1989 Sydney Croatia FC season

Sydney Croatia

1989 season
Chairman	Rade Čikeš
Manager	Vedran Rožić
Stadium	Sydney Croatian Sports Centre
National Soccer League	7th
1989 NSL Cup	First Round
Top goalscorer	Graham Arnold (5)
Highest home attendance	8,009 vs. Marconi Fairfield (12 February 1989) National Soccer League
Lowest home attendance	1,508 vs. Heidelberg United (5 July 1989) National Soccer League
Average home league attendance	3,674
Biggest win	2-0 vs. Adelaide City (29 January 1989) National Soccer League 2-0 vs. Blacktown City (28 June 1989) National Soccer League 3-1 vs. Melbourne City JUST (27 May 1989) National Soccer League 3-1 vs. APIA Leichhardt (June 11 1989) National Soccer League
Biggest defeat	0–3 vs. Marconi Fairfield (10 May 1989) National Soccer League 0-3 vs. St George-Budapest (25 June 1989) National Soccer League
←  1988 1989-90  →

The 1989 season saw Sydney Croatia embark on its sixth campaign in the NSL. They finished 7th on the ladder.

Following a successful 1988 campaign in which Sydney Croatia finished runners-up in the NSL Grand Final to Marconi Fairfield, player-coach Vedran Rožić retained the majority of the squad for the 1989 season. Despite high expectations, the club experienced inconsistent form and ultimately failed to qualify for the finals series.

Rožić departed Sydney Croatia at the end of the season, concluding a notable tenure that included winning the 1986 Northern Conference NSL Premiership, the 1987 NSL Cup, and guiding the team to the 1988 Grand Final. His leadership left a lasting legacy at the club.

The club's top goalscorer for the season was Graham Arnold, who scored five goals.

Players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW   AUS Graham Arnold — DF   AUS Shane Clinch — MF   AUS Craig Foster — GK   AUS Tony Franken — DF   AUS Alan Hunter — FW   AUS Sean Ingham — DF   AUS Graham Jennings — DF   AUS Mark Jones — GK   AUS John Krajnović — FW   AUS Tony Krslovic — FW   PNG Manis Lamond — DF   AUS Blago Milićević

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF   AUS Nick Orlić — MF   CRO Ivan Petković — MF   AUS David Rezo — MF   CRO Vedran Rožić (Captain) — DF   CRO Ante Rumora — MF   AUS Wally Savor — FW   AUS David Seal — MF   AUS Robbie Slater — MF   AUS Tony Telisman — MF   ALB Burim Zajmi — MF   AUS Ned Zelic

Transfers in

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	Moving from	Type	Transfer window	Ends	Transfer fee	Source
	GK		John Krajnović	23	Wollongong Macedonia	Transfer	Pre-season		Free	[1] [2] [3]
	MF		Ned Zelic	17	AIS	Transfer	Pre-season		Free	[4] [5]

Transfers out

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	Moving to	Type	Transfer window	Transfer fee	Source
	GK		Greg Woodhouse	28	Avala	End of Contract	Pre-season	Free	[6] [7]
	DF		Andy Brockbank	27	Avala	End of Contract	Pre-season	Free	[8]
	MF		David Fitzharris	24	Avala	End of Contract	Pre-season	Free	[9] [10]
	MF		Gustavo Cerro	19	Melita Eagles	End of Contract	Pre-season	Free	[11]
	MF		Adrian Cisato	19	Free agent	End of Contract	Pre-season	Free	[12]
	FW		John Kero	24	Free agent	End of Contract	Pre-season	Free	[13]
	MF		Dragan Božić		Free agent	End of Contract	Pre-season	Free	[14]

Mid-Season Gains

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	Moving from	Type	Transfer window	Ends	Transfer fee	Source
	MF		Ante Rumora	28	Dinamo Zagreb	Transfer	Mid-season		Free	[15] [16]
	MF		Burim Zajmi	28	APIA Leichhardt	Transfer	Mid-season		Free	[17] [18] [19]

