In the second and final part of this mini-series, we will take you through the remaining eight fixtures in the Australia Cup, to examine the location of the clubs and the distance between them and their opponents’ home grounds.
Magpies Crusaders vs Macarthur FC
In a lone 5:30pm timeslot on Saturday the 30th of July, Magpies Crusaders will take on Macarthur FC.
Magpies Crusaders play in the Queensland Premier League 1 Men and are based in Mackay.
The suburb of Mackay is located near the Great Barrier Reef - its coast consists of a section of the reef, and the area is known for its beautiful Harbour Beach.
Macarthur, meanwhile, is an A-League Men side that played the majority of their home fixtures last season at Campbelltown Stadium.
The distance between Macarthur and Mackay spells 1446.88 kilometres, making this fixture the sixth furthest out of the 16 matchups in the round of 32 of the Australia Cup.
Newcastle Jets vs Adelaide United
The first of three all A-League Men matchups will commence on the 30th of July at 7:30 when Newcastle Jets take on Adelaide United.
The game will be played at Newcastle’s home ground, McDonald Jones Stadium.
The 33,000-capacity venue is located in Broadmeadow, Newcastle, in the northern part of New South Wales.
Coopers Stadium (also called Hindmarsh Stadium), meanwhile, is located in Hindmarsh South Australia and is the home of Adelaide United.
Its capacity is 16,500 with 15,000 seats, and the stadium sits 1233.18 kilometres from McDonald Jones Stadium, making this fixture the eighth furthest apart.
Sydney FC vs Central Coast Mariners
In the only match on Sunday, the 31st of July, Sydney FC will come up against Central Coast Mariners in another A-League Men fixture.
With their usual home ground Sydney Football Stadium being renovated over the past few seasons, Sydney FC have switched between ovals, although predominantly playing at Jubilee Stadium in Kogarah.
However, this fixture will be played at Leichhardt Oval, another one of the home grounds they’ve utilised in their last few campaigns.
For this practice, the calculations were done from Sydney Football Stadium rather than Leichhardt Oval, as the former is the venue they’ll be calling home for the upcoming season.
The Mariners have their home ground in the form of Central Coast Stadium, which is located in Gosford right by the bay.
The distance between the SFS and Central Coast Stadium is just 52.74 kilometres, representing the closest fixture in the Australia Cup round of 32.
Newcastle Olympic FC vs Melbourne City FC
To continue the Cup, Newcastle Olympic will face Melbourne City on Tuesday, the second of August at 7:30pm.
Newcastle Olympic plays in the Northern NSW NPL and plays their football in Hamilton, a suburb 4 kilometres from Newcastle’s CBD.
The side was known as Hamilton Olympic between 1992 and 2019.
A-League Men side Melbourne City play their football at AAMI Park, or Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, which is an arena owned by the Victorian State Government.
The distance between the two sides’ home grounds is 818.24 kilometres, placing them 10th on the list of furthest fixtures in the Australia Cup.
Peninsula Power vs NWS Spirit
Peninsula Power will take on NWS Spirit on Wednesday the third of August to continue the games in the Australia Cup.
Peninsula Power operates predominately in South East Queensland area Redcliffe, and play their football in the NPL Queensland Men competition.
NWS Spirit, meanwhile, plays in Football NSW League One Men and is located in Ryde, which is northwest of Sydney’s central business district.
The distance between Peninsula Power and NWS Spirit is 752.51 kilometres, or 7166.76 football fields, making it the 11th furthest fixture.
Devonport City Strikers vs Wellington Phoenix
Devonport City Strikers will play A-League Men side Wellington Phoenix in another Wednesday night fixture.
The home side for this match plays in NPL Tasmania Men and operates in Devenport, a city on the north coast of Tasmania.
Davenport will be facing Wellington Phoenix, which is a New Zealand-based side that spent the majority of its last campaign in Australia due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Wellington will be planning to be back in New Zealand for this next A-League Men season where they play the majority of their fixtures at Sky Stadium. However for the Australia Cup, Wellington Phoenix play all of their matches in Australia and are always deemed the away team.
Despite Wellington operating in a different country, the distance between the two home grounds is only the third most, spelling 2368.33 kilometres, or 22555.48 football fields.
Sydney United 58 FC vs Monaro Panthers
Sydney United 58 FC will come up against Monaro Panthers in another all-NPL clash.
The home side for this match currently operates in NSW NPL Men's and plays at Sydney United Sports Centre - their ground has a capacity of 12,000.
Monaro Panthers, meanwhile, operate in Queanbeyan and compete in NPL Capital Football Men in the Australian Capital Territory.
Their home ground is Riverside Oval, which is located in Queanbeyan.
The distance between the two sides in this fixture is 221.68 kilometres (2111.22 football fields), and is the third closest across the Australia Cup.
Western United vs Melbourne Victory
In the final of three all-A-League Men matchups, Western United will take on Melbourne Victory.
Western United is based in Truganina and represents western Victoria.
However, the A-League Men champions played some home matches at AAMI Park, which is the joint home ground of Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City, meaning the distance for this fixture could technically be zero.
However, to make it interesting, we based Western United at GMHBA stadium, where they’ve played their second most home games behind AAMI Park.
The distance between the two stadiums is 65.89 kilometres, or 627.52 football fields, making it the second closest fixture of the Australia Cup.
