1978 NSL Cup

The 1978 NSL Cup was the second edition of the NSL Cup, which was the main national association football knockout cup competition in Australia. The competition was known as the Philips Cup under a sponsorship arrangement with Dutch company Philips.^[1]

1978 NSL Cup

National Soccer League Cup
Tournament details
Country	Australia
Dates	10 May – 8 October 1978
Teams	32
Final positions
Champions	Brisbane City (2nd title)
Runners-up	Adelaide City
Tournament statistics
Matches played	31
Goals scored	90 (2.9 per match)
Attendance	67,312 (2,171 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Branko Culina Barry Kelso (4 goals each)
← 1977 1979 →

Defending champions Brisbane City defeated Adelaide City 2–1 in the final to win their second and back-to-back NSL Cup title.^[2]

Teams

The NSL Cup was a knockout competition with 32 teams taking part all trying to reach the Final in October 1978.^[3] The competition consisted of the 14 teams from the National Soccer League plus 18 teams from their respective top division state leagues.

Round	Main date	Number of fixtures	Clubs remaining
First round	Wednesday 24 May 1978	16	32 → 16
Second round	Wednesday 19 July 1978	8	16 → 8
Quarter-finals	Sunday 24 September 1978	4	8 → 4
Semi-finals	Sunday 1 October 1978	2	4 → 2
Final	Sunday 24 September 1978	1	2 → 1

Bracket

	Round of 32					Round of 16					Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Finals
	Brisbane City		1
	St. George-Souths		0			Brisbane City (p)		0 (5)
	Brisbane Lions		7			Brisbane Lions		0 (4)
	Annerley		0								Brisbane City		3
	Southside Eagles		1								Eastern Suburbs Hakoah		0
	Eastern Suburbs Hakoah		2			Eastern Suburbs Hakoah		4
	Sydney Olympic		2			Sydney Olympic		0
	Auburn		0													Brisbane City (a.e.t.)		2
	Weston Bears		1													Newcastle KB United		0
	Newcastle KB United		2			Newcastle KB United		2
	Marconi		0 (3)			Sydney Croatia		0
	Sydney Croatia (p)		0 (4)								Newcastle KB United		1
	Western Suburbs		2								Western Suburbs		0
	Sutherland		0			Western Suburbs		1
	St. George		2			St. George		0
	APIA Leichhardt		1																		Brisbane City		2
	Beograd Woodville		2																		Adelaide City		1
	Eastern Districts Azzurri		1			Beograd Woodville		0
	White Eagles		0			Essendon Croatia		5
	Essendon Croatia		2								Essendon Croatia		0
	Adelaide City		5								Adelaide City		1
	Noarlunga United		0			Adelaide City		1
	Ascot		1			West Adelaide		0
	West Adelaide		4													Adelaide City		3
	George Cross		1													Canberra City		1
	Juventus		0			George Cross		2
	Canberra City		4			Canberra City		3
	West Woden Juventus		0								Canberra City (p)		1 (5)
	Fitzroy United		6								Fitzroy United		1 (4)
	Prahan Slavia		3			Fitzroy United (a.e.t.)		2
	Footscray JUST		1			South Melbourne		1
	South Melbourne		2

First round

Canberra City (1) v West Woden Juventus (2)

10 May 1978	Canberra City (1)	4–0	West Woden Juventus (2)	Queanbeyan
	Henderson 51', 57', ?' Grujicic ?'	Report		Stadium: Seiffert Oval

White Eagles (2) v Essendon Croatia (2)

10 May 1978	White Eagles (2)	0–2	Essendon Croatia (2)	Hobart
		Report	Sikora 56' (o.g.) Culina 61' (pen.)	Attendance: 900 Referee: Ron Proctor

Fitzroy United (1) v Prahran Slavia (2)

17 May 1978	Fitzroy United (1)	6–3	Prahran Slavia (2)	Melbourne
20:45 AEST	Bozikas 25', 44', 53' Campbell 71', 79' Cole 72'	Report	Miller 30' Paton 67' Train 90'	Stadium: Olympic Park Stadium