Mid-Season Losses

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	Moving to	Type	Transfer window	Transfer fee	Source
	FW		Tony Krslovic	19	St George-Budapest	Loan	Mid-season	Free	[20]
	FW		Sean Ingham	23	Wollongong City	Transfer	Mid-season	Free	[21] [22]
	GK		Mark Bosnich	17	Manchester United	Transfer	Mid-season	Free	[23] [24]

Overview

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
					Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
National Soccer League	22 January 1989	16 July 1989	Matchday 1	7th	26	10	8	8	25	25	+0	038.46
NSL Cup	23 March 1989	23 March 1989	First Round	First Round	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Total					27	10	8	9	26	27	−1	037.04

Last updated: complete
Source: Competitions

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
5	Preston Makedonia	26	11	8	7	31	24	+7	30	Qualification for the Finals series
6	Adelaide City	26	10	8	8	29	24	+5	28
7	Sydney Croatia	26	10	8	8	25	25	0	28
8	South Melbourne	26	9	8	9	44	37	+7	26
9	Wollongong City	26	8	7	11	22	29	−7	23

Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
26	10	8	8	25	25	0	38	6	4	3	14	12	+2	4	4	5	11	13	−2

Source:

Matches

Sydney Croatia v Sunshine George Cross

22 January 19891	Sydney Croatia	1–0	Sunshine George Cross	Edensor Park, New South Wales
	Ingham 80'	Report		Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Richard Lorenc

South Melbourne Hellas v Sydney Croatia

26 January 19892	South Melbourne Hellas	0–1	Sydney Croatia	Middle Park, Victoria
		Report	Slater 49'	Stadium: Middle Park Stadium Attendance: 3,200 Referee: Chris Bambridge

Sydney Croatia v Adelaide City

29 January 19893	Sydney Croatia	2–0	Adelaide City	Edensor Park, New South Wales
	Slater 12' Arnold 90'	Report		Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 5,374 Referee: Bill Monteverde

Wollongong City v Sydney Croatia

5 February 19894	Wollongong City	1–0	Sydney Croatia	Fairy Meadow, New South Wales
	Easthorpe 13'	Report		Stadium: Brandon Park Attendance: 4,756 Referee: Peter Spiers

Sydney Croatia v Sydney Olympic

12 February 19895	Sydney Croatia	0–0	Sydney Olympic	Edensor Park, New South Wales
		Report		Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 8,009 Referee: Chris Bambridge

Melbourne Croatia v Sydney Croatia

19 February 19896	Melbourne Croatia	0–0	Sydney Croatia	Sunshine North, Victoria
		Report		Stadium: Somers St Stadium Attendance: 8,000 Referee: John Santa Isabel

Sydney Croatia v Melbourne City JUST

26 February 19897	Sydney Croatia	2–1	Melbourne City JUST	Edensor Park, New South Wales
	Arnold 9' Hunter 65 (pen)'	Report	Crino 27'	Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 5,923 Referee: Jim Reeves

Heidelberg United v Sydney Croatia

5 March 19898	Heidelberg United	2–0	Sydney Croatia	Heidelberg West, Victoria
	Stubbins 44' Oulsalkas 81'	Report		Stadium: Olympic Village Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Dennis Voutsinas

Sydney Croatia v APIA Leichhardt

3 May 19899	Sydney Croatia	1–2	APIA Leichhardt	Edensor Park, New South Wales
	Savor 54'	Report	Brown 19' Ricoy 67'	Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 2,200 Referee: Alan Townsend

Blacktown City v Sydney Croatia

28 June 198910	Blacktown City	0–2	Sydney Croatia	Seven Hills, New South Wales
		Report	Jones 40', 84'	Stadium: Gabbie Stadium Attendance: 875 Referee: Peter Spiers

Sydney Croatia v St George-Budapest

26 March 199011	Sydney Croatia	1–1	St George-Budapest	Edensor Park, New South Wales
	Arnold 19'	Report	Ollerenshaw 17 (pen)'	Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 3,451 Referee: John McConnell

Sydney Croatia v Marconi Fairfield

10 May 199012	Sydney Croatia	0–3	Marconi Fairfield	Edensor Park, New South Wales
		Report	Lowe 29' Gray 34', 50'	Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 3,259 Referee: Jim Reeves

