Cooks Hill United made history as they downed Adelaide Croatia 3-2 in the Australia Cup national round of 32 on Wednesday night.
Cooks Hill became just the third Northern NSW Football club to qualify for the round of 16 thanks to their well-deserved victory over the NPL South Australia side.
But there was no such fairytale for Weston, with the Bears going down 2-0 to Heidelberg United.
Adelaide Croatia 2-3 Cooks Hill United
In Adelaide, Cooks Hill were quietly confident of getting a result against Adelaide Croatia in their first ever national round of 32 match, with the Raiders sitting bottom of the NPL South Australia table.
It was a disastrous start for Cooks Hill, with Adelaide Croatia taking the lead in the fifth minute thanks to an unfortunate own goal.
The hosts got in behind Cooks Hill down the right before Jye Bailey attempted to clear the cross, only for the ball to hit fellow Cooks Hill defender Alex Hilton and roll past Daniel Eisenhauer into the net.
But Chris Zoricich’s side did not allow the set back to hurt them as the deservedly drew level just past the half hour mark.
Liam Wilson did brilliantly to press Adelaide Croatia goalkeeper Corrado Musci into a mistake, with Musci compounding his error by dragging Wilson down.
Josh Benson took the responsibility from the penalty spot and calmly slotted home to make it 1-1.
Xavier Williams then produced an outstanding cameo after Zoricich sent him on as a half-time substitute.
Williams did brilliantly down the left before cutting the ball back for Benson to tap in his second and give Cooks Hill the lead on the hour mark.
Williams then doubled Cooks Hill’s advantage exactly two minutes later with a brilliant solo goal.
But that was to be the end of Williams’ night as he was forced off with an injury four minutes later.
Cooks Hill looked to be cruising to victory before the hosts set up a grandstand finish when Noah Blazeka prodded home for Adelaide Croatia following a Cooks Hill defensive mistake from a corner.
Cooks Hill had to survive a nervy finish, with Adelaide Croatia denied a late equaliser by the offside flag.
But Cooks Hill held on for a deserved victory as the club secured its own slice of history. Cooks Hill are just the third northern NSW club to qualify for the Australia Cup round of 16 since the competition’s inception in 2014.
Edgeworth qualified for the round of 16 in 2016 and 2019, while Broadmeadow Magic reached the same stage of the competition in 2018.
It was an outstanding achievement for Cooks Hill, who were only promoted to NPL Men’s NNSW in 2022.
Heidelberg United 2-0 Weston Bears
In Melbourne, Weston faced the daunting task of taking on NPL Victoria leaders Heidelberg United at Olympic Park Village in what was also their first trip to the national round of 32.
The hosts took the lead through Asahi Yokokawa in the 26th minute when he finished from close range following a cut back.
The Bears, the oldest club still in the competition, were well in the game and gave a good account of themselves, creating chances and having a strong penalty shout waved away.
But it was to be Heidelberg’s night, with Max Bisetto sealing the result with a classy finish three minutes from full-time to end Weston’s campaign.
Weston and Cooks Hill will back up to play each other in the Northern NSW Men’s State Cup Final at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility on Saturday, in a match that will double as the rescheduled NPL Men’s NNSW round 14 fixture between the sides.
