Mustangs March On To Semi-Final
Rochedale Rovers 1 (Cheshire 52')
Mitchelton 2 (Njie 5'; McVey 45') HT 0-2
Played at Underwood Park
Mitchelton advanced to a home semi-final showdown against Ipswich Knights in the Canale Cup after dumping out Rochedale Rovers on Wednesday evening, courtesy of first half goals to Ben Njie and Josh McVey. Rovers fielded a handful of reserve team players for this cup clash with notable absentees being Scott Sargent, Juan Carlos Solorzano and Uryu Nagata. Daryll Grant didn't feature either after his recent departure back to the UK. Mitchelton however, were at full strength other than Gabriel Sarasol missing from the squad from their weekend game at Peninsula Power. The game sprung to life early on when Njie, playing in an unfamiliar roving left midfield role, picked up the ball some 25 yards out, skipped past his opponent and from the edge of the box, struck a low drive that slipped inside Brandon Cuminao's right post to give the visitors the lead on 5 minutes. There were relatively few chances througout the remainder of the half with Rovers enjoying the greater possession but unable to turn it into any meaningful outcome. With the half drawing to a close, the Mustangs grabbed a valuable second on the stroke of half time. A pin point cross from Jake Mitchell found McVey with a run into the box who's header floated in off the post and into the back of the net.
Rochedale's Todd Gave pleads his case after a clumsy challenge on Mitchelton's Ben Njie. Mitchelton went close to extending their lead shortly after the restart. Chris Griebsch; never afraid to chance his arm from long range, hit a swerving shot that Cuminao needed to tip around the post. The hosts struck back soon after however, giving themselves a chance of a comeback. A crafted solo effort from Greg Cheshire, who made room for himself some 30 yards out before firing in a fierce strike that Mitchelton keeper Kevin Downes could only palm into the roof on the net. The Mustangs keeper perhaps disappointed he hadn't dealt with it better. Cheshire had a chance just before the hour mark to level the contest. A ball crossed into the box from Phil Davies saw the Rovers striker nick it away from Downes as he came to collect, but he could only find the side netting from the resulting narrow angle. A Paul Mooney corner midway through the half required Downes to be alert, punching the ball away off the line as it curled towards goal. The visitors shuffled their pack with 20 minutes remaining, dropping Jake Mitchell back into defence and between he and Nick Bernardi, they shut out Rovers for the remainder of the contest. Njie had a chance late on to seal the game but Cuminao did well to parry away the Mitchelton top scorer's effort. In the end though, it wasn't needed as Referee Alex King called time to see Mitchelton progress to a semi-final date with Ipswich Knights in early August. Based on this performance, you'd have to perhaps fancy the Mustangs to be favourites to make a Canale Cup Final appearance. For Rovers, they'll now focus all their efforts on a runners-up spot in the Flight Centre Premier League and a chance of a Grand Final showing mid-September.
FB Media Player Of The Match: #14 Nick Bernardi - Mitchelton.
The Mustangs captain was solid at centre back and dealt with virtually everything that came his way, even when copping a hefty knock in the thigh midway through the second half; preventing many Rovers forays into Mitchelton's territory. Special mention must also be given to Ben Njie and Jake Mitchell who also put in solid shifts on the night.
Team line-ups
Rochedale Rovers: Cumninao (gk), Cheshire, Davies, Faichnie, Jakupovic, Wilson, Doumanlis (Ackland 90+1'), Mooney, Gava (Bearman 46'), Armstrong (Tucker 84'), Shizuno. Subs: MacDOnald (rgk), Ackland, Bearman, Tucker. Mitchelton: Downes (gk), Bernardi, Carseldine (Kleibo 47'), Griebsch, Griffin, Mitchell, Lawson (Swain 46'), McVey (Lloyd 86'), Mitchell, Njie, Willoughby. Subs: Wenck (rgk) Kleibo, Lloyd, Swain, Yoshikoshi.
Referee: Alex King
