1977 NSL Cup

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.

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)
← 1968 Australia Cup 1978 →

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

West Adelaide v Adelaide City

20 September	West Adelaide	2–2 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p)	Adelaide City	Adelaide
	McGregor 24' Kosmina 60'	Report	Boyle 70' (o.g.) Northcote 84'	Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 8,656

Western Suburbs v Sydney Olympic

20 September	Western Suburbs	2–1	Sydney Olympic	Sydney
	Turnbull 31', 78'	Report	Jamieson 86'	Stadium: Marconi Stadium Attendance: 2,237 Referee: Tim Davies

Marconi-Fairfield v Eastern Suburbs Hakoah

20 September	Marconi-Fairfield	1–0	Eastern Suburbs Hakoah	Sydney
	Prskalo 25'	Report		Stadium: Marconi Stadium Attendance: 2,237 Referee: Richard Lorenc

Brisbane City v Brisbane Lions

21 September	Brisbane City	3–2	Brisbane Lions	Brisbane
	Echeverria 3' Caldwell 49', 68'	Report	Spearritt 17' Neale 75'	Stadium: Perry Park Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Peter Lampley

Canberra City v St George-Budapest

21 September	Canberra City	2–1	St George-Budapest	Canberra
	Alston 2' Bourke 81'	Report	Jankovics 90+1'	Stadium: Manuka Oval Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Dennis McDermott

Fitzroy United v Footscray JUST

21 September	Fitzroy United	1–0	Footscray JUST	Melbourne
	Cole 61'	Report		Stadium: Olympic Park Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Don Campbell

Mooroolbark v South Melbourne

22 September	Mooroolbark	1–0	South Melbourne	Melbourne
	Lowrey 44'	Report		Stadium: Olympic Park Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Tony Boskovic

Quarter-finals

West Adelaide had a bye for the Quarter-finals.

Brisbane City v Western Suburbs

2 October	Brisbane City	1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)	Western Suburbs	Brisbane
	Johnston 5'	Report	Harding 55'	Stadium: Perry Park Attendance: 4,000 Referee: David Yelland

Fitzroy United v Mooroolbark

2 October	Fitzroy United	3–0	Mooroolbark	Melbourne
	Buljevic 15', 77' Cole 50'	Report		Stadium: Olympic Park Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Barry Wilkinson

Marconi-Fairfield v Canberra City

3 October	Marconi-Fairfield	5–1	Canberra City	Sydney
	Mariani 25' Rooney 44' Sharne 58' Byrne 75' Campbell 87'	Report	Henderson 41'	Stadium: Sydney Sports Ground Attendance: 1,190 Referee: Bill Jones

Semi-finals

Brisbane City v West Adelaide

5 October	Brisbane City	3–0 (a.e.t.)	West Adelaide	Brisbane
	Johnston 93' Pimblett 102' Kibbey 118'	Report		Stadium: Perry Park Attendance: 5,000

Fitzroy United v Marconi-Fairfield

6 October	Fitzroy United	2–3	Marconi-Fairfield	Melbourne
	Buljevic 10' Cole 62'	Report	Mariani 26' Campbell 61' Sharne 88'	Stadium: Olympic Park Attendance: 5,000

Final

Main article: 1977 NSL Cup final

5 October 1977 (1977-10-05)

Brisbane City	1–1 (a.e.t.)	Marconi
Tokesi 60'	Report	Sharne 40'
Penalties
	5–3

Perry Park, Brisbane

Attendance: 7,000

Referee: Stewart Mellings

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