Launceston City made a huge Lakoseljac Cup statement by knocking out perennial contenders South Hobart.
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In a thrilling clash at Prospect, City came from behind to win with 10 men against a South side packed with big names.
"I'm extremely proud of them for the effort they've put in and onto the next round which is great," beamed coach Daniel Syson, who came off the bench to see out the game after Akwasi Agyekum had been sent off.
Asked if it was his best result as a coach, Syson said: "Yeah I'd say so. They all mean something when you win but for the work and the battle we put in, that was brilliant.
"Very proud. Especially when we went down to 10 men. It takes character and there was a lot shown, which was great."
A magnificent demonstration of shot-stopping from keeper Lachie Clark, Mac Wilcox's best game in a City shirt and the continued emergence of import Thierry Swaby combined to produce a result that will raise many eyebrows, particularly after City lost 4-0 to Glenorchy last week.
"It's probably the first time we've actually looked like a collective side who've played together," Syson added.
"After the Knights game there were a lot of hard truths said and I think today was a battling performance, it wasn't the most fluent, but sometimes in cup football that's what you've got to do to get through.
"When you're a coach, this is why you do it. You've got to have belief and I think with the quality we've got in our side, it's not a big surprise for us in a way. It's now about maintaining consistency of our standards."
City lined up with Joel Stone playing the no.10 role it says on his shirt behind lone striker Diesel Murfet but were slow to get going against a South side that would have scored more had Nick Morton not lost his shooting boots somewhere on the Midland Highway.
Instead the dangerous frontman turned provider, holding the ball up well after 15 minutes following excellent wingplay by Adam Gorrie and inviting Sam Berezansky to rifle home.
While Gorrie was a constant menace down the flank, he was more than matched by City's own flying wing-back.
Solid in his defensive role, Wilcox was also a threat going forward and pivotal in the two goals which turned the contest on its head before half-time.
Twice his industry set up Swaby who cut in from the left to shoot low towards the far post. The second went straight in, nine minutes after the first was parried out for a grateful Murfet to tap in.
Wilcox also threatened to get on the scoresheet but found stiff competition for player-of-the-match from Clark whose two saves to deny a clean-through Morton were as dazzling as his all-pink outfit.
"I've been very hard on Mac for a good period now and today he put in a man's performance which was brilliant," Syson added. "He's very athletic and in one-on-one situations he can beat most people with his pace. He's still learning, he's still young, he's just turned 18. It's a really young side. Apart from Stoney, myself and Clarky, it's a very young squad so that's really pleasing."
With his appearance and engine, Agyekum bears plenty of similarities to Tottenham's Yves Bissouma and the comparison stretched to temperament as the hard-running midfielder collected two yellow cards and one red in 20 second-half minutes.
Riverside Olympic also progressed to the quarter-finals with a 4-1 win over Hobart United.
Having been knocked out by the Brighton-based Southern Championship side last year, Olympic made sure lightning did not strike twice with a first-half double from Chilean import Emanuel Ponce plus goals from fellow-newcomers James Trevis and substitute James Pelletier.
Vincent Kamano hit back and would have made it 3-2 and interesting had his snapshot not come back off the bar.
Olympic coach Helder Dos Santos Silva was pleased with the result if not entirely the performance.
"I'm not completely happy because you want to play the right way and sometimes you can't," he said.
"The four goals came from really good patterns of play and the boys worked really hard for them so it's a win but there's a few things we need to work on. On transition we are very indecisive and make the mistake of giving the ball away too easily.
"They're a very strong team with nice players but we were up for it. We controlled the game and could have scored a few more goals."
Launceston United were unable to complete a Northern trifecta, going down 7-0 to a rampant Kingborough.
Alex Brown claimed a hat-trick and Kobe Kemp two as Toby Moss and Matt Hess completed the scoring.
Will Spicer and import Ayouba Kenneh were both suspended for United who have conceded 22 goals in three games so far this season.
In other results, Hobart sides recorded a double over Northern Championship hosts on the North-West Coast.
Hobart City won 4-1 at Somerset while Clarence recorded a 3-0 win over Ulverstone. Glenorchy beat Taroona 5-0 and Devonport won 4-1 at New Town.
Strikers also won 13-0 against Taroona in the Women's Statewide Cup.
Fixtures continue on Monday with South Hobart hosting New Town White Eagles in the Women's Statewide Cup and South East United playing Olympia in the Lakoseljac Cup.
The NPL Tasmania derby between Riverside and Launceston City which was abandoned on March 16 after Will Fleming sustained a broken leg, will be replayed on Wednesday at 7.30pm.