Western Australia scored their greatest international success by defeating South Korea 2-0 in the final of the 1975 Marah Halim Tournament. In front of a crowd in excess of 40,000 at Indonesia’s Teladan Stadium, the State team gained the decisive advantage through first half goals from striker Nick MacCallum and midfielder Ernie Hannigan.

It was a remarkable achievement by the 16-players selected to represent West Australia in their first appearance at the 14-team tournament. Given little chance of success prior to heading to Indonesia, West Australia acquitted themselves with distinction by storming through the initial group stage before registering four straight wins to present captain Steve Stacey with the honour of lifting the Marah Halim trophy.

“Everyone rose to the occasion, there was not one player who didn’t play out of their skin,” recalled Nick MacCallum of the tournament which kicked off 50 years ago this week. “I never saw some of the boys perform again like they did in Indonesia, and I include myself in that. The great thing is that it was not any one individual who as the best player, everything was a team effort.”

The Marah Halim Tournament was first contested in 1972 when six Indonesia clubs vied for the 8-kilogram, solid gold trophy named in honour of the then Governor of North Sumatra, Marah Halim Harahap. In the years that followed a growing number of national teams took their places at the FIFA-recognised tournament held in the North Sumatran capital Medan.

Australia were invited to the 1975 edition of the tournament by the Indonesian Football Association, whose generosity covered air fares, accommodation, meals and transportation within Medan. So it was somewhat surprising when the Australian Soccer Federation declined the invitation, citing the four-week lead-up as insufficient for national team coach Eric Worthington to prepare a squad.

“The Australian federation then requested West Australia take their place,” explained Nick. “It was out of season for us, the pre-season Ampol Night Series was still going and the league was about a month or so from starting. Thankfully West Australia accepted.” The local Federation agreed to send 16 players, three officials and one referee to Indonesia for the three-week tournament.

West Australia was no stranger to playing in Asia. The State team first ventured abroad in 1967 for the Merdeka Tournament in Malaysia. They would compete at Merdeka four years in succession, appear at the 1970 King’s Cup in Thailand as the only non-national team and made back-to-back trips to Indonesia for the Jakarta Anniversary Cup. But at the end of 1971, invitations from Asia came to an end.

State coach Alan Vest, a former New Zealand international, called together an initial squad of 22 players for training under lights at the Velodrome on Thursday March 6. “Vesty had only been appointed a few months earlier having not long finished playing in New Zealand,” Nick said. “We were training two or three times a week and Vesty really put us under the pump. We were pretty fit when we got to Indonesia.”

Preparing the team was not without its obstacles. Not only was the four-week lead-up tight, but the Division One season wasn’t scheduled to commence until the same weekend as Marah Halim. And depending on how far the State team progressed, Division One clubs could be without their star players for up to four rounds of fixtures.

The Federation, in a pre-emptive move to prevent clubs from seeking to postpone league games, permitted Vest to select a maximum of two players from each club. Ascot and Azzurri, however, bucked the ruling by giving Vest the okay to name three players from their clubs while guaranteeing the Federation they would play all fixtured games while the State team was abroad.

Vest announced his squad just five days before departure for Indonesia. “In goal we had Steve Pateman from New Zealand and Tony Witschge, he was starting to make a name for himself,” Nick commented. “Our captain was Steve Stacey, he was ex-Wrexham and Exeter City, and at the back with him were Sauro Iozzelli, Denis Barstow, David Jones and Bobby Taylor, he didn’t get the accolades he deserved.”

“Our midfield was quite young with Gary Marocchi, Stephen Sceats and Aldo Trinca alongside Davey Brooks and Ernie Hannigan, who’d played professionally for Coventry City and Preston North End. For attackers we had Dave O’Callaghan, Ken Morton, myself and Bert Kirkpatrick, he was a great left winger and another young player who just coming through.”

