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.
Promotion was automatic, with the three lowest placed sides in the 1978 league (Hamilton, Waterside, and Woolston WMC) replaced by the winners of the northern, central, and southern leagues (Manurewa, Manawatu United, and Dunedin City respectively). [1]
Mount Wellington produced an emphatic performance to win the league by an unprecedented 14 points, a bigger gap than that between second and last. They won all eleven of their home games, scoring 34 and only letting in four. They also only lost two games away, to Dunedin City and to Nelson united — United proving the Mount's nemesis for the third year in a row. The race for second proved tense, with Christchurch United heading off a pack of teams separated by only a couple of points. North Shore United — who were to go under the sponsorship-related name of Hanimex United from this year until 1985 — finished third, level on points with newly promoted Manurewa and Dunedin City. [2]
In mid-table, Nelson United improved one place on the previous season to finish sixth, its good home form buoying it up but its poor away record proving a major hindrance. They were followed by Wellington Diamond United, who saw a late slump in their form after a good opening to the season which briefly had them in second place. Blockhouse Bay were fortunate to finish eighth, a late rally moving them off the foot of the table. Stop Out also narrowly avoided the drop, staying up by virtue of a better goal difference than Manawatu United. [2]
Manawatu United's first season in the league proved to be their last until 1986. A dreadful start to the season left them languishing with just four points from their first 11 matches, and despite a greatly improved second half to the season the gap was too much to bridge. They were joined in relegation by Courier Rangers, who started the season brightly but then had a poor run of form which saw only one win in their last 17 games. Last of all were 1971 champions Eastern Suburbs, whose gradual progress down the table since that year finally saw the seam at the foot of the table. [2]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mount Wellington (C) | 22 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 68 | 17 | +51 | 40 |
| 2 | Christchurch United | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 47 | 30 | +17 | 26 |
| 3 | North Shore United | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 37 | 29 | +8 | 24 |
| 4 | Manurewa | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 33 | 28 | +5 | 24 |
| 5 | Dunedin City | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 24 |
| 6 | Nelson United | 22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 36 | 30 | +6 | 22 |
| 7 | Wellington United | 22 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 23 | 34 | −11 | 21 |
| 8 | Bay Olympic | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 31 | 41 | −10 | 18 |
| 9 | Stop Out | 22 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 27 | 35 | −8 | 17 |
| 10 | Red Sox Manawatu (R) | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 22 | 33 | −11 | 17 |
| 11 | Courier Rangers (R) | 22 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 26 | 48 | −22 | 16 |
| 12 | Eastern Suburbs (R) | 22 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 27 | 47 | −20 | 15 |
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 1972 New Zealand National Soccer League was the third season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football.
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 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 1988 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 19th season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Christchurch United finished as champions for the second season running, three points clear of traditional rivals Mount Wellington.
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.
In 1999, two New Zealand island soccer leagues were run to replace the National Summer Soccer League which had finished at the end of the 1998 season. The two leagues, one for the North Island and one for the South Island were followed by a play-off between the two champion sides to determine the national champions. The games were mainly played during winter, in direct contrast to the previous summer league.