Melbourne City’s Australia Cup campaign came to a disappointing end on Tuesday night, going down 2-0 to Lions FC in Queensland.
City began brightly at Spencer Park but a costly mistake gifted the hosts the lead midway through the first half, before Lions capitalised on another turnover after the break to put the result beyond reach.
With our Cup run now over, attention turns fully towards preparations for the 2026/27 Isuzu UTE A-League season.
Team News
Consistency was key for Aurelio Vidmar, who named the same starting XI that featured in both our Round of 32 win over Weston Bears FC and Friday night’s friendly against Palermo FC.
Starting XI: 40. James NIEUWENHUIZEN (GK), 13. Nathaniel ATKINSON (C), 4. Liam BONETIG, 2. Harrison DELBRIDGE, 22. Peter ANTONIOU, 24. Kavian RAHMANI, 14. Besian KUTLESHI, 41. Lawrence WONG, 35. Medin MEMETI, 38. Beckham BAKER, 17. Max CAPUTO.
Substitutes: 1. Macklin FREKE (GK), 15. Andrew NABBOUT, 20. Ben MAZZEO, 34. Jayden NECOVSKI, 39. Roland BALLAH, 44. Isiah BOSTON, 77. Takeshi KANAMORI.
What happened?
City started positively and created the first clear opportunity of the night inside six minutes.
Nathaniel Atkinson delivered a pinpoint cross into the area for Max Caputo, whose header forced a strong save from Lions goalkeeper Jacson Riley.
Medin Memeti went close just minutes later, curling a dangerous effort towards goal only for Riley to again be equal to it.
Kavian Rahmani also settled nicely into his defensive midfield role as City controlled much of the early possession and looked the more threatening of the two sides.
That promising start was undone in the 20th minute.
A mix-up at the back resulted in an own goal to hand Lions the lead, with the hosts growing into the contest following the breakthrough.
City struggled to rediscover the control of the opening stages as Lions began to see more of the ball, although the deficit remained at one heading into the break.
The hosts carried that momentum into the second half, forcing James Nieuwenhuizen into an early save as City searched for a way back into the contest.
Vidmar turned to his bench in the 56th minute, introducing Andrew Nabbout and Roland Ballah in an attempt to spark a response.
Instead, it was Lions who struck again six minutes later, capitalising on a City turnover to double their advantage and leave us with plenty of work to do.
Isiah Boston and Ben Mazzeo were introduced soon after, but City was unable to mount the comeback required as Lions saw out the closing stages to secure a 2-0 win and progress to the Quarter Finals.
What’s next?
With our Australia Cup campaign now over, attention turns fully towards preparations for the 2026/27 Isuzu UTE A-League season.
City will begin the new campaign on the road against Auckland FC on Saturday 17 October.
