Comic book star Roy of the Rovers would have been proud of his namesake side which battled against the fitter student team and made attacking breaks that had University coach Luiz Uehara perplexed, scratching his head in frustration.
Initially, a sixth-minute goal by Matt Edridge exposed Melchester's defence, and a side that plays three grades below Varsity looked likely to get a towelling, similar to the 14-1 thrashing meted out by Mosgiel to Invercargill Thistle.
But the hard running of Nick Paterson and Shane Stewart soon showed Melchester capable of testing the student defence, and in their wake, Riley Cunningham also sliced through with deceptive pace and style.
Melchester's attackers brought the best out of Varsity defenders Peter Overmire and Logan Wrightweb, and a pattern soon emerged of Melchester pulling the trigger at any sight of goal, and Varsity dominating possession but failing to test Melchester's impressive keeper, Craig Smart.
A telling statistic was that Melchester got more shots on target than Varsity. Perhaps some were feeble efforts but they stood more chance of scoring than many University shots which flew high above tree level.
A rock for Melchester was Chris Kay, who won everything in the air, marked tightly and tackled like a large tank. Flanked by willing workers Dan Smart, Logan Crom and keeper Smart, there was little daylight left in Melchester's goal area.
After what looked like a good tackle in the 30th minute, referee Richard Roberts pointed to the penalty spot, and Peter Rae struck a clinical penalty to make the score 2-0.
Heads might have gone down, but only minutes later, a swerving run and shot from Cunningham had Melchester supporters dancing as the ball zipped by Varsity keeper Liam Kennedy and Melchester grew in confidence.
Paterson bulldozed between centrebacks and charged down an attempted clearance by Varsity's Kennedy, then the keeper made a classy save to tip a Melchester shot to safety.
Varsity had its share of the action, too, and as cramp and fatigue spread through Melchester, coach Uehara brought on fresh legs for his side, with immediate results.
New Zealand futsal international Matt Edridge clinched the result with almost his first touch, lacing a superbly-hit 85th minute shot that bent into the top right corner despite a despairing dive by Smart.
Melchester manager Bruno Alexander praised his side's performance.
''One of our guys is 45, but they all still competed well. It was a great occasion for our side. We enjoyed it,'' he said.
Varsity coach Uehara rolled his eyes a bit.
''They were much better than I thought they would be. The final goal was Matt's first for the senior side, and it was an impressive way for us to wrap up a very competitive match,'' Uehara said.
In other cup ties, Mosgiel beat Invercargill Thistle 14-1, Northern Hearts (Timaru) thrashed Queenstown 5-1, Dunedin Technical beat Northern 3-2, Pleasant Point beat Waihopai 2-0, Old Boys beat Queens Park 1-0, and West End United beat Southend United 2-0.
In the Women's Knockout Cup, played at Tahuna Park yesterday, Roslyn-Wakari scored first, but Dunedin Technical asserted itself and eventually drew ahead, for an exciting 6-3 scoreline.
