Oak Flats Falcons secure win, prepare for Cup showdown with Bulli

Despite being reduced to 10 men within the first half hour, Oak Flats secured a convincing 3-0 win over Unanderra at Keith Bond Oval on Saturday afternoon. The victory means the Falcons advance to round three of this year's Bert Bampton Cup - where they will face reigning Cup champions Bulli.

"We'll go in with a little bit of confidence, but we understand it's going to be a different test for us. But we will do our best I guess," Minutillo said.

"Both sides were a bit rusty [on Saturday], but it was a good effort. It's a good start. I was pleased with the way the boys stuck to their game plan one [player] down. We were disciplined in defence and were sticking to our guns when we attacked."

Minutillo said his brother Julian was a standout performer against Unanderra.

"Julian was one of the best attackers when he was playing Premier League. He's taken a step back and adapted really quick, the pace isn't as quick, he's just adapting to everything. You can see he's a level above everyone else, he's a big asset for us," the coach said.

"The boys have just been itching to get out there, even over the break when no one was training, and everyone's pretty excited. It goes down through the whole club, even the youth grade, reserve grade players that are just there to have fun - they're all happy to be out there. We're glad football is back."

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For Unanderra, the next few weeks will provide a chance for soul searching ahead of the District League's season start in late July.

The Hearts were under strength heading into Saturday's contest, however, coach Rod Williams said it was a disappointing performance from his team.

"We were second to everything and didn't really create any clear-cut chances [even] when they went down to 10 men," Williams said.

"They defended well and have some pacy boys up front, Minutillo and Boki were a threat now and again. They didn't score from open play, just three real poor errors from us cost us.

"We were missing six players, but that's no excuse. People need to step up. In all in, it was a performance I was not impressed with."

Picton also advanced to the Cup's third round with a thrilling win over Warilla. After scores were locked at 3-all at full time, the Rangers won 4-3 on penalties.

Helensburgh secured a convincing 3-1 win over Fernhill while Thirroul defeated University in a tight encounter. After the game finished at 0-all, the Thunder won 5-4 on penalties.