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Melbourne Knights return to the national stage with an Australia Cup Round of 32 clash against Lions FC at Knights Stadium on Thursday night.
Thursday’s match will be Knights fourth occasion in the national rounds as they aim to advance to the Round of 16 for the second time in their history.
Ben Cahn’s side reached the final 32 with wins over Corio, Box Hill United, Bentleigh Greens and Yarraville Glory, scoring 16 goals along the way.
Knights head into the Round of 32 with NPL Victoria finals football already secured having locked in a top six finish with two rounds to spare following a 4-1 win on the road over Hume City in their last league outing.
Knights Round 24 victory over Hume saw them set a club record goalscoring return of 47 in a single NPL Victoria campaign, bettering the previous record of 45 set in 2018.
The newly set goalscoring record goes alongside another club record eight match NPL Victoria unbeaten streak set earlier this season in a strong first campaign for Ben Cahn at Knights Stadium.
Thursday’s opponents Lions, who currently sit fourth on the NPL Queensland ladder make the trip to Somers Street from Richlands in Brisbane’s West.
Like Knights, Lions who are coached by Darren Sime will compete in the Australia Cup national rounds for a fourth time on Thursday night.
Lions reached the Round of 32 with wins over New Farm United, Logan Village, North Star and Redlands United.
Tickets are now on sale for Thursdays match. For more information, visit www.melbourneknights.com.au/product-category/tickets/
Knights midfielder Mitch Hore, who spent three seasons at Lions is in line to go up against his former club for the first time since making the move south in 2021 to initially join Bentleigh before signing on at Somers Street at the beginning of the current campaign.
Knights Head Coach, Ben Cahn, who will be also be familiar with Lions having gone up against them in many big battles during his time in Queensland reaches the Australia Cup national rounds for the third time as a coach having gone as far as the Round of 16 with Olympic in 2019.
Thursday’s Australia Cup Round of 32 tie at Knights Stadium kicks off at 7:30pm and will be broadcast live on 10play.
MATCH DETAILS
Australia Cup 2023 – Round of 32: Melbourne Knights v Lions FC
Knights Stadium, Sunshine North
Thursday, August 10 (7:30pm KO)
