North Sunshine make history as Australia Cup clash ends in chaos

There was always more riding on this Australia Cup tie than a place in the Round of 16.

Proud Serbian-backed FK Beograd welcomed proud Albanian-backed North Sunshine Eagles to South Australia in a clash between two community clubs with deep histories on Wednesday night.

On the pitch, it delivered five goals. After the final whistle, emotions boiled over in a melee as the Victorian debutants sealed a famous 3-2 victory against their NPL SA opponents.

The high-stakes clash spilled over, with players from both sides becoming involved as officials and staff intervened.

North Sunshine had taken control through Julien Barras and Nuh Sehavdic before Jason Konstandopoulos pulled one back for Beograd. Shifa Ahmed restored the two-goal cushion and, although Marco Torriani set up a tense finish, the VPL1 outfit held firm to secure one of the biggest wins in club history.

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Meanwhile, fellow VPL1 outfit Brunswick Juventus also progressed in emphatic fashion, brushing aside debutants Marlin Coast Rangers 4-0.

James Xydias opened the scoring before Marko Basic took over after the break, scoring twice in the space of 13 minutes to put the contest beyond doubt for the second-tier club.

The hosts - making their debut on the national stage - were later reduced to 10 men when Oscar Rodriguez was sent off, but Brunswick comfortably booked their place in the last 16.