A SECOND half brace from Carlo Coelho secured Perth SC safe passage to the next round of the FFA Cup in a 2-0 victory against Fremantle City last Monday.
Coelho opened the scoring just after half time and ensured the victory with his second in the 80th minute to defeat a gallant Fremantle City, who play two tiers below Perth SC in the State League second division.
It was not all smooth sailing for the Azzurri, who failed to score in the first half despite nine attempts on goal, including a penalty from stand-in captain Mark Pritchard that was well saved by Fremantle goalkeeper AdamO'Neil.
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READ NOWPerth SC then picked up the pace in the second half, with Coelho's first goals for the season delivering the win.
Coach Taki Nicolaidis said he was pleased with the win and happy for Coelho, who had been trying to get his name on the scoresheet for weeks.
"Im very relieved and happy with our performance today, these games can be tricky ones," Nicolaidis said.
"Credit to Fremantle, they came out, gave their all and their goalkeeper had an absolute blinder and made it difficult for us, they were always in the game.
"Once Carlo scored that second goal, it felt like we killed it off and Im very pleased for him, he's finally got on the scoresheet.
"He nearly made a mess of the second one, but Im pleased he's got on the scoresheet, he's a good striker and he'll be very handy for us this year."
Nicolaidis said his side "tweaked a couple of things" before returning to the field for the second half.
"We didn't play badly at all in the first half, we were both unlucky and wasteful in front of goals," he said.
"These types of games can be quite unpredictable.
"From their (Fremantle City) end, they wanted to make it a respectable scoreline from the way it looked on the side-lines, they did that and Im just pleased we are through."
Perth SC will now face fellow NPL side Subiaco AFC in the quarter finals of the WA section of the FFA Cup.
The match will be played at Dorrien Gardens on Monday, June 1.