The Round of 16 of the Australia Cup gets underway this Saturday and Sunday with some of the heavy hitters involved.
One of last year’s classic Cupsets gets a re-run witha Saturday afternoon kick off while there is some all-A-Leagues action 24 hours later on Sunday afternoon.
Sydney United 58 FC v Brisbane Roar FC
Date: Saturday 26 August 2023
Time: 2:00 pm AEST
Venue: Sydney United Sports Centre
Sydney United 58 will look to pull off a repeat of last year’s Cup against Brisbane Roar at Sydney United Sports Centre.
The side managed to cause a major upset against the Roar in 2022, winning the semi-final with a 3-2 result after extra time.
United 58 made their way through to the Round of 16 of this year’s competition with a 4-2 victory against Broadmeadow Magic.
However, a tough run to end the NPL NSW campaign has seen the team finish in the bottom half of the table.
Miro Vlastelica’s men most recently conceded a stoppage-time equaliser to share the points with Sydney Olympic on Wednesday night.
Brisbane secured an extra-time victory over Newcastle Jets in the Round of 16, getting up 3-2.
The team came from behind twice before Alexander Parsons scored with two minutes of extra time to play.
They’ll be eager to rectify last season’s semi-final Cup shock and keep building momentum ahead of the new season.
This fixture caused drama last time around, and with the home crowd behind them, United 58 will make it a daunting challenge for the travelling Brisbane Roar on Saturday.
Melbourne City FC v Wellington Phoenix FC
Date: Sunday 27 August 2023
Time: 2:00 pm AEST
Venue: Jack Edwards Reserve
The all-A-Leagues clash of the weekend sees Melbourne City take on Wellington Phoenix at Jack Edwards Reserve.
Both teams made hard work of their Round of 32 ties scraping past NPL sides.
Melbourne City came from a goal down twice to snatch a last-minute win against NPL Victoria’s Oakleigh Cannons.
Tolgay Arslan scored a brace of penalties before Alessandro Lopane fired home in the fourth minute of additional time.
The Phoenix had an even tighter time last round, scoring at the death of extra time to knock out NPL Queensland outfit Peninsula Power.
Nicholas Pennington’s strike was cancelled out later in the second half, but Joshua Rutland bundled the ball in the 119th minute to get the side into the Round of 16.
The goals flew in between these teams in the 2022/23 A-League Men’s season, with thirteen across the three matches.
Wellington failed to win any of those contests, losing twice while taking a point in the other, so Sunday represents the perfect chance to get one over on the reigning ALM premiers.
These teams have provided plenty of entertainment in the Cup so far, setting up an intriguing clash on Sunday.
