After an exhilarating Australia Cup Round of 16, we look back at the stats of the 2024 competition thus far.
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It was goals galore once more in the Australia Cup 2024, with the Round of 16 featuring 33 goals - the second highest of any previous Australia Cup Round of 16, with only 2019 (35) having more.
Six of the eight Round of 16 matches had four goals or more, with the drama of South Melbourne’s 3-2 victory over Olympic FC standing out.
With Olympic up 2-1 heading into the 90th minute, it was looking like it wasn’t going to fall the way of South Melbourne, who, including their missed penalty, took a sensational 32 shots in the fixture - the most of any team in an Australia Cup 2024 Finals match.
However, a late equaliser from Ross Archibald was followed by a long-range stunner from Marco Jankovic in the first minute of extra time, giving the home side a historic win at Lakeside Stadium.
The match had 43 shots throughout - an average of roughly one every three minutes - and is the most of any 2024 fixture so far.
South Melbourne’s Round of 16 match was a stark contrast to their last Australia Cup fixture, where their Cupset against Wellington Phoenix featured just 14 shots - the joint-lowest in this year’s tournament.
Olympic goalkeeper Matthew Lugo made things tough for South Melbourne’s attack, making a sensational eight saves to compliment his seven against APIA Leichhardt in the Round of 32.
Lugo’s Australia Cup journey has come to an end, but he currently ranks first for saves made in the competition, with his 15 across two matches three ahead of James Delianov in second place.
Christopher Marques also impressed in NWS Spirit’s 4-0 defeat to Melbourne Victory, making six saves to prevent a larger scoreline, adding to his four in their first match against Glenorchy Knights.
But the goalkeeper who shone brightest in the Round of 16 was Nathan Foster, who made five crucial saves for Moreton City Excelsior in their 3-2 Cupset over Perth Glory.
Meanwhile, Foster’s teammates also excited; namely Marquez Walters, who opened the scoring for Moreton City to take his total in the Cup to three, the second highest in the competition.
Walters is one of a number of young players who have made a strong impression through the platform of the Australia Cup.
Top scorer Nishan Velupillay has been exceptional for Melbourne Victory, scoring four goals and two assists in his two Cup games so far.
20-year-old Nathanael Blair has also been crucial for Perth Glory, scoring the fourth goal in their 4-2 victory over Brisbane Roar to make the Australia Cup, before netting twice - including the winner - in their memorable 5-4 victory over Melbourne City in the Round of 32.
But it hasn’t just been the new generation that’s thrived in 2024, with Australia Cup icon Liam Boland making history in the Round of 16.
After his assist off the bench in Olympic Kingsway’s 4-1 win over Edgeworth FC, Boland secured a brace in his side's narrow defeat to Adelaide United, seeing him become the outright top scorer in the Australia Cup.
Heading into the Quarter-finals, there have been an astonishing 98 goals scored in the 2024 tournament, an average of 4.08 per match.
With the highest-scoring modern Australia Cup tournament having 3.81 per game, this Australia Cup is on track to become one of the highest-scoring in history, in what has been an exhilarating 24 matches in 2024 so far.
