Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City secure places in Australia Cup Round of 16

Melbourne City progressed to the Australia Cup Round of 16 with a 3‑0 victory over NPL side Weston Bears. Lawrence Wong opened the scoring, 17‑year‑old Besian Kutleshi added a second and Medin Memeti completed the win with an assist from Andrew Nabbout. The win marked City’s first appearance in the last‑16 since 2023.

Melbourne Victory also booked a Round of 16 spot, defeating Tasmania’s Kingborough Lions United 4‑0 at Kitchen Centre Park. New head coach Giovanni Savarese fielded a side that included recent signings and academy graduates. Goals came from Philipp Ziereis, Matthew Grimaldi, Clarismario Santos and Keegan Jelacic, sealing Victory’s progression ahead of Thursday’s draw. With these results, 14 of the 16 spots in the knockout stage are now confirmed, joining clubs such as APIA Leichhardt, Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers.

The matches attracted modest crowds, with Victory’s game attended by 2,875 supporters, and highlighted the strong youth representation in both Melbourne squads.