APIA Leichhardt, Inter Lions and Sydney United 58 book Round of 32 Australia Cup spots

It was a thrilling Wednesday night of action with three high-quality clashes in round seven of the Australia Cup as teams battled it out for a place in the round of 32.

APIA Leichhardt FC 1 (4) Sydney Olympic FC 1 (1)

National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s powerhouses APIA Leichhardt and Sydney Olympic provided a blockbuster fixture at Lambert Part.

Oliver Pufflet gave Olympic the lead from the penalty spot just before the break, but Sean Symons squared things up around an hour in.

The sides couldn’t be separated in regular time taking the game into a tense period of extra time and then onto penalties.

Anthony Bouzanis was the hero of the shootout for APIA pulling off two saves and handing his team a shot in the national round.

Inter Lions FC 2 Rockdale Ilinden FC 1

League One side Inter Lions provided the shock of the night defeating NPL NSW Men’s title hopefuls Rockdale Ilinden 2-1 at Majors Bay Reserve.

It was a heated encounter with tempers flaring on a few occasions during the match.

A sensational first half from the hosts had them two goals to the good heading into the sheds.

Former A-League Men’s star Daniel Georgievski played an important role picking up a goal and an assist.

Sam Armson also found the net with his third goal of the 2023 season.

Rockdale forward Alec Urosevski pulled one back in second-half stoppage time, but the hosts managed to hold on for an historic victory.

It will be the Lions’ first appearance in the round of 32.

Sydney United 58 FC 2 NWS Spirit FC 0

2022 Australia Cup finalists Sydney United 58, flexed their muscles once again downing NWS Spirit 2-0 at Sydney United Sports Centre.

These teams also met in last season’s Waratah Cup final where Spirit got the better of United, however, it was a turn of fortunes this time around.

Miro Vlastelica’s men put in a purposeful showing, creating numerous chances with the woodwork preventing a greater margin of victory.

Matthew Bilic opened the scoring for United inside half an hour before Christian Gonzalez came off the bench to secure the win late on in the second period.

These results also set up the Waratah Cup semi-final matchups with Sydney United taking on Inter Lions, while APIA Leichhardt will face either Mount Druitt Town Rangers or Northbridge FC.

Review by Timothy Gibson, on Twitter @Timg123_