Mallacoota welcomed soccer teams from across New South Wales and Victoria recently for the 52nd annual Mallacoota Cup, with New South Wales side Kissing Point coming out victorious.
Each year, nine teams are invited to the tournament, hosted on the first weekend of October, with Mallacoota United, a conglomerate of former Mallacoota Soccer Club players and their guests, completing the 10-team draw.
This year, the round-robin competition featured three teams from the Gippsland region, the host team Mallacoota United, returning participants Sale United Football Club, and first-time invitees East Gippsland United Football Club from Bairnsdale.
The likes of Hornsby RSL Football Club, Kissing Point Football Club, Cooma Tigers Football Club, South Coast United, Fire Sparrows United Football Club, Goodboys Football Club and Lambton Jaffas Soccer Club joined the Gippsland-based teams in the event.
The Mallacoota Cup tournament boasts a talented competition, with some players among the highest leagues in the country, and offers participating teams an opportunity to play against opposition they wouldn’t usually play.
The tournament is a fun and social event to conclude the soccer season and clubs are appreciative of the opportunity.
The competition also benefits the Mallacoota township, a welcomed tourism boost that has evolved as locals’ marker of the commencement of the holiday season.
The event saw 20 games hosted across Saturday and Sunday morning, with top teams progressing to the 2024 Mallacoota Cup finals series on Sunday afternoon.
While East Gippsland United was unsuccessful in advancing from the group stage, both Mallacoota United and Sale United progressed to the finals series.
Hornsby RSL ended Sale United’s campaign in the quarter-final, claiming the win in a penalty shootout after two goalless halves.
Fire Sparrows United clinched victory over reigning champions Mallacoota United in the semi-final with a goal in the dying minutes, claiming their spot in the 2024 Mallacoota Cup grand final alongside undefeated side Kissing Point.
Kissing Point proved too good for Fire Sparrows United, with the side from Sydney’s upper north shore putting away three goals to become this year’s Mallacoota Cup champions.
Official 2024 Mallacoota Cup presentations saw Sale United’s Tom Garner awarded the 2024 Alf Bowerman Perpetual Trophy as the player of the tournament, while East Gippsland’s Brendan Dunstan was named goalkeeper of the tournament, taking home the Mike Gaut Perpetual Trophy.
