Melbourne City and Macarthur FC go down in historic Australia Cup night

[p]Defined as an NPL club eliminating an A-League club from the competition, there have now been a total of six 'cupsets' in the 2026 Australia Cup, eclipsing the previous record of five set in 2025 - three of which were by eventual runners-up [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/heidelberg-utd/bwmQTWpm/"]Heidelberg United[/a] on their way to the final.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/queensland-lions/rZJ589gJ/"]Queensland Lions[/a] are setting themselves up as the 'giant killers' of the 2026 competition, having now worked their way past both [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/perth-glory/hjY9yg16/"]Perth Glory[/a] (1-1p) and Melbourne [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/moreton-city-excelsior/ATtNJ1jt/"]City[/a] (2-0) to set up a quarter-final with either [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/north-sunshine-eagles/jBNM4noT/"]North Sunshine Eagles[/a] or Heidelberg United.[/p][p]They're guaranteed to not face another A-League before the grand finale, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/melbourne-victory/Qql6CzOP/"]Victory[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sydney-fc/6JsBlXVI/"]Sydney FC[/a] both being at the other end of the bracket. [/p][p]Before 2026, we had never seen two 'cupsets' in a single night in the ten-year history of the national knockout cup as we know it. [/p][p]But this year it has happened on two separate days, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/newcastle-jets/EaZ5xZo0/"]Newcastle Jets[/a] and Perth Glory both bowing out on the one day in the Round of 32. [/p][h2]No looking back for Lions after comical opener[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/melbourne-city/OKfoGJBe/"]Melbourne City[/a] were not in a generous mood when the action kicked off at Spencer Park in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/brisbane-strikers/jPuiYdSH/"]Brisbane[/a], coming out with an unchanged starting XI from their Round of 32 match against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/weston-workers-bears/vkVmtM1l/"]Weston Bears[/a] as well as last Friday night's 'Calcio Italiano' friendly against Palerma in Perth.[/p][p]In just the sixth minute of the match, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/caputo-max/nZcU7Kin/"]Max Caputo[/a] got onto the end of a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/atkinson-nathaniel/foFnxc1k/"]Nathaniel Atkinson[/a] cross that forced a save out of Lions goalkeeper [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/riley-jacson/OpkuuWEq/"]Jacson Riley[/a], who would be required to make only one more save throughout the entire evening to record his fifth clean sheet since the start of July.[/p][p]Melbourne City had most of the first half momentum either side of a farcical mix-up between goalkeeper [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nieuwenhuizen-james/SpLmUtDe/"]James Nieuwenhuizen[/a] and centre midfielder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kutleshi-besian/MHHGd7Ga/"]Besian Kutleshi[/a]. [/p][image alt="Match Momentum" id="3ad1b38b-8770-4462-aace-6105e42b7e8b" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="1833d1a4-1586-4520-a7a1-bdb827cdab2c" original-width="3840" original-height="2160" /][p]Nieuwenhuizen's gentle pass forward to Kutleshi was jabbed straight back at him by the 17-year-old and the goalkeeper was not anticipating the return, failing to trap the pass and then inadvertently dribbling it across the line. [/p][p]It meant that the own goal went against Nieuwenhuizen's name, though it remains to be seen why Kutleshi opted to immediately give the ball back with a firm kick rather than seeking to move it forward or laterally. [/p][p]The Lions grew immensely in confidence after taking a half-time lead in spite of just 37% of uncontested possession and they dominated the second, amassing 11 shots and seven corners after the break including the 62nd minute goal from NPL veteran [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hore-mitchell/A3Sv6z92/"]Mitchell Hore[/a] that broke City's back.[/p][p]Of further concern for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vidmar-aurelio/ObKrWMU2/"]Aurelio Vidmar[/a] is that [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nabbout-andrew/8z0pnkBf/"]Andrew Nabbout[/a], who recently re-signed with the club for a seventh season, came off with an injury after just 28 minutes of football.[/p][image alt="Match Stats" id="3eae2e9f-5d1e-4ef8-909a-7e396ae0cc37" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="6576dcb1-ab61-4098-ae93-781e67690a5f" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][embed guid="f67d5d53-6ada-470c-9372-dea4007e70a1" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjRd_h7qnBo" social-type="youtube" /][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sd-raiders/4URJDlFt/"]SD Raiders[/a] book quarter-final meeting with Sydney FC[/h2][p]Over at Fairfield Showgrounds, a half-hour drive north of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/macarthur-fc/bL3ChiWQ/"]Macarthur FC[/a]'s home at Campbelltown Stadium, SD Raiders created history with their first 'cupset' despite being five minutes plus change away from a heartbreaking extra time defeat. [/p][p]Much like their NPL QLD colleagues up north in Brisbane, Raiders managed to turn a minority of possession into a majority of goal creating opportunities, recording three big chances to Macarthur's zero before half-time despite having only 35% of the ball.