It was a brilliant night to be a Lion in the Australia Cup, with Preston Lions coming from two goals down to bundle out the defending champions Newcastle Jets in a huge boil over, while a dramatic night of Round of 32 action saw Lions FC from Queensland edge Perth Glory in a penalty shootout.
Elsewhere, Sydney FC were too classy for Bayswater City while last year’s finalists Heidelberg United cruised to a 3-0 win over Cumberland United.
But the drama was in Victoria, where Mark Milligan’s reigning Cup winners blew a 2-0 lead to be dumped out in one of the biggest upsets of the Australia Cup Round of 32.
The A-League heavyweights looked to be cruising after racing into a 2-0 lead before the break, but the NPL Victoria side emerged from the sheds with renewed belief and quickly turned the contest on its head.
Nahuel Bonada ignited the comeback with two goals in the opening 15 minutes of the second half, levelling the scores and sending the home crowd into raptures. With momentum firmly on their side, Preston continued to press for a famous winner.
That moment arrived deep into stoppage time when Daniel Lazarevski found the net in the 93rd minute, completing a remarkable 3-2 comeback and sparking jubilant celebrations among the Preston faithful.
Meanwhile, Lions FC held their nerve against Adam Griffiths’ Glory as the Football Queensland outfit enjoyed their own Cupset, with goalkeeper Jackson Riley the hero during the penalty shootout.
The hosts opened the scoring via Jerson Lagos’ left-foot curler in extra-time but Andriano Lebib opened his Perth Glory senior goal scoring account with a header with six minutes left to hand the A-League side a lifeline.
Seb Despotovski and Arion Sulemani both had their penalties saved, and the second tier side held their nerves from the spot, converting all four spot kicks.
Patrick Kisnorbo’s Sydney FC warmed up for their date with Chelsea in the Sydney Super Cup with a five star display headlined by teenager Akol Akon, who nabbed three assists, and Tiago Quintal, who scored a treble.
Goals from Mathias Macallister and a first Sydney FC goal for Zac De Jesus rounded out the win.
