14 of the 16 spots in the Australia Cup Round of 16 are now confirmed after both Melbourne A-League clubs cruised through their Round of 32 clashes on Sunday.
Melbourne City beat Weston Bears 3-0 to advance for the first time since 2023, with Lawrence Wong opening the scoring with a tidy finish. He was a fitting scorer, a young star in a line-up with an average age of just 21.1, featuring nine academy graduates.
17-year-old Besian Kutleshi finally made it 2-0 with 10 minutes to go, a reflection of how competitive the Northern NSW outfit made the contest, before Medin Memeti finished off an Andrew Nabbout assist.
New Melbourne Victory coach Giovanni Savarese enjoyed progress to the Round of 16 courtesy of a 4-0 win over Tasmania’s Kingborough Lions United.
Phillip Ziereis opened the scoring in his first competitive outing for the club; the German defender finishing firmly from close range after a corner wasn’t dealt with.
Goals from Matthew Grimaldi, Clarismario Santos and Keegan Jelacic rounded out a successful trip south for the A-League side.
Who has qualified for the Round of 16?
1. APIA Leichhardt
2. Moreland Zebras
3. Queensland Lions
4. Heidelberg United
5. Sydney FC
6. Preston Lions
7. North Sunshine Eagles
8. SD Raiders
9. Fremantle City
10. Sydney United
11. Western Sydney Wanderers
12. Macarthur
13. Melbourne City
14. Melbourne Victory
15. South Melbourne or Adelaide United, Thursday 7.30pm AEST
16. Sydney Olympic or Brisbane Roar, Thursday 7.30pm AEST