Match
Details
| Brisbane Strikers | 2 – 0 | Sydney United |
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Farina  47'Brown 69' | Reports [4] |
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Match rules
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| Event | 1996–97 National Soccer League | ||||||
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| Date | 25 May 1997 | ||||||
| Venue | Lang Park, Brisbane, Australia | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Alan Hunter (Joe Marston Medal) | ||||||
| Referee | Simon Micallef | ||||||
| Attendance | 40,446 | ||||||
The 1997 National Soccer League Grand Final was held on 25 May 1997 between Brisbane Strikers and Sydney United at Lang Park. Brisbane gained home advantage because despite finishing below United on the league standings, they defeated the Sydney side in the major semi-final two weeks earlier. The teams were all locked up at half time, however two goals for the Strikers by Frank Farina and Rod Brown secured their first NSL championship. [1] [2] [3] Alan Hunter won the Joe Marston Medal.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney United | 26 | 17 | 5 | 4 | 67 | 33 | +34 | 56 | 1997 National Soccer League Finals |
| 2 | Brisbane Strikers (C) | 26 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 55 | 40 | +15 | 47 | 1996-97 National Soccer League Champions |
| 3 | South Melbourne | 26 | 14 | 4 | 8 | 39 | 25 | +14 | 46 | 1997 National Soccer League Finals |
| 4 | Adelaide City | 26 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 32 | 22 | +10 | 43 | |
| 5 | Marconi Stallions | 26 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 41 | 37 | +4 | 40 | |
| 6 | Melbourne Knights | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 36 | 32 | +4 | 39 | |
| 7 | Perth Glory | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 48 | 41 | +7 | 38 | |
| 8 | West Adelaide | 26 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 39 | 51 | −12 | 33 | |
| 9 | UTS Olympic | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 41 | 46 | −5 | 32 | |
| 10 | Wollongong Wolves | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 42 | 48 | −6 | 32 | |
| 11 | Newcastle Breakers | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 40 | 46 | −6 | 30 | |
| 12 | Gippsland Falcons | 26 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 33 | 41 | −8 | 30 | |
| 13 | Collingwood Warriors (R) | 26 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 32 | 44 | −12 | 27 | Disbanded at end of season |
| 14 | Canberra Cosmos | 26 | 2 | 5 | 19 | 30 | 69 | −39 | 11 |
| Elimination finals | Semifinals | Preliminary final | Grand final | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Sydney United | 0 | 2 | (2) | Sydney United | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Brisbane Strikers (a) | 1 | 1 | (2) | Brisbane Strikers | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Sydney United | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | South Melbourne | 4 | 3 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||
| South Melbourne | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Melbourne Knights | 1 | 0 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||
| South Melbourne | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Adelaide City | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Adelaide City | 0 | 4 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Marconi Fairfield | 3 | 0 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Brisbane Strikers | 2 – 0 | Sydney United |
|---|---|---|
| Farina 47' Brown 69' | Reports [4] |
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Match rules
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The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its demise in 2004, when it was succeeded by the A-League competition run by Football Federation Australia, the successor to the Australian Soccer Association.
Sydney United 58 Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club and current NSW NPL Champions based in Edensor Park, Sydney, New South Wales Australia. The club was formed as Sydney Croatia in 1958, by Croatian Australians in the area, but it was renamed in 1993 as Sydney United after having the name Sydney CSC for a season.
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