With the conclusion of the Australia Cup 2024, we take a look at the stats that defined another exhilarating year of the tournament.
The 2024 campaign was littered with goals, excitement and Cupsets, with a Member Federation team beating an A-League Men’s side on four occasions, the most of any previous year of the tournament.
This also marked the first time a Cupset was won by more than one goal, with Oakleigh Cannons prevailing 3-1 over Sydney FC and Heidelberg United beating the Central Coast Mariners by the same scoreline after extra time.
It was a mighty tournament for the Victorian NPL sides, who picked up three of the four 2024 Cupsets; as well as Oakleigh and Heidelberg, South Melbourne defeated Wellington Phoenix 1-0 in the Round of 32 in a memorable fixture at Lakeside Stadium.
Hume City and NPL 3 side Melbourne Srbija joined the three A-League Men beating sides in the Round of 16, as Victoria became the first state to have five NPL teams advance to the Round of 16.
It was South Melbourne who advanced furthest of all Member Federation sides, making the Semi-Finals for the first time in their history, before falling valiantly to eventual winners Macarthur FC.
As well as their Cupset in the Round of 32, they emerged victorious in two 3-2 thrillers against Olympic FC and Hume City respectively, with the former won by a long-range freekick from Marco Jankovic.
Jankovic’s strike was the only direct set-piece goal of the tournament, and came in his lone effort from a freekick throughout the Australia Cup.
Meanwhile, Aamir Abdallah, whose side lost out to South Melbourne in the Quarter-finals, had an outstanding tournament, and was one of two players - along with Perth Glory’s Taras Gomulka - to register four assists in a single match.
Both did so in the Round of 32, and went onto finish with five assists, as Abdallah and Gomulka registered just 8 and 7 key passes respectively.
The Round of 32 also brought on another major milestone, with Olympic Kingsway’s victory over Edgeworth Eagles seeing a Western Australian NPL side progress for the first time in 7 years, with their victory the first for the competition since Sorrento FC beat Canberra Olympic in 2017.
The opening round brought the start of what turned into a scintillating tournament for Nishan Velupillay, who was recently called up for the Socceroos squad off the back of his Australia Cup performances.
Registering two goals and one assist in both of Melbourne Victory’s first two games, he then added a further goal in their Quarter Final against Moreton City Excelsior, bringing his total goal involvements to 7 - the joint-most in 2024’s competition alongside Abdallah.
Velupillay, finishing top for goals and successful dribbles during the tournament, was also the only player to score more than one goal from outside the box in the 2024 Australia Cup, netting 3 times from beyond the 18-yeard area.
While scoring over half of Melbourne Victory’s goals to help them finish top for goals scored and big chances created, he and his side couldn’t prevail in the Final, as Macarthur FC became the fourth club to win the Australia Cup twice in the modern era, after Adelaide United (3), Melbourne Victory (2) and Sydney FC (2).
The final saw polar opposite duties for both goalkeepers, with Filip Kurto making 6 saves - including 5 from inside the box - to win the Mark Viduka Medal and the Australia Cup for his side.
On the other end, Jack Duncan wasn’t required to make a single stop, with Macarthur converting their only shot on the target.
Only one other match managed this rate of efficiency, where Justin Vidic both took and scored Newcastle Jets’ only two shots on target of the match in their Round of 32 fixture against Rockdale Ilinden, where goalkeeper Nicholas Sorras wasn’t required to make a save despite bowing out of the tournament.
With its Cupsets, goals, quirks, all-round excitement, the 2024 Australia Cup was an exhilarating journey from the first Preliminary Rounds right up to the end of the Final, and promises to be back in fine form once more in 2025, with the first qualifying fixtures set to begin early in the year.
