A brace of goals from Daniel Sparrow eased Canberra Croatia into the Hahn Australia Cup Qualifying Round 5 as the National Premier League Grand Final winners saw off their Capital Premier League opponents, ANU FC, 4-0 on a sunny midweek evening at Deakin Stadium.

The lower-ranked University side would have wanted to hold out against their much-fancied opponents for as long as was possible in the cup tie, but those plans were thwarted by the ninety-second mark as Croatia, with more than a touch of fortune, took the lead.

Riley Zsuzsa, who enjoyed a splendid match on the left flank, aimed a cross into the area only to see it slice off the side of the boot and arrow on a perfect trajectory over the head of the unfortunate Bradley Yeomans in the ANU FC goal.

Yeomans was beaten again in the fourteenth minute as Croatia struck on a rapid-fire counterattack. A Max Mottl free-kick for the visitors was cleared away and Croatia sprung into gear, the slick passing move culminating with Sparrow arriving to steer a finish past Yeomans.

The goalkeeper made some top-class stops from Daniel Colbertaldo and Keegan Vucetic, however, was left stranded when a deflected shot fell to the feet of Vucetic nine minutes from the interval. The midfielder made no mistake, picking his spot to slide in the third and kill off the match.

There was to be a fourth in the second-half as Sparrow once more took advantage of a swift counter, collecting a pass in his stride before sliding a finish past the onrushing Yeomans.

There might have been more, Marko Jadric cannoning an effort off the crossbar, from close range, one of three times the woodwork was struck by the dominant hosts.

 

RESULT

HAHN AUSTRALIA CUP QUALIFYING ROUND 4

Canberra Croatia 4 (Zsuzsa 2’, Sparrow 14’, 76’, Vucetic 36’) ANU FC 0