Shepparton South won its way through to the first round of FFA Cup Victorian qualifying with a comprehensive 6-1 win in Saturday's second preliminary round.
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While the Southerners trailed early and did not take the lead until the second half, they still found a way to break the Melton Phoenix down late and pound out the five-goal win.
The win keeps the side's cup run going and leaves it two wins away from a potential match-up with the region's big boys, with the Goulburn Valley Suns to enter the tournament in the third round.
But Saturday's victory at McEwen Reserve was not always smooth sailing, as South slipped behind on 23 minutes via Melton's Brandon Grech.
Stung into action, South began to push hard for a way back into the game and eventually leveled things up through Kabir Kareem, who scored on the stroke of half-time for 1-1.
Second-half play had Brent Barassi give the Southerners the lead on 52 minutes, but the score would stay 2-1 until there was little more than 10 minutes to play, when Zac Tyson found his side some breathing room.
That triggered an absolute barrage as the Phoenix fell to pieces, with Joel Aitken, Kareem and Remell Davis all grabbing goals within a six-minute span to lock it down.
South's reward is a golden opportunity to win through to the second round, having drawn Ballarat District Soccer Association club Ballarat North United.
United has beaten Old Trinity Grammarians (4-1) and South East United (4-0) to reach the first round.
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