Two years ago, Macarthur FC waltzed into Melbourne for their Australia Cup semifinal and walked all over Oakleigh Cannons, winning 5-2 to set up the Bulls’ first-ever trophy a couple of weeks later.
Now, the rematch is on in this year’s quarterfinals, and the Cannons come in with a vengeance on their minds and a chance to guarantee early that an NPL Victoria side plays for the cup.
Before their daytime duel gets going, let’s evaluate how these two sides made it here and what they’ll have to do to reach the final four.
As a reward for thwarting Sydney FC’s title defence, the Cannons got to close out the Round of 16 against league rivals Heidelberg United, who’d just done some giant-killing of their own against Central Coast Mariners.
The occasion promised a close battle, and we certainly got one, even if it didn’t exactly start out pretty.
Heidelberg had the bulk of possession in the first half but was unable to convert it into serious threats for goals.
Oakleigh, meanwhile, got several good chances, but couldn’t cash in. Even captain Joe Guest couldn’t convert on his penalty shot, and we went to halftime scoreless.
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Ten minutes into the second half, the Cannons finally made good on their threats.
After some post-cross pinball in the box between members of both sides, Oakleigh defenseman Jordon Hall seized his chance to shoot from point-blank range, and his first goal as a Cannon gave his team the crucial lead.
That left Heidelberg down, but far from out. With the possession edge still available to fall back on, Heidelberg’s attack started pounding furiously at the door.
Though the Cannons held firm for a while, thwarting multiple extremely dangerous chances, a foul in the box gave away a penalty at the worst possible time.
Substitute Sean Ellis stepped up for Heidelberg and succeeded where Guest had failed, equalizing matters and yanking the regulation win right out of the Cannons’ hands.
The Warriors carried that momentum into extra time, opening with a furious assault, but getting only blocks and misses to show for it.
The tide quickly turned back in the Cannons’ favour, as Oakleigh dominated possession throughout extra time, but while Oakleigh’s own barrage in the final minutes at least forced a goalkeeper save, it wasn’t enough to break the deadlock.
As a result, we witnessed our first Round of 16 penalty shootout in two years.
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There was reason for trepidation on both sides coming into this duel, as they’d both flunked crucial shootouts earlier in the month.
But for Oakleigh, at least, the worries quickly melted away, as their shots found the net while Heidelberg kept finding the post.
With a 3-1 edge and a chance to ice the game, late substitute Noah Holmes delivered, striking low and to the left to punch Oakleigh’s ticket to the quarterfinals.
The way Macarthur stumbled out of the gate against Newcastle Jets, you’d think the Bulls never improved from their wooden spoon year.
When Matthew Jurman threw a frankly stupid elbow in the box to give away a penalty, Jets captain Kosta Grozos stepped right up and smashed it home to give Newcastle the early lead in the 11th.
Then, not even ten minutes later, Dane Ingham dealt a loose ball in Macarthur territory to Mark Natta, who took a confident run up the wide-open space in the middle and smashed a vicious strike home.
That seemed to wake the Bulls up a bit, and they locked down the possession game for much of the remaining half.
While it still left Newcastle up 2-0 at the break, Macarthur came back ready to catch them on the B-side, and their first chance arrived in a hurry when Martin Jakoliš grabbed the rebound off a blocked shot and heaved it over for Valère Germain, who only needed a tap to put the Bulls on the board.
Six minutes later, a Luke Brattan cutback attempt went off David Grimaldi’s head and right to Germain, who took control and launched a right-footer to even the game in the 54th minute.
With tempers flaring and the rain intensifying, both sides worked to break the new deadlock, but it would once again be Newcastle who got the edge, as Thomas Aquilina took an accidental backheel from the opposing defence and pounced on it.
Unlike last time, it wouldn’t take half an hour of the game clock for the Bulls to respond.
Jakoliš wanted more heroics after his game-winning assist in the previous round, and when he got the ball in the 71st, he launched a 30-yard rocket that hit the top-right corner and restored parity.
A few minutes later, Macarthur’s two heroes joined forces once again, as Germain dealt to Jakoliš, who found an angle and took a piercing strike to give the Bulls their first lead of the day.
That proved to be the kill shot, as Macarthur locked it down the rest of the way and secured their second comeback victory in as many rounds.
As usual in these inter-divisional contests, Macarthur comes in as the favourite.
Their possession-heavy style can help clamp down on opposing momentum, and if things get hairy early on, they’ve repeatedly shown the ability to crack defensive codes and make the second-half surges they need to stay alive.
However, between Oakleigh beating Sydney, winning a penalty shootout, and a subsequent 1-0 win over South Melbourne for the NPL Victoria championship, the Cannons will enter with a world of confidence, and the Bulls’ lack of first-half scoring in previous rounds creates an obvious weak point for the hosts to exploit.
If Oakleigh can get ahead early and contain the Bulls’ many attacking threats, they may have another ‘cupset’ in them.
Whatever happens, this clash of Sydney pros and Melbourne underdogs should be a compelling one with massive implications for this side of the bracket.
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