“Bob McShane went as our trainer, all the boys loved him. The team doctor was Marc Adonis, he was quite young and involved at the time with Maccabi. Referee Barry Harwood was selected, he would win Referee of the Tournament. And the Federation sent two officials with us, John Williams and Fred Burfitt.”

The travelling party off 22 departed Perth in the early hours of Tuesday April 1. “It was all something of an adventure,” Nick recalls. “The excitement of not knowing what to expect, that was a big thing. There were a few players who probably hadn’t been overseas before, young lads like Stephen Sceats, Gary Marocchi, David Jones, Aldo Trinca, Sauro Iozzelli and Tony Witschge.”

Vest’s squad had just under a week to acclimatise to Indonesia’s stifling heat and oppressive humidity ahead of their opening game. The players were brought together for early morning training sessions, spent the afternoon’s sight-seeing or relaxing poolside and in the evenings were given time off to enjoy the sights and sounds of host city Medan.

“Every player respected Vesty,” Nick said. “The boys used to go out in the evening and Vesty would say ‘Okay lads, you’ve got to be in by 9 o’clock’ and everyone would be back by 9 o’clock. Every now and then though he’d make allowances and let us stay out for an hour more. We were a tight knit group and, not that anyone did, but if a player had stepped out of line then the others would have pulled them in.”

West Australia announced their arrival on the Marah Halim stage with an emphatic 4-1 thrashing of Indonesia club Surabaya. Dave O’Callaghan netted either side of the interval with Nick MacCallum and Ken Morton also finding the net in the first half. Two days later Thailand, represented by the Port Authority club, were out-classed 2-0 through goals from MacCallum and O’Callaghan.

“We didn’t really know what to expect of the other teams, some of which were national teams,” Nick said. “When I think about it now we must have been scared as some of the players we were coming up against were full-timers and they were very good. Vesty believed in his players and said we were as good as any team there, and after the first few games we started to really believe in ourselves.”

“It’s funny the moments you remember from games. Ernie had got to the stage where he was really enjoying his football again and, I don’t remember who we were playing, but he had the ball and all he had to do was stroke it into the net. But instead of doing that he turned, saw me and laid it off for me to tap in. I don’t know if I would have done that if things were in reverse.”

Next up came the team’s only loss, 2-1 to Ujung Pandang, an Indonesia club from East Java, with Morton grabbing the State teams’ solitary goal. Needing a win from their final group fixture to finish top of Pool A, MacCallum asserted his dominance by snaring a hat-trick while O’Callaghan also found the net in a 4-2 thumping of reigning Marah Halim champions Japan.

Goals from David Brooks and Morton gave the State team a dream start to the second round, a 2-0 win over Indonesian club Persija Jakarta. The following evening Bert Kirkpatrick and Morton secured a 2-0 victory over powerful host club, PSMS Medan, who had lifted the Marah Halim trophy in 1972 and 1973 and were runners-up in 1974.

West Australia were through to the semi-finals where – for the second time in 15 days – they met Thailand (aka Port Authority). A tight and somewhat bruising first half finished with the teams on level terms, however, the State team powered away after the interval to register a 3-1 resounding victory with Brooks, Hannigan and MacCallum the goalscorers.

It was a full house at Teladan Stadium 24 hours later for the tournament finale between West Australia and South Korea. “We played in front of 40,000 and they were all behind us,” said Nick, who scored in the 2-0 win along with good friend Hannigan. “I think it was the only time in my life that I’ve heard a crowd shouting my name. It was unbelievable.”

West Australia’s first appearance at the Marah Halim Tournament had been a smashing success. The State side lifted the prestigious trophy by winning seven of their eight games. MacCallum’s tally of seven goals was recognised with the Top Goal Scorer award while Harwood, who had the whistle for five games and ran the line for four, was voted the Top Referee.

