North Sunshine Eagles pulled off a massive upset against 2025 finalists Heidelberg United, defeating the NPL VIC side on penalties.
Elsewhere, APIA Leichhardt got the better of NPL NSW rivals Sydney United 58 after penalties, while Preston Lions defeated Brunswick Juventus 4-1 in regulation time.
It was an astonishing night of Cup football once again to end the Round of 16. Read our review of all the action below.
APIA Leichhardt 1 – 1 Sydney United 58 (3-2 on penalties)
APIA Leichhardt have defeated NPL NSW rivals Sydney United 58 on penalties after an enthralling night of football.
APIA started on the front foot. They were rewarded with the opening goal in the 20th minute. Seiya Kambayashi found space in the middle of the park and unleashed a thunderbolt from well outside the area to give his side the lead. It was a stunning goal befitting for the occasion.
They kept the lead at half-time but statistics showed an incredibly even affair. For all their early pressure, APIA only had the one shot on target, and Sydney United were well and truly in the game.
That proved the case early in the second half. Koya Nakano, Kambayashi’s Japanese compatriot, picked up the ball on the edge of the penalty area. His first touch took it onto his left foot, stroking it with aplomb into the back of the net.
The two quality goals spoke to the contest. While APIA had the better of the first half, Sydney United just about scraped the second, and an extra half hour was required to separate the best two sides in NPL NSW.
APIA were forced to hold on with ten players for the final fifteen minutes of the match after Franco Farinella was sent off for a dangerous tackle. Oliver Kalac stood tall in goals for APIA, making a tremendous save late to ensure the game went to penalties.
Kalac was the hero of the shootout. He made an astonishing three saves to set the stage for Eddie Caspers to send APIA through. Caspers made no mistake, sending them into the quarter-finals of the Hahn Australia Cup for the third time in their history.
They will take on A-League Men’s side Melbourne Victory next.
Brunswick Juventus 1 – 4 Preston Lions
Preston Lions got the better of the derby in Melbourne’s North, defeating Brunswick Juventus 4-1.
Despite being huge underdogs coming into the game, it was Brunswick Juventus who struck first in the 25th minute. Preston failed to clear from a free kick and Juventus’ number 99 Nuh Sehavdic capitalised. A fantastic first touch gave him space and he made no mistake with the finish to earn the second-tier side an unexpected lead.
It wasn’t long before the Lions found the equaliser, however. A bending cross towards the back post from Luca Tevere found Ayden Brice at the back post. Brice’s touch took it past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net for the defender’s second goal of the season.
They had the lead three minutes later. Jamal Ali found space in the penalty area after fantastic interplay with Cian Cuba. He did what he has done all season, placing it perfectly to make it 2-1.
Their first half wasn’t done yet. On the stroke of half-time, a cross from Stefan Nigro found Lleyton Brooks. Brooks’ header was a bullet that meant that Preston headed into the sheds with a two-goal buffer.
Juventus hung in there, but couldn’t last. It was another fantastic delivery into the match from wide, this time Gian Albano to Jonas Markovski, whose diving header got him inside the defender to score Preston’s fourth and seal the tie.
The 4-1 victory means that they will take on South Melbourne in the quarter-final.
North Sunshine Eagles 0 – 0 Heidelberg United (4-3 on penalties)
North Sunshine Eagles have continued their fairytale run in the Hahn Australia Cup, defeating 2025 finalists Heidelberg United on penalties.
While Heidelberg went into the game heavy favourites, the North Sunshine Eagles gave as good as they got in the first half. They were the only side to have a shot on target and gained belief with every minute that the game went on.
The complexion of the match took a massive turn in the 37th minute. A ball over the top in the path of Ruben da Silva caught out Heidelberg, and Ben Collins was the player rushing to get back. When the referee called the foul, there could only be one outcome – and Colins was given a red card for a denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity.
Despite competing the majority of the game with ten men, Heidelberg had the best opportunity to break the game open. They were awarded a penalty in the 80th minute when Marcus Humbert was brought to ground. Anthony Lesiotis stepped up – and had his penalty saved by Rory Brian in goals, just another part of a massive performance from the goalkeeper.
With neither side able to find a breakthrough, extra time was required to separate the two Victorian clubs – and with no goals coming in those thirty minutes, it was off to penalties we went.
It was Rory Brian again who stood tall. After one penalty save in the 90, two in the shootout gave the opportunity to Ahmed Iedom to win the match for the VPL1 side. He made no mistake – and, for only the second time in history, a team in the second tier of state federation football will reach the final eight of the Hahn Australia Cup.
They will travel to Queensland next to take on Lions FC in the next round.