George Cross (2) v Juventus (2)

17 May 1978	George Cross (2)	1–0	Juventus (2)	Melbourne
18:45 AEST	Cullen 2'	Report		Stadium: Olympic Park Stadium

St George (1) v APIA Leichhardt (2)

17 May 1978	St George (1)	2–1	APIA Leichhardt (2)	Sydney
20:00 AEST	J. O'Shea 35' Hensman 84'	Report	Jack 77'	Stadium: Garside Park Attendance: 722

Weston Bears (2) v Newcastle KB United (1)

17 May 1978	Weston Bears (2)	1–2	Newcastle KB United (1)	Weston
	JJ. Turnbull 12'	Report	Drinkwater 58' Summerscales 68'	Stadium: Weston Park Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Alf Rodway

Adelaide City (1) v Noarlunga United (2)

24 May 1978	Adelaide City (1)	5–0	Noarlunga United (2)	Adelaide
	J. Nyskohus 22' B. Nyskohus 49' Fyffe 53' Kosmina 66' Marocchi 82'	Report		Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium

Ascot (2) v West Adelaide (1)

24 May 1978	Ascot (2)	1–4	West Adelaide (1)	Perth
	Jones 31' (o.g.)	Report	Honeyman 30', 86' McGregor 55' Norris 85'	Stadium: Litis Stadium

Beograd Woodville (2) v Eastern Districts Azzurri (2)

24 May 1978	Beograd Woodville (2)	2–1	Eastern Districts Azzurri (2)	Adelaide
	Jankovic 6' Kamleitner 11'	Report	Russo 86'	Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium

Brisbane Lions (1) v Annerley (2)

24 May 1978	Brisbane Lions (1)	7–0	Annerley (2)	Brisbane
	Laszlo ?', ?' Spearritt ?' Fairbrother ?' Morris ?' Amos 35+' Ontong 55+'	Report		Stadium: Perry Park

Sydney Olympic (1) v Auburn (2)

24 May 1978	Sydney Olympic (1)	2–0	Auburn (2)	Sydney
	Laing 45' Allan 68'	Report		Stadium: Garside Park Attendance: 1,000

Western Suburbs (1) v Sutherland (2)

24 May 1978	Western Suburbs (1)	2–0	Sutherland (2)	Sydney
	Eaton 20' Stone 32'	Report		Stadium: Garside Park Attendance: 1,000

Footscray JUST (1) v South Melbourne (1)

31 May 1978	Footscray JUST (1)	1–2	South Melbourne (1)	Melbourne
	Ristovski ?'	Report	Rogers 27' Lutton 57'	Stadium: Olympic Park Stadium Attendance: 3,000

Southside Eagles (2) v Eastern Suburbs Hakoah (1)

31 May 1978	Southside Eagles (2)	1–2	Eastern Suburbs Hakoah (1)	Brisbane
	Millman 37'	Report	Thomson 50' Watson 83'	Stadium: Perry Park Referee: Dave Nugent

Brisbane City (1) v St George-Souths (2)

14 June 1978	Brisbane City (1)	1–0	St George-Souths (2)	Brisbane
	Coyne 16'	Report		Stadium: Perry Park Referee: Jack Wood

Marconi (1) v Sydney Croatia (2)

21 June 1978	Marconi (1)	0–0 (3–4 p)	Sydney Croatia (2)	Sydney
		Report		Stadium: Marconi Oval Attendance: 4,175 Referee: Tim Davies

Second round

Adelaide City (1) v West Adelaide (1)

19 July 1978	Adelaide City (1)	1–0	West Adelaide (1)	Adelaide
	Marwe 76'	Report		Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 6,856 Referee: Graham Neal

Brisbane City (1) v Brisbane Lions (1)

19 July 1978	Brisbane City (1)	0–0 (5–4 p)	Brisbane Lions (1)	Brisbane
		Report		Stadium: Perry Park Referee: Dave Nugent

