1978–79 KNVB Cup
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Land | Niederlande |
| Teams | 46 |
| Defending champions | AZ'67 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Ajax |
| Runner-up | FC Twente |
The 1978-79 KNVB Cup 61st edition of the Dutch national football annual knockout tournament for the KNVB Cup. 46 teams contested, beginning on 19 August 1978 and ending at the final on 15 May 1979.
Ajax – FC Twente ended a draw: 1–1 (aet). Instead of a penalty shootout, a replay was held on May 29. In that match, Ajax beat FC Twente 3–0 and won the cup for the eighth time.
During the quarter and semi-finals of the tournament, two-legged matches were held.
Teams
- All 18 participants of the Eredivisie 1978-79
- All 19 participants of the Eerste Divisie 1978-79
- 9 teams from lower (amateur) leagues
First round
The matches of the first round were played on 19-20 August 1978.
| Home team | Result | Away team |
|---|---|---|
| VV Rheden A | 2–1 | Hoogeveen A |
| SVV 1 | 1–2 | SC Heracles 1 |
| TOP Oss A | 1–2 | Willem II 1 |
| SC Veendam 1 | 3–1 | ACV A |
| FC Vlaardingen 1 | 1–2 | VV Noordwijk A |
| VUC A | 2–3 | FC Eindhoven 1 |
| FC Wageningen 1 | 1–0 | FC Groningen 1 |
| Home team | Result | Away team |
|---|---|---|
| FC Den Bosch 1 | 5–2 | VV Geldrop/AEK A |
| FC Dordrecht 1 | 3–0 | SC Amersfoort 1 |
| Excelsior 1 | 2–0 | SC Cambuur 1 |
| Fortuna SC 1 | 2–1 | HFC EDO A |
| De Graafschap 1 | 4–1 | Helmond Sport 1 |
| sc Heerenveen 1 | 1–0 | Telstar 1 |
| Jodan Boys A | 0–10 | FC Amsterdam 1 |
1 Eerste Divisie; A Amateur teams
Second round
The matches of the second round were played on October 14, 15 and 25, 1978. The Eredivisie clubs entered the tournament this round.
| Home team | Result | Away team |
|---|---|---|
| FC Volendam E | 2–1 | Feyenoord E |
| FC Wageningen | 4–0 | FC Amsterdam |
| Willem II | 1–2 | Roda JC E |
| FC Den Haag E | 4–2 | NEC E |
| NAC E | 2–1 | Go Ahead Eagles E |
| PEC Zwolle E | 4–1 | MVV E |
| FC Twente E | 4–1 | SC Veendam |
| FC Utrecht E | 2–0 | sc Heerenveen |
| Home team | Result | Away team |
|---|---|---|
| Ajax E | 3–2 | FC Eindhoven |
| Excelsior | 1–2 | AZ'67 E |
| Fortuna SC | 4–3 | VV Rheden |
| De Graafschap | 2–1 (aet) | Vitesse Arnhem E |
| HFC Haarlem E | 2–2 (p) | VV Noordwijk |
| SC Heracles | 0–1 | FC Den Bosch |
| PSV E | 11–1 | FC Dordrecht |
| Sparta E | 4–1 | FC VVV E |
E Eredivisie
Round of 16
The matches were played on November 18 and 19, 1978.
| Home team | Result | Away team |
|---|---|---|
| Ajax | 3–0 | Roda JC |
| AZ'67 | 4–1 | FC Wageningen |
| FC Den Haag | 2–2 (p) | FC Twente |
| Fortuna SC | 2–0 | De Graafschap |
| NAC | 1–0 | FC Utrecht |
| VV Noordwijk | 1–3 | FC Volendam |
| PSV | 3–2 | FC Den Bosch |
| Sparta | 3–0 | PEC Zwolle |
Quarter finals
The quarter finals were played on March 14 and April 4, 1979.
| Team 1 | Aggregate | Team 2 | Match 1 | Match 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC Twente | 3–1 | AZ'67 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Fortuna SC | 0–4 | Ajax | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| NAC | 2–3 | PSV | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| FC Volendam | 2–0 | Sparta | 0–0 | 2–0 |
Semi-finals
The semi-finals were played on April 18 and May 2, 1979.
| Team 1 | Aggregate | Team 2 | Match 1 | Match 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC Twente | 4–3 | PSV | 4–2 | 0–1 |
| FC Volendam | 4–4 (a) | Ajax | 3–3 | 1–1 |
Final
Replay
| Ajax | 3–0 | FC Twente |
|---|---|---|
Clarke  26' Tahamata 47' Schoenaker 64' |
Ajax also won the Dutch Eredivisie championship, thereby taking the double. They would participate in the European Cup, so finalists Twente could play in the Cup Winners' Cup.