Melbourne Victory’s 2018 FFA Cup campaign has come to and end following a 3-2 loss to A.P.I.A Leichhardt on Tuesday night.
A.P.I.A went ahead early in the match when Tasuku Sekiya’s shot found the bottom left corner of the goal.
Victory slowly worked its way back into the match, with good opportunities for both Jai Ingham and Kosta Barbarouses before the half hour mark.
Despite Victory’s best efforts A.P.I.A carried a 1-0 lead into the break.
It was Sekiya again who popped up shortly after half-time to double the lead, powering a shot past Matthew Acton in the 47th minute.
Victory found a way back into the game through Kenny Athiu, who found the net with a neat first-time finish after Barbarouses picked him out in the area.
The visitors equalised just six minutes later when Corey Brown found Jai Ingham with a cross from the left side.
Ingham’s header beat A.P.I.A’s goalkeeper Ivan Necevski before striking the upright, Athiu was at hand to tap the ball into the open net.
As the game ticked into the 80th minute a well-weighted free kick found Nathan Millgate who made no mistake, heading the ball past Acton to restore the home side’s lead.
Victory pushed hard once again but couldn’t find another equaliser.
