South Melbourne have become the first National Premier Leagues club to win the Australia Cup, beating A-League side Melbourne Victory 4-3 on penalties in the final. The match finished 0-0 after 90 minutes and 1-1 after extra time, in front of a sellout crowd of 29,911 at AAMI Park. South took an A-League club to extra time, came from a goal down late in the additional period and then held their nerve in the shootout.
Victory looked to have won it in the 95th minute, when Denis Genreau struck a half-volley that hit the crossbar and bounced in past goalkeeper Javier Lopez. South’s Juach then missed two good chances to level, but the NPL side found an equaliser in the 117th minute. Substitute Jordan Swibel broke down the right and crossed, and Max Mikkola poked the ball home with his toe to force a shootout. The shootout belonged to South and their goalkeeper. South converted every one of their penalties. Lopez, who was named man of the match and awarded the Mark Viduka Medal, saved Harrison Sawyer’s kick, only for the referee to order a retake because he had left his line. He saved the second attempt as well. Victory captain Jason Davidson, whose father Alan Davidson is a South Melbourne great, then put his penalty over the bar. During normal time Lopez had kept the scores level with a save using his knees after Guillermo May set up Santos in the 78th minute.
The win ended a run of near misses for NPL clubs. Sydney United 58 reached the final in 2022 and Heidelberg did the same last year, but both lost. South, coached by Sinisa Cohadzic, were backed by a packed south end that displayed banners honouring club greats Ange Postecoglou, Ferenc Puskas and John Margaritis. Before kick-off, part of that section booed the Welcome to Country. For Victory, coached by Giovanni Savarese, the defeat extends a trophy drought that dates back to their 2021 Australia Cup win.
The prize goes beyond the trophy itself. The result technically earns South a place in next season’s AFC Champions League 2, putting a club from outside the top flight into continental competition. It also adds weight to the former National Soccer League powerhouse’s long-running bid for an A-League licence, which the club has pursued for years.
