Like the good martial arts masters of outdated, NPL Victoria premiers Avondale have spent this Australia Cup welcoming challengers from throughout the land into their dojo and smacking every one foolish. However scorching on the heels of their greatest triumph but, the Avengers should discover a technique to outdo themselves. A-League facet Newcastle Jets are on the town, they usually’re as battle-tested as they arrive. Earlier than the 2 highest-scoring groups within the event up to now collide, let’s recap their respective quarterfinal outcomes and see in the event that they might help illuminate how both facet can get to the massive dance.
Ben Gibson of the Jets controls the ball in the course of the Australia Cup 2025 Spherical of 16 match between Cooks Hill United FC and Newcastle Jets FC at Newcastle Sports activities Floor, on August 13, 2025 in Newcastle, Australia. (Photograph by Mark Evans/Getty Photographs)
Superb Aguek advances Avondale
Days after the beginning of a brand new Coppa Italia, Australia’s diaspora golf equipment acquired in on the enjoyable with a quarterfinal when Brisbane Metropolis visited Avondale. That promised a duel between Brisbane keeper Josh Langdon and Avondale striker Manyluak Aguek, two of the standout gamers of the earlier rounds, and it was completely a match of its phrase. 4 minutes in, a Brisbane backpass gone incorrect drew Langdon far off his line and gave Aguek a free shot at objective. It was at an odd angle, however Aguek made it work and put the Avengers on the board first.
After a few Brisbane makes an attempt to equalise, Aguek struck once more within the sixteenth, pinging Stefan Valentini’s cross from the suitable wing house to make it 2-0, a rating that held into halftime regardless of the Avengers’ makes an attempt to maintain pouring gasoline on the hearth. It turned out the fates have been saving that job for the person of the second, as Aguek accomplished the hat trick within the fifty fifth minute. The South Sudanese worldwide now has 6 Australia Cup objectives to his title this yr, twice anybody else’s whole, and is the primary participant to attain that many in a single version since Jamie Maclaren in 2019.
With Luca Tevere’s penalty six minutes later, Avondale took a commanding four-goal lead, and substitute Cian Cuba entered decided to keep up it. Each instances Brisbane mounted a response, Cuba restored the hole, first aiding Valentini within the 77th, then scoring one himself simply earlier than stoppage time. That ensured a 6-2 win for the Avengers, and after three matches at Inexperienced Gully Reserve, they’ll lastly get to host in their very own stadium for his or her hardest check but.
Jets get even
In 2024’s Spherical of 16, Newcastle Jets blew a 2-0 halftime lead and fell 4-3 to Macarthur, who went all the way in which to win the Cup. Suffice to say, when the 2 groups crossed paths in Maitland as soon as once more, the Jets entered with revenge on their minds. Similar to final time, Newcastle struck first, as after a number of menacing possibilities, Max Burgess discovered Daniel Wilmering’s cutback within the field and positioned it completely to present the Jets the lead within the 18th minute. The Bulls took their pictures to attempt to stage the enjoying area once more, however the Jets had the general higher half, seeing extra of the ball and doing extra with it, and the deserved 1-0 rating stayed intact till halftime.
Macarthur and their cowbell-toting followers hoped to repeat what they’d carried out final yr by flipping the report over and catching Newcastle on the B-side. Nonetheless, as an alternative of the moment roar again to parity the Bulls introduced final time, we acquired a tense defensive battle, as each keepers warded off extraordinarily harmful assaults. The dam lastly broke within the 72nd, because the Jets strung collectively a really well-worked sequence out of their very own finish that ended with Eli Adams organising 17-year-old Will Dobson’s first skilled objective. Simply to verify the Bulls stayed down this time, Alex Badolato discovered Kota Mizunuma, who scored for the second time in as many rounds to cement a 3-0 Jets win.
With that outcome, Sydney sides’ three-year stranglehold on the Australia Cup got here to an finish, and Newcastle now intend to be the fourth New South Wales staff in a row to take the trophy.
Solar’s out, weapons out: the keys to victory
Of the ultimate 4 groups standing, Newcastle could be the obvious choose to make the ultimate. Except for the standard edge A-Leaguers get pleasure from on semi-pros, the Jets’ power of schedule blows Avondale’s out of the water, with wins over Macarthur and Adelaide United to make it right here. Consider that Avondale have allowed twice as many objectives towards as the opposite three semifinalists mixed, and Newcastle’s assault should be licking their lips like cartoon wolves on the potential feast in entrance of them.
That mentioned, Avondale are additionally the highest-scoring staff of the event, and the Italians will gladly carry out the massive weapons to attempt to blast their technique to the ultimate. Precedence primary needs to be turning Aguek unfastened, no matter kind that will take. On high of his six objectives, he’s additionally acquired two assists, and with gamers like Tevere, Valentini, and Cuba round him, these Avengers might assemble any variety of lethal mixtures to interrupt the Jets’ strains and spirits.
Add within the chance that, relying on how the opposite facet of the bracket works out, this might determine Australia’s subsequent continental representatives one spherical early, and we’ve got a recipe for these groups stopping at nothing to knock one another out of competition.