[/p][p]Raiders went into the match having recorded four consecutive league wins since eliminating [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/rochedale/0I9da4Tj/"]Rochedale Rovers[/a] from the Round of 32 to move up to seventh on the standings. [/p][image alt="Match Stats" id="f8a1be83-7f1e-46b6-a4de-de17a516728e" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="00b80425-7c5d-42d2-96d6-e77212a3f35e" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p]Some silky ball control and a well directed shot from the edge of the box saw 20-year-old [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bulls-academy/KlSzvPd2/"]Bulls Academy[/a] product [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/helweh-zane/SxkCWHF5/"]Zane Helweh[/a] open the scoring for Macarthur and give the A-League side a 103rd-minute lead in the local derby.[/p][p]Macarthur understandably shut up shop from thereon and were doing so successfully until a fortuitous own goal from the home side when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/politidis-harry/AZZmxs72/"]Harry Politidis[/a] accidentally shinned a Raiders cross into the top of his own net, sending about three thousand Raiders fans into raptures.[/p][p]Raiders goalkeeper [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/figueira-michael/lrs7k0k7/"]Michael Figueira[/a] pulled off an astounding stretching penalty shootout save in front of his left post to deny [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vickery-luke/pSzPg9fo/"]Luke Vickery[/a] with Macarthur's third spot kick and all five of his teammates slotted their penalties to keep the cupsets coming.[/p][p]It was a remarkable turnaround from when the two sides met in last year's Round of 32, with the Bulls running rampant in a 5-0 win at the same venue.[/p][image alt="Match Momentum" id="62194fbd-0141-4986-96a4-c87e376169cf" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="31d90fe5-0f59-4160-b060-52527f39309e" original-width="3840" original-height="2160" /][embed guid="22248cef-707c-4e94-be05-f444b4f6fe72" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff0X2cB2tE4" social-type="youtube" /][h2]Full list of Australia Cup 'cupsets'[/h2][p]1. 2014 Round of 32: Adelaide City 1-0 Western Sydney Wanderers[/p][p]2. 2016 Round of 32: Green Gully 2-1 Central Coast Mariners[/p][p]3. 2016 Round of 32: Redlands United 2-1 Adelaide United[/p][p]4. 2017 Round of 32: Heidelberg United 1-0 Perth Glory[/p][p]5. 2017 Round of 32: Blacktown City 3-2 Central Coast Mariners[/p][p]6. 2018 Round of 32: Bentleigh Greens 1-0 Wellington Phoenix[/p][p]7. 2018 Round of 16: APIA Leichhardt 3-2 Melbourne Victory[/p][p]8. 2019 Round of 32: Brisbane Strikers 2-2(4-2p) Wellington Phoenix[/p][p]9. 2021 Round of 16: APIA Leichhardt 2-1 Western Sydney Wanderers[/p][p]10. 2022 Round of 16: Sydney United 1-1(4-3p) Western United[/p][p]11. 2022 Quarter-Finals: Oakleigh Cannons 2-1 Sydney FC[/p][p]12. 2022 Semi-Finals: Sydney United 3-2 Brisbane Roar[/p][p]13. 2023 Round of 32: Campbelltown City 2-1 Macarthur FC[/p][p]14. 2024 Round of 32: Oakleigh Cannons 3-1 Sydney FC[/p][p]15. 2024 Round of 32: South Melbourne 1-0 Wellington Phoenix[/p][p]16. 2024 Round of 32: Heidelberg United 3-1 Central Coast Mariners[/p][p]17. 2024 Round of 16: Moreton City Excelsior 3-2 Perth Glory[/p][p]18. 2025 Round of 32: Olympic Kingsway 3-2 Melbourne Victory[/p][p]19. 2025 Round of 32: APIA Leichhardt 2-0 Melbourne City[/p][p]20. 2025 Round of 16: Heidelberg United 3-0 Western Sydney Wanderers[/p][p]21. 2025 Quarter-Finals: Heidelberg United 4-0 Wellington Phoenix[/p][p]22. 2025 Semi-Finals: Heidelberg United 2-0 Sydney FC[/p][p]23. 2026 Round of 32: Preston Lions 3-2 Newcastle Jets[/p][p]24. 2026 Round of 32: Queensland Lions 1-1(4-2p) Perth Glory[/p][p]25. 2026 Round of 32: Sydney United 1-1(11-10p) Central Coast Mariners[/p][p]26. 2026 Round of 32: South Melbourne 2-1 Adelaide United[/p][p]27. 2026 Round of 16: Queensland Lions 2-0 Melbourne City[/p][p]28. 2026 Round of 16: SD Raiders 1-1(5-3p) Macarthur FC[/p][h2]Most 'cupsets' by an NPL club:[/h2][p]5: Heidelberg United (2017, 2024, 2025 x3)[/p][p]3: APIA Leichhardt (2018, 2021, 2025), Sydney United (2022 x2, 2026)[/p][p]2: Oakleigh Cannons (2022, 2024), Queensland Lions (2026 x2), South Melbourne (2024, 2026)[/p][p]1: Adelaide City (2014), Bentleigh Greens (2018), Blacktown City (2017), Brisbane Strikers (2019), Campbelltown City (2023), Green Gully (2016), Moreton City Excelsior (2024), Olympic Kingsway (2025), Preston Lions (2026), Redlands United (2016), SD Raiders (2026)[/p][h2]Most 'cupsets' suffered by an A-League club:[/h2][p]4: Wellington Phoenix (2018, 2019, 2024, 2025), Central Coast Mariners (2016, 2017, 2024, 2026)[/p][p]3: Perth Glory (2017, 2024, 2026), Sydney FC (2022, 2024, 2025), Western Sydney Wanderers (2014, 2021, 2025)[/p][p]2: Adelaide United (2016, 2026), Melbourne Victory (2018, 2025), Macarthur FC (2023, 2026), Melbourne City (2025, 2026)[/p][p]1: Brisbane Roar (2022), Newcastle Jets (2026), Western United (2022)[/p][infobox id="d39bc573-b9dd-4b87-acb9-2de1f22d36c7" /]