Eastern Suburbs Hakoah (1) v Sydney Olympic (1)

19 July 1978	Eastern Suburbs Hakoah (1)	4–0	Sydney Olympic (1)	Sydney
	Souness 17' Barnes 21' Smith 68', 73'	Report		Stadium: Wentworth Park Attendance: 1,023 Referee: Tim Davies

Western Suburbs (1) v St George (1)

19 July 1978	Western Suburbs (1)	1–0	St George (1)	Sydney
	Eaton 4'	Report		Stadium: Wentworth Park Attendance: 1,023 Referee: Henry Witschge

Beograd Woodville (2) v Essendon Croatia (2)

26 July 1978	Beograd Woodville (2)	0–5	Essendon Croatia (2)	Adelaide
		Report	Culina 45', 52', 63' Gilder 69' Davidson 79'	Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Dennis Stanley

Fitzroy United (1) v South Melbourne (1)

2 August 1978	Fitzroy United (1)	2–1 (a.e.t.)	South Melbourne (1)	Melbourne
	Buljevic 88' Taylor 110'	Report	Cummigs 89'	Stadium: Olympic Park Stadium Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Chris Bambridge

George Cross (1) v Canberra City (1)

2 August 1978	George Cross (1)	2–3	Canberra City (1)	Melbourne
	Paparas 26' Reed 65'	Report	Davies 42' Byrne 62' Grujicic 70'	Stadium: Olympic Park Stadium Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Chris Bambridge

Newcastle KB United (1) v Sydney Croatia (2)

2 August 1978	Newcastle KB United (1)	2–0	Sydney Croatia (2)	Newcastle
	Galpin 38' Boden 51'	Report		Stadium: Newcastle International Sports Centre Attendance: 3,544 Referee: Bill Jones

Quarter-finals

Newcastle KB United (1) v Western Suburbs (1)

3 September 1978	Newcastle KB United (1)	1–0	Western Suburbs (1)	Newcastle
	Tredinnick 86'	Report		Stadium: Newcastle International Sports Centre Attendance: 6,417 Referee: Jack Wood

Brisbane City (1) v Eastern Suburbs Hakoah (1)

24 September 1978	Brisbane City (1)	3–0	Eastern Suburbs Hakoah (1)	Brisbane
	Caldwell 48' (pen.) Kelso 82', ?'	Report		Stadium: Perry Park Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Stewart Mellings

Canberra City (1) v Fitzroy United (1)

24 September 1978	Canberra City (1)	1–1 (5–4 p)	Fitzroy United (1)	Canberra
	Cant 45'	Report	Cole ?'	Stadium: Canberra Stadium

Essendon Croatia (2) v Adelaide City (1)

24 September 1978	Essendon Croatia (2)	0–1	Adelaide City (1)	Melbourne
		Report	J. Nyskohus 83'	Stadium: Olympic Park Stadium Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Richard Lorenc

Semi-finals

Adelaide City (1) v Canberra City (1)

1 October 1978	Adelaide City (1)	3–1	Canberra City (1)	Adelaide
	Marwe 8' Muniz 52', 89'	Report	Stoddart 4'	Stadium: Olympic Sports Field Attendance: 2,651 Referee: Tim Davies

Brisbane City (1) v Newcastle KB United (1)

1 October 1978	Brisbane City (1)	2–0 (a.e.t.)	Newcastle KB United (1)	Brisbane
	Caldwell 105' (pen.) Kelso 119'	Report		Stadium: Perry Park Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Henry Witschge

Final

Main article: 1978 NSL Cup final

8 October 1978 (1978-10-08)

Brisbane City	2–1	Adelaide City
Kelso 28' Pimblett 77'	Report	Zoran Matić 31'

Perry Park, Brisbane

Attendance: 4,964

Referee: Tony Boskovic

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Branko Culina	Essendon Croatia	4
	Barry Kelso	Brisbane City
3	Andy Bozikas	Fitzroy United	3
	Tony Henderson	Canberra City