Matchday 2 of the Round of 16 in the Hahn Australia Cup provided plenty of goals as two more teams earned their places in the quarter-finals.
Sydney FC held off a valiant Brisbane Roar comeback, while South Melbourne progressed on penalties against Fremantle City.
Brisbane Roar 2 Sydney FC 4
Sydney FC staved off a resurgent Brisbane Roar to win 4-2 and claim their place in the quarter-finals.
The visitors came flying out of the blocks and opened the scoring within two minutes, when Takahiro Sekine nodded home from Ben Garuccio’s cross.
Sydney didn’t stop there and doubled their advantage in the 25th minute. Garuccio executed a superb dipping volley from the left edge of the box that nestled in the top right corner.
The Sky Blues added a third goal 36 minutes in.
Mathias Macallister snatched the ball in a central position, and it fell to Tiago Quintal, who made no mistake with an emphatic finish from the edge of the box.
Brisbane picked up a lifeline on the stroke of halftime as Jordan Lauton prodded the ball into the bottom left corner from inside the area.
Sydney were in a strong position at the break, but a late goal from Brisbane gave them some hope.
The Roar carried on in the second half and scored again in the 69th minute as Alexander Popovic inadvertently diverted a right-wing cross into his own goal.
The hosts continued to push on in pursuit of a miraculous equaliser, but Sydney FC sealed the victory in the dying embers.
Gabriel Popovic slid in to steer a neat finish into the bottom left corner, following a cross from the right.
The striker’s goal confirmed Sydney FC’s place in the next round to continue their run in the Cup.
South Melbourne 3(3) Fremantle City 3(1)
South Melbourne made their way into the next round of the Cup. with a dramatic penalty victory over Fremantle City.
The hosts made a dominant start to the match and burst into a two-goal within the first 20 minutes.
Arran Cocks opened the scoring 12 minutes in with a spectacular effort. He cut inside from the left and picked out the top right corner via the post.
Eight minutes later, David Yoo doubled Hellas’ advantage with a smart finish to convert Jack Painter-Andrews’ right-sided cross.
Fremantle hit back in the 32nd minute when Charles Chechlacz tucked away his penalty into the bottom left corner.
Only four minutes later, the visitors drew level, carrying on their comeback ways from the Round of 32 win against Maitland.
Cameron Edwards latched onto Riley Woodcock’s long ball into the left channel and head it past South Melbourne goalkeeper Jake Charlston.
An exhilarating first half concluded with the teams unable to be separated.
City completed the turnaround just six minutes after the restart as Shubham Mokala raced in on goal and deftly lobbed the ball over Charlston and watched it bounce over the line.
South Melbourne stayed in the contest and restored parity in the 70th minute, courtesy of Bul Juach’s well-taken penalty into the left of the goal.
Neither team could find a winner in the remainder of regular time or extra time, despite a few good opportunities both ways, meaning penalties were required.
Charlston stepped up with a massive performance for South Melbourne to save three of Fremantle’s penalties and secure his team a quarter-final berth.
Sunday sees two more games in the Hahn Australia Cup Round of 16. Brisbane Roar host Sydney FC in an all-A-League affair before South Melbourne welcome Western Australia's Fremantle City to Lakeside Stadium on Sunday evening.
Read our preview of the action below.
Brisbane Roar v Sydney FC
Kick-off: 5.00pm AEST
Venue: Spencer Park
Broadcast: Paramount+
Tickets
Brisbane Roar host Sydney FC hoping to knock out a second side from NSW in this Cup campaign.
The Roar defeated Sydney Olympic 3-0 in the Round of 32 in order to book their place in the Round of 16 for the first time since they made the final in 2023. All those goals came in the second half and they will be hoping for a better start against A-League opposition on Sunday.
They were boosted midweek with the announcement of the re-signing of defender Tom Aldred. He will join the squad this weekend. He is unlikely to be available for this clash, but will hope the team can advance to see him participate in the Cup this year.
The Roar have never won the Hahn Australia Cup.
Sydney FC advanced at the expense of NPL WA side Bayswater City in the Round of 32, 5-1 victors. 20-year-old Tiago Quintal was the star of the show, netting a hat-trick, and will hope to continue that form in Brisbane.
The team recently took on Tottenham Hotspur in a friendly, in an experience that Head Coach Patrick Kisnorbo said would prove invaluable experience for the squad in light of competitive challenges ahead.
Sydney are two-time winners of the Cup, last lifting the trophy in 2023 at the Roar's expense.
South Melbourne v Fremantle City
Kick-off: 7.40pm AEST
Venue: Lakeside Stadium
Broadcast: 10.com.au, YouTube
Tickets
Australian Championship winners South Melbourne host Fremantle City in a bid to make the quarter-finals for the third time in their history.
South have had a solid season in the NPL Victoria after a rocky start, and look set to make finals. They are a team that has been able to perform on the biggest stages over the last few seasons under head coach Sinisa Cohadzic and the Hahn Australia Cup has been no exception, a 'Cupset' win over Adelaide United earning them the right to play in the Round of 16.
They will be favourites against the Western Australian side, and will be hoping a passionate home crowd can help them into the quarter-finals.
Fremantle City needed to come from behind to get the job done, but defeated Northern New South Wales team Maitland FC in the Hunter Valley. They looked destined to go home without a result but an 88th minute equaliser to Michael Domfeh and a winner two minutes later for Iljas Ahmedov saw them mark their first ever national rounds appearance with a win.
They'll hope to draw on that fighting spirit to topple South on Sunday.
