tatura headed to the sheds a goal to the good after Thomas Leech gained the Ibises ascendancy from the spot in the 30th minute.
Falcons then struck twice in quick succession early in the second stanza to wrest momentum from Tatura before Leech doubled up with a second penalty to square the ledger.
Two red cards for Falcons in the final 10 minutes visibly deflated the travellers’ chances, while Zito’s exit thanks to a second yellow left some strategy to be deployed as the contest reached boiling point.
With the whistle looming, cue Uguz, who side-stepped his marker and slotted past the keeper in the dying embers to announce himself to the red and white faithful and complete a fairytale finish not to be forgotten any time soon.
Now tasked with taking on Noble Park at home on Saturday, Tatura’s coaching contingent will be throwing all available assets on board in an attempt to keep its cup run alive.
“Myself and Dom (Cricelli) have discussed the importance of winning cup games — it’s huge for the club and we think we can go further than we’ve been in previous years, so this weekend’s game will be another step in the right direction.
“Hopefully we can have a win and keep progressing through the tournament.”