NSL Cup

National Soccer League Cup
Organising bodyFootball Federation Australia
Founded1977; 47 years ago (1977)
Abolished1997
RegionAustralia
Most successful club(s)Adelaide City (3 titles)[1]

The National Soccer League Cup (known most commonly as the NSL Cup) was an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic Australian soccer organised by the Australian Soccer Federation between 1977 and 1997.

History

The NSL Cup was organised to run in conjunction with the teams participating in the National Soccer League (NSL) between 1977 and 1997. It was the second nationwide club tournament held in Australia, the first being the Australia Cup during the 1960s.[2] It was held initially in 1977 immediately after the end of the NSL's regular home and away season, as there was no final series. The 1978 edition expanded to include teams from various state leagues in Australia, including Annerley (Queensland), West Woden Juventus (ACT), Essendon Croatia (Victoria), Sydney Croatia (NSW) and Ascot (WA).[3]

For the 1993–94 season the Cup was played in the preseason, before being played as a mid-season break for the 1995–96 season and then returning to the preseason for the 1996–97 season.[4] The 1996-97 Cup was the final cup to be playing during the NSL years and saw a brand new club, Collingwood Warriors, defeat Marconi in the final.[5] A replacement national knock-out cup was not instigated until the FFA Cup in 2014.[3]

Upsets

State League side Sydney Croatia upset NSL club Marconi in the first round of the 1978 Cup. Other upsets over the years where state league teams defeated NSL teams, including Parramatta Melita Eagles defeating Marconi in 1979, Mt Gravatt defeating Brisbane City in 1980, and Croydon City defeating South Melbourne in 1986.[3]

Records and statistics

Final

Team

Winners and finalists

Results by team

Results by team
Club Wins First final won Last final won Runners-up Last final lost Total final
appearances
Adelaide City 3 1979 1992 1 1978 4
Parramatta Eagles 2 1991 1994 1 1993 3
Brisbane City 2 1977 1978 0 2
Sydney Olympic 2 1983 1985 2 4
APIA Leichhardt Tigers 2 1982 1988 0 2
South Melbourne 2 1990 1996 1 3
Heidelberg United 1 1993 1993 4 1995 5
Marconi-Fairfield 1 1980 1980 3 1997 4
Sydney United 1 1987 1987 1 1994 2
Melbourne Knights 1 1995 1995 1 1984 2
Brisbane Lions 1 1981 1981 0 1
Newcastle Rosebud United 1 1984 1984 0 1
Sydney City 1 1986 1986 0 1
Collingwood Warriors 1 1997 1997 0 1
West Adelaide 0 2 1986 2
Preston Lions 0 2 1991 2
St George 0 1 1979 1
Newcastle Breakers 0 1 1996 1

References

  1. ^ "Past League and Cup Champions". OzFootball. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  2. ^ "Australia - List of Cup Winners". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  3. ^ a b c "FFA Cup a new old tradition". Football Federation Australia. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  4. ^ "The Australian National Soccer League". www.ozfootball.net. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  5. ^ "The amazing story of Aussie Cup finals: 1960-2015". Westfield FFA Cup. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.