Our Hahn Australia Cup 2026 journey will begin with a short trip to NPL NSW club Sydney United 58, in the Round of 32.
The Mariners will be well aware of a challenging clash against a historic, NPL heavyweight who also have a strong history in the Australia Cup.
All Round of 32 fixtures are scheduled to take place in July, with full fixture details to be confirmed in due course.
🆚 About our opponents
The Mariners will be well aware of the challenge that awaits against Sydney United, who are performing well in the NPL this season. Incredibly, they won their first nine fixtures before a slight dip in form has since seen them drop to fourth.
Their strong history in the Australia Cup includes becoming the first NPL club in history to make the final, back in 2022 when they overcame then A-League Champions Western United, and Brisbane Roar en route to the final, which they lost to Macarthur.
There are a number of former A-League and Mariners connections in the Sydney United ranks, most recently goalkeeper Adam Pavlesic made the move after a one-year spell with the Mariners, whilst former Mariners Academy product Michael Glassock has been a standout performer, as has Central Coast-born winger Mason Wells.
Other key players for United include Japanese midfielder Tomoki Wada, who played once for J-League giants Vissel Kobe at the beginning of his career, and midfield partner Carlos De Oliveira, who has been a consistent standout performer in NPL NSW in recent seasons.
Former Macarthur youngster Michael Krslovic is United’s top scorer with seven so far this season.
🏆 Our Australia Cup history
The Australia Cup remains the only piece of domestic silverware missing from the Mariners’ trophy cabinet.
The closest we have come is in 2021, when we were defeated in the final by Melbourne Victory, 2-1 at AAMI Park.
Since then, the Mariners have endured a frustrating run in the Australia Cup, exiting in the Round of 32 to Sydney FC in both 2022 and 2023, before falling to Heidelberg United at the same stage in 2024.
Last season, we failed to qualify after losing to Perth Glory in the qualifying play-offs in Darwin.
This time around, we will be looking to better our recent efforts, and should we add the Australia Cup to our collection, we would join an exclusive list of teams to complete the set of Australian domestic trophies, and become the first team to win all three as well as a continental title.
