What a wonderful evening it was to be a Lions fan of any kind as NPL Victoria's Preston Lions and NPL Queensland's Lions FC added themselves to the honour roll of FFA Cup/Australia Cup 'cupsets' and qualified for the Round of 16.
A 'cupset' is officially classified as any FFA Cup or Australia Cup game in which an A-League club is eliminated by any side from the second tier or below and has now occurred 24 times in 13 seasons, starting in the inaugural edition when Adelaide City knocked out Western Sydney Wanderers.
Preston Lions overcame a two-goal deficit to dump the defending champions out of the 2026 tournament in their Round of 32 debut, whilst Queensland's Round of 32 regulars registered their fifth ever Round of 16 appearance and their first since 2024 on penalties.
New mid-season Argentinian recruit Nahuel Bonada, who we had identified in our pre-tournament guide as Preston's 'player to watch', scored his second and third goals in the red and gold to establish himself as one of the great transfer pick-ups of 2026.
Newcastle established and then doubled their lead before half-time through 18-year-old Will Dobson and ex-Victory striker Nikos Vergos in what was a much more evenly matched first half than the score would otherwise have suggested, with Preston getting away three shots on target of their own that just lacked the clinical finishing of their visitors.
Lifted by an always noisy and passionate crowd at BT Connor Reserve in Reservoir, Preston struck back twice in seven minutes through Bonada as he twice demonstrated excellent reflexes to score right in the depths of the goalmouth, with Newcastle's defending leaving a lot to be desired on both occasions.
The same could be said about the eventual match-winner scored in second half stoppage time, when Leighton Brooks received the ball in Newcastle's own half with acres of space around him.
Brooks' cross into the box had 20-year-old Daniel Lazarevski almost unchallenged for the game-winning header as he managed to find his way inbetween two defenders before coming up with a header that gave Newcastle keeper James Delianov no chance at close range.
Bonada was our Player of the Match, rating 8.2 out of 10 with four shots on target.
Spencer Park witnessed a dramatic penalty shootout late into the evening as Lions FC prevailed in a match that needed 95 minutes for the ball to break into the back of the net, despite the teams combining for nine shots on target in regulation time.
The Lions dominated proceedings in the first half with five of the six shots on target, with Lions goalkeeper Jackson Riley beginning his heroic evening by denying Glory captain Adam Taggart in just the sixth minute of the game.
Lions FC struggled to trouble Glory goalkeeper Matt Sutton despite their attempts, but the home side put all four of their penalty kicks past Perth and back-to-back saves from Jackson Riley against Sebastian Despotovski and Arion Sulemani sent the Lions through to the Round of 16 for the fifth time.
Lions centre back Cher Deng, who came out of the Central Coast Mariners academy before a stint in Singapore's Premier League in 2024/25, was our Player of the Match with an 8.2 rating of his own.
Full list of Australia Cup 'cupsets'
1. 2014 Round of 32: Adelaide City 1-0 Western Sydney Wanderers
2. 2016 Round of 32: Green Gully 2-1 Central Coast Mariners
3. 2016 Round of 32: Redlands United 2-1 Adelaide United
4. 2017 Round of 32: Heidelberg United 1-0 Perth Glory
5. 2017 Round of 32: Blacktown City 3-2 Central Coast Mariners
6. 2018 Round of 32: Bentleigh Greens 1-0 Wellington Phoenix
7. 2018 Round of 16: APIA Leichhardt 3-2 Melbourne Victory
8. 2019 Round of 32: Brisbane Strikers 2-2(4-2p) Wellington Phoenix
9. 2021 Round of 16: APIA Leichhardt 2-1 Western Sydney Wanderers
10. 2022 Round of 16: Sydney United 1-1(4-3p) Western United
11. 2022 Quarter-Finals: Oakleigh Cannons 2-1 Sydney FC
12. 2022 Semi-Finals: Sydney United 3-2 Brisbane Roar
13. 2023 Round of 32: Campbelltown City 2-1 Macarthur FC
14. 2024 Round of 32: Oakleigh Cannons 3-1 Sydney FC
15. 2024 Round of 32: South Melbourne 1-0 Wellington Phoenix
16. 2024 Round of 32: Heidelberg United 3-1 Central Coast Mariners
17. 2024 Round of 16: Moreton City Excelsior 3-2 Perth Glory
18. 2025 Round of 32: Olympic Kingsway 3-2 Melbourne Victory
19. 2025 Round of 32: APIA Leichhardt 2-0 Melbourne City
20. 2025 Round of 16: Heidelberg United 3-0 Western Sydney Wanderers
21. 2025 Quarter-Finals: Heidelberg United 4-0 Wellington Phoenix
22. 2025 Semi-Finals: Heidelberg United 2-0 Sydney FC
23. 2026 Round of 32: Preston Lions 3-2 Newcastle Jets
24. 2026 Round of 32: Queensland Lions 1-1(4-2p) Perth Glory
Most 'cupsets' by an NPL club:
5: Heidelberg United (2017, 2024, 2025 x3)
3: APIA Leichhardt (2018, 2021, 2025)
2: Oakleigh Cannons (2022, 2024), Sydney United (2022 x2)
1: Adelaide City (2014), Bentleigh Greens (2018), Blacktown City (2017), Brisbane Strikers (2019), Campbelltown City (2023), Green Gully (2016), Moreton City Excelsior (2024), Olympic Kingsway (2025), Preston Lions (2026), Queensland Lions (2026), Redlands United (2016), South Melbourne (2024)
Most 'cupsets' suffered by an A-League club:
4: Wellington Phoenix (2018, 2019, 2024, 2025
3: Central Coast Mariners (2016, 2017, 2024), Perth Glory (2017, 2024, 2026), Sydney FC (2022, 2024, 2025), Western Sydney Wanderers (2014, 2021, 2025)
2: Melbourne Victory (2018, 2025)
1: Adelaide United (2016), Brisbane Roar (2022), Macarthur FC (2023), Melbourne City (2025), Newcastle Jets (2026), Western United (2022)
Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.
