Two early goals powered A-League side Central Coast to a 2-0 victory over Maitland in the FFA Cup Round of 32 at Maitland No.1 Sportsground.
The Mariners looked sharp from the start against their Northern NSW National Premier League opponents last Wednesday night and temporarily silenced the crowd of 2,777 through midfielder Michael McGlinchey’s strikes in the sixth and ninth minutes.
Maitland, playing in this stage of the nationwide knockout competition for the first time, came back into the contest but it was Central Coast striker Matt Simon who missed the most guilt-edge chances to extend the lead as he headed wide on three separate occasions.
The Magpies’ defeat means Edgeworth is the lone Northern NSW NPL representative in the Round of 16 after the Eagles downed Darwin Olympic 3-0 a week prior.
Oliver Smith opened the scoring in the 15th minute before a clever chip from Aden Gardner doubled the visitors lead in the 27th minute.
Substitute Adam Cawley then unleashed a drive that arrowed into the bottom left corner in the 72nd minute to complete an impressive performance on the road.
The Eagles also made the Round of 16 in 2016 but lost 5-1 against Western Sydney.
Newcastle Jets tackled fellow A-League opponents Melbourne Victory as Newcastle Weekly went to print last night (Wednesday 7 August).
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