“This is one of the best teams I have been connected with,” a proud Vest told ‘the West Australian’ newspaper on returning from Indonesia. “Before we left I said that I had selected a team which would give me dedication and application. This is exactly what I got. There was not one word of dissent by anyone in the touring party, even when they had to be up at 6 o’clock each morning to train.”

Vest complimented MacCallum’s fine efforts in leading the line for West Australia. “Even when he injured his shoulder, Nick worked hard to get fit and play again when many thought he was finished for the tournament,” he commented. “Ken Morton ran himself into the ground, Hannigan was at times brilliant, and Dave Jones was superb and matured with every game.”

West Australia’s 1975 Marah Halim Tournament winning squad was Denis Barstow (Morley Windmills), David Brooks (Floreat Athena), Ernie Hannigan (Morley Windmills), Sauro Iozzelli (Azzurri), David Jones (Kwinana United), Bert Kirkpatrick (Ascot), Nick MacCallum (East Fremantle Tricolore), Gary Marocchi (Azzurri), Ken Morton (Inglewood Kiev), David O’Callaghan (Bayswater United), Steve Pateman (East Fremantle Tricolore), Stephen Sceats (Ascot), Steve Stacey (Floreat Athena), Bob Taylor (Spearwood Dalmatinac), Aldo Trinca (Azzurri) and Tony Witschge (Ascot).

Extra-time!

West Australia produced an encore performance when they returned to the Marah Halim Tournament twelve months later. “Their performance in Medan was inspirational under extremely trying conditions. Under the guidance of Alan Vest, West Australia achieved what was thought impossible by winning the Marah Halim for the second successive year,” reported the Federation yearbook.

State team captain Denis Barstow collected the trophy following a 2-0 final victory over South Korea. MacCallum, who scored in the final along with George McMillan, once again topped the scorers list with seven goals. It was also a vintage performance by referee Barry Harwood who was voted Top Referee for the second successive year.

West Australia’s 1976 Marah Halim Tournament winning squad was Denis Barstow (Morley Windmills), John Davies, Ray Ilott (Ascot), Sauro Iozzelli (Azzurri), Peter Johnston (Morley Windmills), Dave Jones (East Fremantle Tricolore), Nick MacCallum (Morley Windmills), Gordon McCulloch (Azzurri), George McMillan (Azzurri), Saverio Madaschi (Inglewood Kiev), Gary Marocchi (Azzurri), Hugh Miller (Spearwood Dalmatinac), Dave O’Callaghan (Morley Windmills), John O’Connell (East Fremantle Tricolore), Stephen Sceats (Ascot), Tony Trinca (Azzurri) and Tony Witschge (Spearwood Dalmatinac).

The 1977 edition of the tournament presented West Australia with the chance to make it three in a row, an achievement that would see the Marah Halim trophy – which at the time was valued at $32,000 – relocate to Perth permanently. Unfortunately, it was a bridge too far for a State side that featured ten players making the trip for the first time.

Coach Ron Tindall’s side were thrown by an opening round loss to Thailand before getting their campaign back on track by defeating Indonesia club Ujang Pandang. But a 1-0 loss to Jakarta, who would go on to win the tournament, sent West Australia home empty handed. And with accumulated losses of $7,000 from competing at the tournament, the Federation took the decision not to participate in 1978.

West Australia’s 1977 Marah Halim Tournament squad was Denis Barstow (Morley Windmills), Arno Bertogna (Azzurri), Frank Bibby (Floreat Athena), Gordon Byron (Floreat Athena), John Fiamengo (Spearwood Dalmatinac), Tim Gladding (Floreat Athena), Chris Glennon, Peter Holt (Azzurri), Sauro Iozzelli (Azzurri), Peter Johnston (Morley Windmills), George McMillan (Azzurri), Saverio Madaschi (Inglewood Kiev), Steve Martin (Floreat Athena), Bill Murray (Olympic Kingsway), Stephen Sceats (Olympic Kingsway), Laurie Smith and Aldo Trinca (Azzurri).