The A-League season is still a few weeks away, but in the Australia Cup semi-finals, one of its oldest and most ferocious derbies will take centre stage a little early. The Original Rivalry between Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory has crossed over to this cup a few times before, but never so deep in the bracket, and suffice to say, there’s much more at stake here than what to call your chicken parmigiana. Before we write the latest chapter in this storied saga of hate, let’s recap how this came to be and consider what each side will be counting on to make it to the big dance.
Vergos, Arzani lead Victory to dominant display
For their third straight visit to an NPL team’s house, Melbourne Victory headed up to Brisbane to take on Moreton City Excelsior, who’d just proved themselves cupset-capable against Perth Glory and would’ve loved to do it twice in a row. Unfortunately for the hosts, things quickly turned into the Nikos Vergos show as Victory’s Greek striker absolutely defined the first half.
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Ten minutes in, he headed home a free kick from Daniel Arzani to take the early lead. Ten minutes later, Vergos doubled the advantage with another header, this time off a cross from Jordi Valadon. Finally, when Kasey Bos picked Moreton’s pockets, Vergos took the ball and relayed it back to Bos, who ensured it would be 3-0 going into half-time.
Vergos may have taken the mantle as Melbourne’s man with the brace and assist, but that didn’t mean Nishan Velupillay was shirking the spotlight. In the 66th minute, Arzani stepped up again, sending a long through ball that Velupillay played to perfection, running straight past every defender and blasting from midrange to make it 4-0. Not only did it certify Arzani as the playmaker of the day, it extended Velupillay’s goal tally to five for the tournament, solidifying him as the man to beat for the Golden Boot.
After that, the Vuck didn’t shoot again the rest of the night, nor did they need to. Even with Marquez Walters, the highest-scoring NPL player of the tournament to this point, Excelsior found themselves powerless to respond, thwarted at every turn and scarcely getting chances in the first place. Therefore, as fun as Moreton’s run was, it ended here, and the Victory officially took Queensland’s last hope out of the picture.
Adelaide finally pin Wanderers down
Western Sydney Wanderers bested Adelaide United in all three of their meetings last season, including a thrashing in the Cup, and they walked into the City of Churches looking to extend the streak. However, Austin Ayoubi was determined to prevent that, and he had his say early on. Ayoubi received a pass from Ethan Alagich, found his angle, and unleashed from beyond the box, and as a result, Adelaide’s breakout star of the tournament notched the opening goal for the second consecutive round.
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Both sides would try to either extend or erase that advantage over the rest of the half, but neither could. The crossbars had a particular hand in that—thanks to their interference, several of the first 45’s best chances, from Adelaide’s multiple free kicks in dangerous spots to Western Sydney finding Nicolas Milanović on the break, wound up doinking harmlessly over the top or back onto the pitch.
Once the second half arrived, though, Milanović made himself undeniable. The Wanderers winger had taken several good cracks at scoring already, and in the 68th minute, he turned a head pass from Marcus Antonsson into an absolute laser off his right foot, pulling WSW back on level terms. Adelaide tried to get the advantage back, unleashing a flurry of shot attempts in the dying embers of regulation, but it wasn’t enough, and they’d have to wait for extra time.
Fortunately, that wait didn’t take long, as Zach Clough sent a through ball into the box and Reds captain Ryan Kitto barreled past his man to smash it home, giving Adelaide the lead back in the 93rd. The Wanderers scrambled for their cup lives from there—and in the back half of extra time, Adelaide practically let them have the ball—but the Reds refused to concede and completed their revenge on the Sydney side.
As a reward, Adelaide have made their first Australia Cup semi-final since 2019, and they’ll be salivating at the chance to play Kick A Vic with their arch-rivals.
Winner gets Serviceton: the keys to victory
The story for Melbourne, as it has been this whole tournament, will be in their explosive offence. That’s not to discount the defensive side of things—those consecutive clean sheets are no fluke—but with Velupillay and Vergos rocking seven and five-goal involvements respectively, it’s only natural that they’ll draw the attention. If they get cooking again, reaching the final will be a simple recipe.
All that said, Adelaide will be a significantly tougher task than anything the Vuck have faced thus far, and they’ve developed a formula of their own.
Round after round, the Reds have struck first, refused to fall behind after their opponents responded, and defensively locked down when it mattered most to ensure their own late-game daggers stuck.
Crucially, they’ve now proved they can execute this game plan on A-League rivals, not just NPL sides, which adds an extra level of credibility to what Adelaide have achieved so far.
It also means they won’t have to shift up as many gears to reach the necessary level of play for success, and that could mean everything if the Vuck get off to a slow start.
If Macarthur wins Sunday, the winner of this match will have the chance to fight for the trophy as the home side. Either way, expect these fierce enemies to go for the throat and take no prisoners.