The Melbourne A-League Men's sides have advanced to the Hahn Australia Cup Round of 16 after victories away from home on Sunday.
Read our review of the action below.
Weston Bears 0 – 3 Melbourne City
Melbourne City have defeated Weston Bears 3-0 to advance to the Round of 16 for the first time since 2023.
City named a young starting eleven, with nine of their starting side academy graduates. It was one of those graduates, Lawrence Wong, who gave them the lead early. It was a lovely strike from just outside of the penalty area into the bottom corner of the net.
Weston pushed for an equaliser in the first half, with the likes of Luke McCormick and Blake Archbold creating golden opportunities. Their endeavour was reflected in the evenness of the half-time stats when it comes to bith shots and possession.
The A-League Men’s side, though, showed their quality in the second half. 17-year-old Besian Kutleshi arrowed an unconventional finish into the bottom corner from just inside the penalty area in the 80th minute, before Medin Memeti sealed the result after getting on the end of a ball over the top from Andrew Nabbout.
It was a compelling contest and a promising showing from the Northern New South Wales side in their second appearance in the national stages of the cup.
Kingborough Lions United 0 – 4 Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory have advanced to the Round of 16 with a 4-0 victory over Tasmania’s Kingborough Lions United.
German defender Phillip Ziereis gave them the lead early, scoring his first Victory goal in his first competitive appearance for the club after a corner.
Kingborough fought hard in the first half. Joel Badger in particular looked impressive – his close-range free kick only just skimming over the crossbar – and a number of teammates gave solid showings against A-League Men opposition.
However, Victory would double their lead before half-time. Matthew Grimaldi got on the end of a cutback from the byline to finish well and make it two.
Goals for Clarismario Santos – a wonderful first touch to find space, and clinical finish – and Keegan Jelacic from a corner sealed the result for the visitors.
While Victory were too strong, it was a lively showing in front of a large crowd in Tasmania that Kingborough will take with them for the remainder of their NPL Tasmania season.
