Macarthur Bulls are aiming for back-to-back Australia Cup titles as the Isuzu UTE A-League club use it as a “way into Asia” according to their head coach Mile Sterjovski.
Reigning champions the Bulls qualified for the quarter-finals on Monday after taking down NPLM SA leaders MetroStars in South Australia.
Former Adelaide United attacker Bernardo Oliveira’s brilliant solo goal and a Chris Ikonomidis strike inspired Macarthur away from home.
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The Bulls have enjoyed great success in the Australia Cup – winning the competition twice. Last season’s triumph secured qualification for the AFC Champions League Two.
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In 2023-24, Macarthur reached the ASEAN Zonal final of the AFC Cup, which is now known as ACL Two, before being beaten by overall winners Central Coast Mariners.
“We respect the competition a lot,” Sterjovski told Paramount+ post-match with Macarthur set to face either Cooks Hills United or Newcastle Jets for a semi-final berth.
“We won it last year and we want to defend our title. For us it’s a way into Asia. We take it very seriously.”
Asked if ACL Two qualification was a “massive carrot” in the Australia Cup, Socceroos great Sterjovski replied: “Definitely. For us it’s massive.
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“As a club it’s a goal of ours. We want to be competitive in any match we can play.
“This competition is great. We want to win it. We want to do well in the A-League and the ACL as well.”
