Last Saturday morning South Melbourne FC played host to its annual Corporate Cup competition, which was held at the sunny Albert Park.
The tournament consisted of twelve sides from all walks of life, with former Major Sponsor and Principal Partner Star21 returning to the tournament after winning the 2013 SMFC Corporate Cup.
Divided into three groups, each group winner would qualify for the final four, whilst the best placed second placed side would also qualify for the knock-out stage.
Group A saw the South Melbourne Media Team take part in the tournament for the third consecutive year. The side was a mixture of many club volunteers and staff members, as well as former South Melbourne FC Hall of Fame member Fernando De Moraes who remains a close friend of the media team. They were joined in the group by the big banks, with both Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank featuring in the tournament. The final member in the group was a youthful K & A Accountants side who featured guest player and former Carlton Football Club legend and 1995 AFL Premiership Player Ang Christou.
Group B was labelled the “Group of Death” prior to the tournament commencing with Black Cod, Victoria Police, Moray & Agnew Lawyers and a selection of SMFC Youth Parents all thinking that they had a chance of progressing through to the final four. It was fantastic to see Victoria Police also participate in the tournament following on from their participation in the Tony Clarke Memorial Shield on September 7 at Lakeside Stadium prior to the South Melbourne and Oakleigh Cannons clash.
Finally Group C consisted of reigning champions Star21 who were looking to make it back-to-back. They would face a tough test against Trapezi, GPZ Legal and Connexion Media to progress through the group.
After three group matches, the group winners were Commonwealth Bank, Victoria Police and Star21 reaching the final stage of the tournament. They were joined by Black Cod who were the only second placed side that remained undefeated through the Group Stage, edging out the SMFC Media Team and Trapezi as the best second placed side.
In a major shock reigning champions Star21 were eliminated from the tournament in the Semi Final stage by the Victorian Police side, whilst Black Cod overcame a tough Commonwealth Bank side to reach the final also.
The final was a tight affair with Black Cod and the Victoria Police not giving each other an inch during normal time, finishing 1-1 at full time. With the match heading into penalties, Black Cod were able to find a way to victory in an epic contest.
We would firstly like to thank everyone that made the day such a tremendous success and would like to congratulate Black Cod Cafe on being the 2014 SMFC Corporate Cup Champions!