# 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. 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. 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. 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 | First round | First round | First round | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| Brisbane City | Brisbane City | Brisbane City | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| Brisbane Lions | Brisbane Lions | Brisbane Lions | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| Brisbane Lions | Brisbane Lions | Brisbane Lions | 2 | Brisbane City (p) | Brisbane City (p) | Brisbane City (p) | 1 (5) | | | | |
| | | | | Western Suburbs | Western Suburbs | Western Suburbs | 1 (4) | | | | |
| Western Suburbs | Western Suburbs | Western Suburbs | 2 | Western Suburbs | Western Suburbs | Western Suburbs | 1 (4) | | | | |
| Sydney Olympic | Sydney Olympic | Sydney Olympic | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| Sydney Olympic | Sydney Olympic | Sydney Olympic | 1 | | | | | Brisbane City (a.e.t.) | Brisbane City (a.e.t.) | Brisbane City (a.e.t.) | 3 |
| | | | | | | | | West Adelaide | West Adelaide | West Adelaide | 0 |
| West Adelaide (p) | West Adelaide (p) | West Adelaide (p) | 2 (4) | | | | | West Adelaide | West Adelaide | West Adelaide | 0 |
| Adelaide City | Adelaide City | Adelaide City | 2 (2) | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | Brisbane City (p) | Brisbane City (p) | Brisbane City (p) | 1 (5) |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | Marconi-Fairfield | Marconi-Fairfield | Marconi-Fairfield | 1 (3) |
| Fitzroy United | Fitzroy United | Fitzroy United | 1 | | | | | | | | | Marconi-Fairfield | Marconi-Fairfield | Marconi-Fairfield | 1 (3) |
| Footscray JUST | Footscray JUST | Footscray JUST | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Footscray JUST | Footscray JUST | Footscray JUST | 0 | Fitzroy United | Fitzroy United | Fitzroy United | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Mooroolbark | Mooroolbark | Mooroolbark | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| Mooroolbark | Mooroolbark | Mooroolbark | 1 | Mooroolbark | Mooroolbark | Mooroolbark | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| South Melbourne | South Melbourne | South Melbourne | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| South Melbourne | South Melbourne | South Melbourne | 0 | | | | | Fitzroy United | Fitzroy United | Fitzroy United | 2 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Marconi-Fairfield | Marconi-Fairfield | Marconi-Fairfield | 3 |
| Marconi-Fairfield | Marconi-Fairfield | Marconi-Fairfield | 1 | | | | | Marconi-Fairfield | Marconi-Fairfield | Marconi-Fairfield | 3 |
| Eastern Suburbs Hakoah | Eastern Suburbs Hakoah | Eastern Suburbs Hakoah | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| Eastern Suburbs Hakoah | Eastern Suburbs Hakoah | Eastern Suburbs Hakoah | 0 | Marconi-Fairfield | Marconi-Fairfield | Marconi-Fairfield | 5 | | | | |
| | | | | Canberra City | Canberra City | Canberra City | 1 | | | | |
| Canberra City | Canberra City | Canberra City | 2 | Canberra City | Canberra City | Canberra City | 1 | | | | |
| St George Budapest | St George Budapest | St George Budapest | 1 | | | | | | | | |

## Quarter-finals

West Adelaide had a bye for the Quarter-finals.

## Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Branko Buljevic | Fitzroy United | 3 |
| 1 | Gary Cole | Fitzroy United | 3 |
| 1 | Peter Sharne | Marconi | 3 |
| 4 | Kevin Caldwell | Brisbane City | 2 |
| 4 | Ernie Campbell | Marconi | 2 |
| 4 | Ian Johnston | Brisbane City | 2 |
| 4 | Berti Mariani | Marconi | 2 |
| 4 | Warren Turnbull | Western Suburbs | 2 |