The Weston Bears faced a tough challenge in the Australia Cup, being eliminated after a 3-0 defeat to A-League powerhouse Melbourne City on Sunday afternoon. Despite the loss, Bears coach Damian Zane expressed pride in his team's performance, calling it "as good as I've been involved in."

Match Overview

This match marked Zane's seventh time coaching a team in the main draw of the nationwide knockout competition. The game, held at Hunter City Motor Group Stadium, remained competitive for 85 minutes. After an early defensive error led to a goal for Melbourne City, the Bears regrouped and put forth a strong effort, although the final score did not reflect the balance of play in front of 1,542 dedicated Weston supporters.

Melbourne City secured their victory with two late goals, both assisted by substitute Andrew Nabbout, a former Socceroo. Zane noted, "I thought we were very good," despite the early setback. He highlighted a 20-minute stretch where the Bears created numerous attacking opportunities, stating, "I was thinking, 'This is really top, top level.' We probably needed to score in that period."

Key Moments

The Bears were stunned when 18-year-old Lawrence Wong scored in the sixth minute, placing a shot into the bottom right corner from just outside the area. Although Blake Archbold, Nelson King, and Chris Hatfield had chances to level the score, it was the finishing that ultimately made the difference. Besian Kutleshi found the net in the 80th minute, followed by Medin Memeti's goal five minutes later, sealing the match for City.

Zane expressed disappointment that his team couldn't find the back of the net to reward their supporters, saying, "It's just disappointing, I guess, that we didn't get a goal for the crowd here to celebrate. They were great."

Looking Ahead

With the Australia Cup campaign concluded, the Bears are now focused on the Northern NSW State Cup final against Maitland, who were also eliminated from the Cup's round of 32 after a loss to Fremantle City. Following that, Weston will return to NPL action, where they currently sit second with three matches remaining before the finals.