The 20-year-old then finished through Avondale goalkeeper Chris Oldfield's legs after a superb through-ball from FC debutant Siem de Jong.

With five internationals on the pitch – and another, sick captain Alex Brosque – in the stands, Sydney had the pedigree and the professionalism to see off Avondale.

Instead, the state leaguers, through Boland, stepped up with two efforts; the first superb, the second opportunistic.

On 57 minutes, the towering striker was given too much space at the box of the box and blasted home off the base of a post.

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Until then, Avondale hadn't had a sniff. Then they came alive.

Boland was then on hand to poke home Andrew Redmayne's dropped cross just four minutes later as Avondale finished the stronger.

Despite playing 120 minutes on Friday to earn a place in the Victorian NPL final, they were all over the A-League powerhouses and twice forced Redmayne into fingertip saves.

But by extra-time, they looked shot, allowing Ninkovic to break hearts with a near-post finish and Le Fondre to score on debut with a breakaway effort.