City push through on back of Kyle triple

STRIKER Jarrod Kyle has propelled Gold Coast City into the next phase of the Westfield FFA Cup with a hat-trick.

Kyle, who scored four when City beat Caloundra in one of the regional qualifiers, was at it again as City beat Perth club Western Knights in a round of 32 fixture at Mallawa Drive on Wednesday night.

Kyle scored one in the first half then twice in the second as City ramped things up significantly.

“I thought we were sensational tonight,” Kyle said.

“There were stages of the game, especially in the first half, when we knew it was definitely a Cup game,” he said.

“They came at us, we went at them.”

City took a deserved early lead through a header from close range by Kyle, finishing off a nicely constructed corner kick move.

That came in the eighth minute but there was no addition to the score by half-time as the Knights settled down and actually controlled play for a good bulk after that.

City created the most chances but just could not finish off as they wrested back territorial advantage.

The Knights looked capable of opening the City defence up with their pace but were thwarted by an overworked defence.

City will now wait to learn their Round of 16 opponents when the current round is completed next week. The blind draw will then be made.