Australia Cup Round Of 32
Victory escapes us in Victoria as our Lions Men suffer a 4-1 defeat against a strong Melbourne Knights side.
LIONS VS MELBOURNE KNIGHTS: AUSTRALIA CUP
Two second-half goals condemned ended our Australia Cup campaign on a difficult evening in Sunshine North.
A rapid start saw Ivan Ozzi force a fine reactionary save, burning down the left flank before winning the physical battle and sending his strike across goal. Nathan Shepherd continued to drive momentum, recovering possession in the Knights’ half before feeding Pengelly in space on the edge of the box to create a dangerous chance.
Our resistance was broken in the 23rd minute when Gian Albano placed a neat left-footed strike into the top left corner. Jackson Hart-Phillips responded by firing a powerful strike at the keeper, which was parried over the crossbar to create a corner. Tommy Jarrard slammed a powerful header into the crossbar from the resulting crossbar.
Ten minutes before the break, our Lions drew level. Ivan Ozzi once again won the physical battle down the left flank, firing a low cross to the back post for Andy Pengelly to plant in the back of the net. Unfortunately, within 60 seconds, Mohammed Sumaoro headed home at the back post to restore the Knights’ lead.
We entered the second half with a different attitude, creating several dangerous chances within the first five minutes of the restart. We started the second half with speed and sharpness, pressing the Knights with vigour and preventing them from overwhelming us on the break.
Twenty minutes before the final whistle, former Lion Mitchell Hore undid our second-half efforts, picking the bottom right corner after a quick transition from the hosts. Ozzi continued to create the most danger for our Lions, but a final, late strike from the Knights ended our Australia Cup run.
We are proud of the effort from our boys, making it back to the Round of 32 and putting up a great fight in Victoria. We will be back in 2024.
Goalscorers:
34’ | Andy Pengelly
HT: LIO 1-2 MBK
FT: LIO 1-4 MBK
Follow our Instagram & Facebook pages to see the full post-match interview from Darren Sime.
