LIONS FC · 2026 CUP RUN
TWO CUPS.
ONE RUN.
TO REMEMBER.
Queensland Cup champions. Australia Cup semi-finalists. Ten matches, 20 goals, five clean sheets and two cupsets across a campaign that took Lions from a Round 4 shootout to the national final four.
HOW IT STARTED
A shootout, extra time and no easy route through
The run began against Eastern Suburbs in Queensland Cup Round 4. After a 1–1 draw, Lions survived a long penalty shootout, winning 6–5 to stay alive.
Holland Park Hawks then pushed Lions beyond 90 minutes. Broderick opened the scoring in the 40th minute, before extra-time goals from Ponting, Fiechtner and Oyet turned a tight contest into a 4–1 win.
Olympic were next. This time there was no shootout and no extra time required: Akbari scored in the 56th minute and Lions held on for a 1–0 victory.
THE QUEENSLAND CUP ROAD
Four rounds to qualify for the national stage
Every tie brought a different test — penalties, extra time, a one-goal grind and then a quarter-final statement.
STATE CUP FINISH
Then they finished the job.
Australia Cup qualification was secured, but Lions still had a Queensland Cup to win. Marlin Coast Rangers were beaten 2–1 in the semi-final before Peninsula Power were edged 1–0 in the final.
AUSTRALIA CUP
The run went national
Perth Glory first. Melbourne City next. Then a quarter-final demolition that put Lions into the final four.
Perth Glory
1–1 WON 4–2 PENSLagos 95'
QUARTER-FINAL
North Sunshine Eagles had no answer.
Beakhurst scored in the 14th minute, Hore added two more before the 40-minute mark, and Deng made it 4–0 in the 42nd. By half-time Lions were effectively in the semi-finals.
THE FINAL FOUR
South Melbourne finally ended the run
Lions had reached the Australia Cup semi-finals, but South Melbourne stopped the campaign one match short of the final. Hart-Phillips scored in the 23rd minute, but the Victorian side won 3–1.
It was the only defeat of the 10-match cup run — and the last line on a campaign that had already delivered a state trophy, two national cupsets and a place among the last four teams in the Australia Cup.
THE FULL RUN
Ten matches, from Round 4 to the final four
A state trophy on one side of the run, an Australia Cup semi-final on the other.
Eastern Suburbs
Won 6–5 pensHolland Park Hawks
AETOlympic
WinSunshine Coast Wanderers
WinMarlin Coast Rangers
WinPeninsula Power
CHAMPIONSPerth Glory
Won 4–2 pensMelbourne City
WinNorth Sunshine Eagles
WinSouth Melbourne
Semi-finalistsQUEENSLAND CUP CHAMPIONS · AUSTRALIA CUP SEMI-FINALISTS
From a Round 4 shootout to the national final four.
Ten cup matches. Twenty goals. Five clean sheets. Two cupsets. Lions FC's 2026 cup run had almost everything.