| Season | 1972 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Mount Wellington |
| Relegated | Auckland City |
← 1971 1973 → | |
The 1972 New Zealand National Soccer League was the third season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football.
Western Suburbs FC finished last in the 1971 league, and joined the winners of the Northern, Central, and Southern leagues — Takapuna City (North Shore), Waterside (Wellington), and New Brighton (Christchurch) respectively — in a play-off series to decide the team which would be granted entry to the national league. Teams all played each other in home and away ties, as a result of which New Brighton gained entry to the league. [1]
There were two further changes to the league from the previous year; Dunedin Suburbs disbanded as a team, their place being taken by the Caversham side who had been instrumental in this short-lived union, and Mount Albert-Ponsonby also renamed themselves - briefly - as Auckland City. [2]
A very close finish to the season saw three teams at the top finish within one point of each other. Again it was Auckland teams plus Christchurch United who dominated the table, with Mount Wellington finishing strongly to pip Blockhouse Bay to the title. The Mount's win was largely the work of coach Ken Armstrong, and was underpinned by an excellent home record, with eight wins and one solitary loss. Blockhouse Bay's Ian Ormond was by far the league's top scorer, his 22 goals being one more than the entire Auckland City tally. A final match scoreless draw against Gisborne City was to cost them the league. They led the table at that point, but Mount Wellington won its two outstanding matches to take the trophy. [3]
Christchurch United and Eastern Suburbs both held the lead at different points of the season, but a poor finish to the season for Suburbs saw them drop to fourth. Gisborne City's mid-table finish was the result of good home form but poor away form. Gisborne's season saw the arrival of a man who would have a big influence on New Zealand football, Kevin Fallon, who played his first game in the league mid-season. [4]
The two Wellingtonian teams, Stop Out and Wellington City again struggled, neither of them looking like title contenders, but improving on their previous league seasons. Caversham started brightly with five wins in its first seven games, but that's where their form ran out, and they managed just three points in the rest of the season. They were safe from relegation, however, since the bottom two clubs both had far worse seasons. New Brighton only managed one win all season, and only survived in the league through Auckland City's worse goal record. [5]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mount Wellington (C) | 18 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 46 | 19 | +27 | 28 |
| 2 | Bay Olympic | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 35 | 17 | +18 | 28 |
| 3 | Christchurch United | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 42 | 23 | +19 | 27 |
| 4 | Eastern Suburbs | 18 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 42 | 28 | +14 | 22 |
| 5 | Gisborne City | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 32 | 28 | +4 | 17 |
| 6 | Stop Out | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 25 | 30 | −5 | 16 |
| 7 | Wellington City | 18 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 23 | 26 | −3 | 15 |
| 8 | Caversham | 18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 25 | 43 | −18 | 13 |
| 9 | New Brighton | 18 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 23 | 45 | −22 | 7 |
| 10 | Auckland City (R) | 18 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 21 | 57 | −36 | 7 |
The 1970 Chatham Cup was the 43rd annual nationwide knockout football competition in New Zealand.
The 1970 New Zealand National Soccer League was the inaugural season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. The league's initial sponsors were Rothmans (NZ) Ltd, and the league was thus commonly known as the Rothmans National League. Rothmans retained naming sponsorship rights until 1987 when Air New Zealand took over as principal sponsor.
The 1971 New Zealand National Soccer League was the second season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. The league was expanded at the end of the inaugural season, so there was no relegation from the 1970 league season. Hungaria, who had competed in the inaugural season, combined with Miramar Rangers to form a new composite league team, Wellington City. Though Miramar withdrew from the team after the 1971 season, the team continued to use the new name.
The 1973 New Zealand National Soccer League was the fourth season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football.
The 1974 New Zealand National Soccer League was the fifth season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football.
The 1975 New Zealand National Soccer League was the sixth season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football.
The 1976 New Zealand National Soccer League was the seventh season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football.
The 1977 New Zealand National Soccer League was the eighth season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. An expansion by two teams meant that it was the first year in which twelve teams took part. Prize money was significantly increased for the top three clubs, and the number of teams relegated increased from one to three, these being automatically replaced by the winners of the three regional leagues.
The 1978 New Zealand National Soccer League was the ninth season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. A change was made from previous years, with the replacement of goal average by goal difference as a means for ranking teams equal on points.
The 1979 New Zealand National Soccer League was the tenth season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. It produced the biggest winning margin in the league's history, with Mount Wellington never being in serious danger of finishing anywhere but first.
The 1980 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 11th season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Mount Wellington became the first club to win back-to-back titles and also the first club to win the league four times, though their winning margin was significantly smaller than in 1979.
The 1981 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 12th season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Wellington Diamond United won the league for a second time, having previously been champions in 1976. The league was the closest until this point, with only four points separating the top five teams.
The 1982 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 13th season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Mount Wellington comfortably won the league for a fifth time, finishing seven points clear of second-placed Hanimex North Shore United. This was the last season in which a win scored two points; from 1983 wins were worth three points.
The 1983 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 14th season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Manurewa comfortably won the league for the first time, finishing eight points clear of second-placed Hanimex North Shore United. This was the first season in which a win scored three points; prior to this they were worth only two.
The 1984 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 15th season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Gisborne City finally wrestled the trophy away from the major centres, taking it to a provincial city for the first time.
The 1985 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 16th season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Wellington Diamond United finished as champions, three points clear of 1984 title-holders Gisborne City.
The 1986 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 17th season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Mount Wellington finished as champions, one point ahead of Miramar Rangers.
The 1987 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 18th season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. It was the first season in which 14 teams competed in the league, up from 12 in the previous season, and was also the first season with new sponsors Air New Zealand, leading to it being called the Air New Zealand Soccer League. Christchurch United finished as champions, seven points clear of Gisborne City.
The 1989 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 20th season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Napier City Rovers had their debut championship win over Mount Maunganui, in doing so taking the title away from the main centres for only the second time.
The 1990 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 21st season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Waitakere City won the league for the first time, by two points over Auckland neighbours Mount Wellington.