1977 NSL Cup
| National Soccer League Cup | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Country | Australia |
| Dates | 20 September – 9 October 1977 |
| Teams | 14 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Brisbane City (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Marconi-Fairfield |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 13 |
| Goals scored | 41 (3.15 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Branko Buljevic Gary Cole Peter Sharne (3 goals each) |
The 1977 NSL Cup was the first edition of the National Soccer League Cup, which was a national association football (soccer) knockout cup competition in Australia. All 14 NSL teams from around Australia entered the competition and it immediately followed the home and away season, as there was no final series.[1][2][3] The competition was known as the Philips Cup under a sponsorship arrangement with Dutch company Philips.
Background
The NSL Cup became a concept in January 1977 by the Australian Soccer Federation (now Football Australia) adopting the proposal to introduce a national knock-out competition for the first time in Australian soccer.[4] It was proposed that all 14 NSL teams would enter along with other state league champions, but didn't feature state league teams for this edition until the next edition in 1978.
Teams
The NSL Cup was a knockout competition with 14 teams taking part all trying to reach the Final in October 1977.[5] The competition consisted of the 14 teams from the National Soccer League.
| Round | Main date | Number of fixtures | Clubs remaining |
|---|---|---|---|
| First round | Tuesday 20 September 1977 | 8 | 14 → 7 |
| Quarter-finals | Sunday 2 October 1977 | 3 | 7 → 4 |
| Semi-finals | Thursday 6 October 1977 | 2 | 4 → 2 |
| Final | Sunday 9 October 1977 | 1 | 2 → 1 |
Bracket
| First round | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||||||||||
| Brisbane City | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Brisbane Lions | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Brisbane City (p) | 1 (5) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Suburbs | 1 (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Suburbs | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sydney Olympic | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Brisbane City (a.e.t.) | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| West Adelaide | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| West Adelaide (p) | 2 (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Adelaide City | 2 (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Brisbane City (p) | 1 (5) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Marconi-Fairfield | 1 (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Fitzroy United | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Footscray JUST | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Fitzroy United | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Mooroolbark | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Mooroolbark | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| South Melbourne | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Fitzroy United | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Marconi-Fairfield | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Marconi-Fairfield | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Suburbs Hakoah | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Marconi-Fairfield | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Canberra City | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Canberra City | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| St George Budapest | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
First round
| 20 September | West Adelaide | 2–2 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p) | Adelaide City | Adelaide |
|
Report | Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 8,656 |
| 20 September | Western Suburbs | 2–1 | Sydney Olympic | Sydney |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Marconi Stadium Attendance: 2,237 Referee: Tim Davies |
| 20 September | Marconi-Fairfield | 1–0 | Eastern Suburbs Hakoah | Sydney |
|
Report | Stadium: Marconi Stadium Attendance: 2,237 Referee: Richard Lorenc |
| 21 September | Brisbane City | 3–2 | Brisbane Lions | Brisbane |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Perry Park Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Peter Lampley |
| 21 September | Canberra City | 2–1 | St George-Budapest | Canberra |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Manuka Oval Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Dennis McDermott |
| 21 September | Fitzroy United | 1–0 | Footscray JUST | Melbourne |
|
Report | Stadium: Olympic Park Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Don Campbell |
| 22 September | Mooroolbark | 1–0 | South Melbourne | Melbourne |
|
Report | Stadium: Olympic Park Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Tony Boskovic |
Quarter-finals
West Adelaide had a bye for the Quarter-finals.
| 2 October | Brisbane City | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p) | Western Suburbs | Brisbane |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Perry Park Attendance: 4,000 Referee: David Yelland |
| 2 October | Fitzroy United | 3–0 | Mooroolbark | Melbourne |
| Report | Stadium: Olympic Park Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Barry Wilkinson |
| 3 October | Marconi-Fairfield | 5–1 | Canberra City | Sydney |
| Report |
|
Stadium: Sydney Sports Ground Attendance: 1,190 Referee: Bill Jones |
Semi-finals
| 5 October | Brisbane City | 3–0 (a.e.t.) | West Adelaide | Brisbane |
|
Report | Stadium: Perry Park Attendance: 5,000 |
| 6 October | Fitzroy United | 2–3 | Marconi-Fairfield | Melbourne |
| Report | Stadium: Olympic Park Attendance: 5,000 |
Final
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Branko Buljevic | Fitzroy United | 3 |
| Gary Cole | Fitzroy United | ||
| Peter Sharne | Marconi | ||
| 4 | Kevin Caldwell | Brisbane City | 2 |
| Ernie Campbell | Marconi | ||
| Ian Johnston | Brisbane City | ||
| Berti Mariani | Marconi | ||
| Warren Turnbull | Western Suburbs |
References
- ^ "(Australia) NSL Cup 1977 - Schedule".
- ^ "FFA Cup a new old tradition". Football Federation Australia. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
- ^ Stock, Greg. "1977 National Soccer League Cup Results". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ "States may compete in national series". Soccer Action. 26 January 1977. p. 3.
- ^ Stock, Greg. "1977 National Soccer League Cup Results". OzFootball.