Newcastle Jets and Auckland FC punched their tickets to the Hahn Australia Cup semi-finals at the expense of Macarthur Bulls and Sydney FC.
Jets knock out defending champions in historic result
Newcastle Jets will feature in the Australia Cup semi-finals for the first time in their history after conquering defending champions Macarthur Bulls 3-0.
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In front of a strong crowd at Maitland Sports Ground on Sunday, the Jets were too good for the two-time winners thanks to goals from new signing Max Burgess, academy graduate Will Dobson and Japanese star Kota Mizunuma.
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The retired Socceroo’s tenure is in its infancy but the signs are promising after three Australia Cup wins that have seen Newcastle take down Isuzu UTE A-League rivals Adelaide United (2-1) and now Macarthur, having eased past NPL outfit Cooks Hill United 5-0.
Heading into an historic semi-final against NPLM VIC premiers Avondale FC, there was one thing that stood out to Milligan.
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“They gave as good as they got for long periods of the game,” he told Paramount+ post-match.
“It’s a good indicator for us. I think we still have a long way to go. We saw glimpses of our football, especially in the way we scored our goals. But I’m most proud of the boys because I saw a resilience there which we’ve been really trying to instil into them.
“The resilience to work hard and try to control the game even when we didn’t have the ball. The resilience to keep that clean sheet when it would’ve been easy to go away from what we do and get a little lazy. We stayed disciplined.
“Today, the biggest thing for me was the resilience the players showed.”
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Burgess put the Jets ahead in the 18th minute, against a Bulls line-up boasting Socceroos pair Anthony Caceres and Luke Brattan, while new signings Sime Grzan and South Korean international Ji Dong-won also came off the bench.
There was a special moment for 17-year-old Dobson, who celebrated his first Jets goal 17 minutes from the end as Mizunuma capped the scoring four minutes later.
Milligan, who had four academy graduates in the starting XI, added: “There’s a few things there that are very, very obvious in terms of the direction we’re heading in.
“But there’s also things there that we need to improve on and it will only be time. It will take time.
“At the end of the day, it’s a result for their hard work in pre-season. We’re very focused on the team we want to become and today helps us take that step forward.”
Club-first caps Auckland’s maiden semi-final
Auckland FC are making their Australia Cup debut this season and the Isuzu UTE A-League premiers are now through to a first semi-final.
The Black Knights – who handed a debut to former Aberdeen and Plymouth striker Sam Cosgrove – set up a showdown with NPLM VIC giants Heidelberg United after outlasting Sydney FC 3-1 on penalties following Saturday night’s 1-1 draw in 120 minutes.
A shoot-out was needed at Kogarah, where Auckland recruit Lachlan Brook and Joe Lolley traded goals late in the quarter-final contest.
In the penalty shoot-out, Auckland reigned supreme as Lolley, Mathias Macallister and Joel King were unsuccessful from the spot.
Auckland goalkeeper Michael Woud was the hero, denying King while Lolley and Macllister missed the target.
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The shoot-out was the first time Auckland had ever taken a penalty, having not been awarded a spot kick during their historic maiden A-Leagues campaign in 2024-25.
“Very happy,” Auckland head coach Steve Corica told Paramount+. “Took some good penalties. It’s the first penalty we’ve actually taken as a club.”
Auckland shot-stopper Woud, who lost a tooth during the game, said: “Real happy. Sydney are a good team and for us it was a big challenge to come here as well. Massively thankful to be able to help the team today. We keep moving on.
“You can always be the hero (in a shootout). Not many times as a goalkeeper you can be a hero but tonight I was able to help the team.
“And my first shoot-out win. I’ve been in a few – I’ve lost two so it was good to win today.”
