There were goals and drama aplenty in Matchday 4 of the 2025 Hahn Australia Cup Round of 32, headlined by Olympic Kingsway edging a seven-goal thriller against 2024 Finalists Melbourne Victory.
In addition to the first Cupset of 2025 - and Kingsway's first-ever Cupset - Macarthur and Auckland recorded big wins over SD Raiders and Gold Coast Knights, respectively, while Sydney FC edged past Western United.
Olympic Kingsway SC 4 - 3 Melbourne Victory FC
Victory found the opening goal midway through the first half courtesy of an excellent strike from Jordi Valadon that hit the right post before finding its way in.
A few minutes later, Kingsway had the chance to equalise from the spot and Mitchell Oxborrow dually obliged, sending the ball into the bottom right corner.
The visitors re-established their lead on the stroke of half-time. Keegan Jelacic latched onto a ball on the left of the box and slotted an effort inside the near post.
The hosts pushed for an equaliser in the second half, with Jospeh Hobson clipping the crossbar early on before eventually ramming the ball into the roof of the net 70 minutes in.
Kingsway’s pursuit of a Cupset was handed a boost in the 78th minute when Victory defender Joshua Rawlins saw red.
Despite the momentum going Olympic's way, Reno Piscipo came off the bench for the away side to unleash a curling rocket from the edge of the area that went high into the net.
However, with only seconds remaining, the Hahn Australia Cup’s all-time leading scorer, Liam Boland, produced another special moment to send the game to extra-time. The striker pounced on a right-sided cross, side-footing a powerful effort into the back of the net.
The excitement carried on into the first period of extra-time. The crossbar denied Victory's Jelacic a second before the impressive Laat Mathiang was brought down for another penalty to the home side. Boland took responsibility and calmly placed the ball inside the right post, earning Olympic a historic Round of 16 place on a night the club will never, ever forget.
Western United FC 0 - 1 Sydney FC
Sydney FC edged past Western United 1-0 in the only all-A-League clash of Match Day Four.
The teams played out a tense first half with neither team able to break the deadlock as they went into the sheds. United had taken more shots in the first half, but the scores remained level.
Sydney FC came close to opening the scoring soon after half-time, when Rhyan Grant struck the post following a set piece.
The away side snatched the lead in the 75th minute with two substitutes combining. Joe Lolley sent a looping cross from the right that met Mathias Macalister's head at the back post, where the striker headed over United goalkeeper Matthew Sutton.
Despite some late pressure from their opponents, Sydney held firm to earn their place in the Round of 16.
Gold Coast Knights FC 0 - 4 Auckland FC
Auckland produced an emphatic win in their maiden Cup tie, downing NPL Queensland side Gold Coast Knights 4-0.
The A-League Premiers could not have made a better start to their first-ever Hahn Australia Cup match, opening the scoring within the first minute. Hiroki Sakai swung in a deep right-sided cross towards the far post for Jesse Randall to steer a header that squirmed under Knights' goalkeeper Casey Went.
The visitors built on their swift start and doubled the lead 19 minutes in. Randall picked up the ball on the right of the box, finding Logan Rogerson on the other side, whose rolling effort crept over the line.
Auckland added a third with another scrappy goal. A free-kick from the left caused havoc in the Knights' box with Guillermo May eventually slotting a low finish into the goal from a central position.
Knights had a positive second-half opening, which included the lively Max Brown rattling the crossbar directly from a free-kick.
However, Auckland scored their fourth and final goal in the 70th minute with the pick of the bunch. Liam Gillion launched a phenomenal curler from the left edge of the box that nestled high in the net.
SD Raiders FC 0 - 5 Macarthur FC
Macarthur started their Cup defence with a resounding 5-0 win over FNSW League One outfit and NPL NSW giant slayers SD Raiders.
It took more than half an hour for the reigning champions to break the hosts' resistance. Raiders' goalkeeper Michael Figueira took a heavy touch on the edge of his box, with the Bulls snatching the ball and racing forward to allow Bernando Oliveira to blast it into a vacant net.
Macarthur soon scored their second, and it was more misfortune for Raiders. Luke Brattan's free-kick from the right was inadvertently deflected into the bottom right corner by Raiders' captain James Letta.
It took the side just four second-half minutes to extend their lead to three. Oliveira dribbled through midfield before sliding Harrison Sawyer into a shooting position; the striker slotted the ball into the right side of the goal.
Macarthur added a fourth goal soon after the hour mark through Chris Ikonomidis, who placed the ball through Figueira's legs from the right of the box.
With eight minutes to play, the two-time Cup winners finished off the tie with a fifth as midfielder Anthony Caceres drove the ball into the goal from close range.
