1989 NSL Cup

The 1989 NSL Cup was the 13th edition of the NSL Cup, which was the main national association football knockout cup competition in Australia.

1989 NSL Cup

National Soccer League Cup
Tournament details
Country	Australia
Dates	18 March – 20 August 1989
Teams	14
Final positions
Champions	Adelaide City (2nd title)
Runner-up	Sydney Olympic
Tournament statistics
Matches played	13
Goals scored	43 (3.31 per match)
Attendance	46,696 (3,592 per match)
← 1988 1989–90 →

APIA Leichhardt were the defending champions, having defeated South Melbourne to win their first title in the previous year's final, but they were eliminated in the semi-finals by Sydney Olympic.^[1]

Adelaide City defeated Sydney Olympic 2–0 in the final to win their second NSL Cup title.^[2]

Teams

The NSL Cup was a knockout competition with 14 teams taking part all trying to reach the Final in August 1989.^[3] The competition consisted of the 14 teams from the National Soccer League.

Round	Main date	Number of fixtures	Clubs remaining
First round	Thursday 23 March 1989	6	14 → 8
Second round	Saturday 15 April 1989	4	8 → 4
Semi-finals	Wednesday 19 July 1989	2	4 → 2
Final	Sunday 20 August 1989	1	2 → 1

First round

Adelaide City and Wollongong City had a bye for the First round.

Marconi Fairfield v Blacktown City

18 March 1989	Marconi Fairfield	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Blacktown City	Sydney
19:30 AEDT	Katholos 75' Lowe 95'	Report	McKinna 49'	Stadium: Marconi Stadium Referee: Richard Lorenc

Melbourne JUST v Sunshine George Cross

22 March 1989	Melbourne JUST	1–2	Sunshine George Cross	Melbourne
19:30 AEDT	Palatsides 28'	Report	Faulkner 51' Lewis 73'	Stadium: Olympic Park Attendance: 500 Referee: John Fraser

Heidelberg United v Melbourne Croatia

23 March 1989	Heidelberg United	2–1	Melbourne Croatia	Melbourne
19:00 AEDT	Scott 30' Burgess 88'	Report	Adzic 72'	Stadium: Olympic Park Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Dennis Voutsinas

Preston Makedonia v South Melbourne

23 March 1989	Preston Makedonia	0–1	South Melbourne	Melbourne
20:45 AEDT		Report	Taliadoros 83'	Stadium: Olympic Park Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Chris Bambridge

St George-Budapest v Sydney Olympic

23 March 1989	St George-Budapest	3–6	Sydney Olympic	Sydney
19:30 AEDT	Harper 23' Moffitt 36' Krslovic 39'	Report	Saad 31', 34', 65' Barrett 28', ?' Edwards ?'	Stadium: St George Stadium Attendance: 2,795 Referee: Arthur Owens

Sydney Croatia v APIA Leichhardt

23 March 1989	Sydney Croatia	1–2	APIA Leichhardt	Sydney
19:30 AEDT	Rezo ?'	Report	Hagan 63' R. Brown ?'	Stadium: Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 1,705 Referee: Alan Townsend

Second round

Adelaide City v Sunshine George Cross

14 April 1989	Adelaide City	4–0	Sunshine George Cross	Adelaide
19:30 ACST	Melta 33', 73' Villani 50' V. Vidmar 88'	Report		Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Tom McRoe

Marconi Fairfield v Sydney Olympic

15 April 1989	Marconi Fairfield	1–3	Sydney Olympic	Sydney
14:30 AEST	Nastevski 18'	Report	Ironside 39' Phillips 61' Polak 72'	Stadium: Marconi Stadium Attendance: 3,056 Referee: Peter Spiers

Wollongong City v APIA Leichhardt

15 April 1989	Wollongong City	1–2	APIA Leichhardt	Wollongong
14:30 AEST	Ellem 27' (o.g.)	Report	Blagojevic 40' Hagan ?'	Stadium: Brandon Park Attendance: 465 Referee: John McConnell

Heidelberg United v South Melbourne

19 April 1989	Heidelberg United	2–3	South Melbourne	Melbourne
19:30 AEST	Goutzioulis 47' Stevenson 73'	Report	Taliadoros 1', 13', 63'	Stadium: Olympic Park Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Jim Fearn

Semi-finals

South Melbourne v Adelaide City

25 April 1989	South Melbourne	0–2	Adelaide City	Melbourne
14:30 AEST		Report	Melta 46' (pen.) Maxwell 52'	Stadium: Olympic Park Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Chris Bambridge

Sydney Olympic v APIA Leichhardt

19 July 1989	Sydney Olympic	1–0	APIA Leichhardt	Sydney
14:30 AEST	Koch 87' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: St George Stadium Attendance: 3,675 Referee: John McConnell

Final

Main article: 1989 NSL Cup final

Adelaide City	2–0	Sydney Olympic
Maxwell 25' Vidmar 40'	Report

20 August 1989

Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Don Campbell

References

1. Gautier, Lou (26 July 1989). "Olympic babes in Cup final". Australian Soccer Weekly. Vol. 10, no. 389. p. 14.
2. Gauter, Lou (23 August 1989). "Adoring home crowd spurs City marauders". Australian Soccer Weekly. Vol. 10, no. 393. p. 4.
3. Stock, Greg. "1989 National Soccer League Cup Results". OzFootball.