Lachlan Armstrong

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Lachlan Armstrong
Personal information
Full name Lachlan Armstrong
Date of birth (1973-04-22) 22 April 1973 (age 52)
Place of birth Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Position(s)
Youth career
South Melbourne
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1990–1993 Dundee 2 (0)
1992Sunshine George Cross (loan) 4 (2)
1993–1995 Morwell Falcons 33 (10)
1994Malacca (loan)
1995–1997 Canberra Cosmos 40 (7)
1997 Green Gully Cavaliers 15 (2)
1998–1999 Gippsland Falcons 6 (0)
1999 Westvale Olympic 6 (0)
2001 Essendon Royals 9 (2)
2002 Brunswick City
2003 Doncaster Rovers
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Lachlan Armstrong (born 22 April 1973) is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder and forward. He is best known for his time in the NSL with Morwell Falcons and Canberra Cosmos during the mid-1990s.

Contents

Armstrong is equal sixth-highest NSL goalscorer in Falcons' history, tied alongside Archie Thompson.

Playing career

Lachlan Armstrong began his football journey with South Melbourne as a youth player before moving overseas to join Scottish club Dundee, where he stayed from 1990 to 1993.

Less than a month after turning 19, Armstrong made his senior debut in the Scottish Premier Division in May 1993, starting in a 2-0 defeat against Celtic at Celtic Park. [1]

He played one more match for Dundee, coming on as a 91st minute substitute in a 2-0 loss to Hibernian at Easter Road in August 1993 [2] , before returning to Australia to join the Morwell Falcons.

In 1992, Armstring briefly came to the Victorian Premier League on loan with Sunshine George Cross, where he made 4 appearances and scored 2 goals.

Armstrong made his National Soccer League debut with Morwell Falcons in 1993–94, scoring 7 league goals in 22 NSL appearances. Across all competitions, Armstrong finished the season 29 games and 14 goals as he proved himself one of the league's most potent attackers.

He is particularly remembered for his outstanding performances in the 1994 Dockerty Cup, scoring a hat-trick in the quarter-finals against Frankston Pines, a brace in the semi-finals against South Melbourne, and participating in the final, helping Morwell win 2–1 over Melbourne Zebras. [3] [4]

Armstrong's reputation as Morwell's 'Cups Specialist' was already entrenched when he scored in both legs of the first round of the 1993–94 NSL Cup against Heidelberg United. [5]

He briefly played on loan for Malacca in Malaysia's Liga Perdana in 1994 before returning to Morwell Falcons for the 1994–95 NSL season, scoring 3 goals in 11 appearances. Armstrong then joined Canberra Cosmos, where he played in consecutive NSL seasons from 1995 to 1997, tallying 7 goals in 40 appearances.

After a stint with Green Gully Cavaliers in 1997 (15 appearances, 2 goals) and Gippsland Falcons in 1998–99 (6 appearances), Armstrong continued his career in the Victorian Premier League and State Leagues with Westvale Olympic, Essendon Royals, Brunswick City and Doncaster Rovers.

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueCupTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Dundee 1990–91 Scottish Premier Division 000000
1991–92Scottish Premier Division000000
1992–93Scottish Premier Division100010
1993–94Scottish Premier Division100010
Total200020
Sunshine George Cross (loan)1992 Victorian Premier League 4242
Morwell Falcons 1993–94 National Soccer League 227672914
1994–95 National Soccer League 11300113
Total3310674017
Malacca (loan)1994 Liga Perdana
Canberra Cosmos 1995–96 National Soccer League 20510205
1996–97National Soccer League20211202
Total40721428
Green Gully Cavaliers 1997 Victorian Premier League 152152
Gippsland Falcons 1998–99 National Soccer League 600060
Westvale Olympic1999 Victorian Premier League 6060
Essendon Royals 2001 Victorian Premier League 9292
Brunswick City 2002Victorian State League Division 3 South East
Doncaster Rovers 2003Victorian State League Division 3 South East
Career total

Post-playing career

After retiring from competitive football, Armstrong transitioned into coaching and administration. In 2015, he was appointed as the NPL youth coach for Melbourne City’s academy. [6] [7]

He later joined Melbourne Knights as a member of the backroom staff in 2019, [8] and departed ahead of the 2021 season. [9]

From 2021 to 2025, Armstrong also worked in Singapore with Sport Singapore and FA Singapore's ActiveSG Football Academy, holding various roles including as Head of Coach Education and Development, Technical Director and Lead of National Development Centres. He had previously brought Melbourne City's youth teams to tournaments in Singapore. [10]

Since July 2025, he has been working as a Technical Advisor to NPL club Murray United FC.

References

  1. "1993-94 Scottish Premier Division Results - Round 44". WorldFootball.net. 15 May 1993. Archived from the original on 8 January 2026. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  2. "1993-94 Scottish Premier Division Results - Round 4". WorldFootball.net. 28 August 1993. Archived from the original on 8 January 2026. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  3. Persoglia, Tony (30 July 2024). "Dockerty Cup History Series - The NSL and Cup's demise". Football Victoria. Archived from the original on 5 January 2026. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  4. Punshon, John (30 July 2024). "1994 Dockerty Cup Results". OzFootball. Archived from the original on 5 January 2026. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  5. Punshon, John (18 February 2021). "1993/94 National League Cup Results". OzFootball. Archived from the original on 5 January 2026. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  6. "PVSC NPL YOUTH COACH LACHLAN ARMSTRONG APPOINTED BY MELBOURNE CITY". Pascoe Vale SC. 8 March 2015. Archived from the original on 5 January 2026. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  7. "Melbourne City FC Commences Inaugural National Premier Leagues 1 Campaign". Melbourne City FC. 6 March 2015. Archived from the original on 5 January 2026. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  8. "Armstrong joins as Munro finalises his backroom staff". Melbourne Knights FC. 25 November 2019. Archived from the original on 5 January 2026. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  9. "Armstrong and Surey depart ahead of 2021". Melbourne Knights FC. 6 December 2020. Archived from the original on 5 January 2026. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  10. "Find out who's playing at FAS Under-15 ICC 2019". Football Association of Singapore. Archived from the original on 5 January 2026. Retrieved 5 January 2026.