'Great hit till someone breaks their f***** neck'

Melbourne Victory midfielder Mitch Austin has hit out at Taylor Regan for a brutal tackle for which the Adelaide defender did not receive a yellow card.

Just 15 minutes had been played in the FFA Cup tie on Wednesday night when Austin sprinted out of the back half, only to meet Regan just past the halfway line.

Regan stepped in front of Austin and over the ball, collecting the flat-out winger with a serious block.

Austin went down hard and teammates, including Besart Berisha and former captain Mark Milligan, immediately surrounded the referee with questions.

Regan had long since left the area.

The video was shared by broadcaster Fox Football on Twitter, captioned "you won't see a better hit all season".

Austin, in a tweet that has now been deleted, wrote: “It’s a great hit till someone breaks their f***** neck.. I’m ok btw thanks for asking.”

The Victory player finished the match after being checked over by the club doctor, but the night turned even more sour as Adelaide progressed to the quarter-finals with a 3-0 win.

Regan would receive a yellow card for a different incident in the 27th minute.

In other results from the round of 16 last night, South Melbourne defeated WA side Sorrento 4-1 and Palm Beach Sharks moved past Moreton Bay United 1-0 after extra-time.

Heidelberg United won a penalty shootout against Sydney United after both sides scored the only goals of the 1-1 draw in the second half of extra-time.