Preston Makedonia v Sydney Croatia

9 April 198913	Preston Makedonia	0–0	Sydney Croatia	Melbourne, Victoria
		Report		Stadium: Olympic Park Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Jim Fearn

Sydney Croatia v South Melbourne

22 April 198914	Sydney Croatia	2–1	South Melbourne	Edensor Park, New South Wales
	Hunter 18 (pen)' Lamond 77'	Report	Rožić (og) 57'	Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 1,753 Referee: Bill Monteverde

Sydney Olympic v Sydney Croatia

30 April 198915	Sydney Olympic	1–0	Sydney Croatia	Moore Park, New South Wales
	Ironside 83'	Report		Stadium: Sydney Football Stadium Attendance: 3,460 Referee: Rob Davies

Sydney Croatia v Wollongong City

7 May 198916	Sydney Croatia	1–0	Wollongong City	Edensor Park, New South Wales
	Slater 52 (pen)'	Report		Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 3,431 Referee: Jim Feirn

Adelaide City v Sydney Croatia

14 May 198917	Adelaide City	0–0	Sydney Croatia	Kensington, South Australia
		Report		Stadium: Olympic Sports Field Attendance: 5,100 Referee: Jim Rossis

Sydney Croatia v Melbourne Croatia

20 May 198918	Sydney Croatia	1–1	Melbourne Croatia	Edensor Park, New South Wales
	Petkovic 74'	Report	Milosevic 57'	Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 2,743 Referee: Richard Lorenc

Melbourne City JUST v Sydney Croatia

27 May 198919	Melbourne City JUST	1–3	Sydney Croatia	Footscray, Victoria
	van Egmond 61'	Report	Arnold 43' Seal 79' Lamond 81'	Stadium: Schintler Reserve Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Don Campbell

Sydney Croatia v Heidelberg United

5 July 198920	Sydney Croatia	1–2	Heidelberg United	Edensor Park, New South Wales
	Lamond 13'		Kanesoulis 37' Gojevic 55'	Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 1,508 Referee: Bill Monteverde

APIA Leichhardt v Sydney Croatia

June 11 198921	APIA Leichhardt	1–3	Sydney Croatia	Leichhardt, New South Wales
	Kosmina 42'	Report	Seal 10', 40' Lamond 82'	Stadium: Lambert Park Attendance: 1,494 Referee: Richard Lorenc

Sydney Croatia v Blacktown City

18 June 198922	Sydney Croatia	0–0	Blacktown City	Edensor Park, New South Wales
		Report		Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 3,709 Referee: Chris Bambridge

St George-Budapest FC v Sydney Croatia

25 June 198923	St George-Budapest FC	3–0	Sydney Croatia	Edensor Park, New South Wales
	Ollerenshaw 54' Krslovic 62' Ratcliffe 76'	Report		Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 4,644 Referee: Jim Reeves

Marconi Fairfield v Sydney Croatia

2 July 198924	Marconi Fairfield	1–1	Sydney Croatia	Bossley Park, New South Wales
	Colagiuri 73'	Report	Foster 12'	Stadium: Marconi Stadium Attendance: 8,350 Referee: Jim Reeves

Sydney Croatia v Preston Makedonia

9 July 198925	Sydney Croatia	2–1	Preston Makedonia	Edensor Park, New South Wales
	Hunter 18 (pen)' Arnold 59'	Report	Jolevski 45'	Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 3,408 Referee: Gary Power

Sunshine George Cross v Sydney Croatia

16 July 198926	Sunshine George Cross	3–1	Sydney Croatia	Sunshine, Victoria
	Lewis 57' Morley 68' Latif 76'	Report	Hunter 69'	Stadium: Chaplin Reserve Attendance: 1,743 Referee: Dennis Voutsinas

NSL Cup

Sydney Croatia v APIA Leichhardt

23 March 1989 First round	Sydney Croatia	1–2	APIA Leichhardt	Edensor Park, New South Wales
	Rezo ?'	Report	Hagan 63' Brown ?'	Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 1,705 Referee: Alan Townsend

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Players with no appearances not included in the list. ^{[25] [26]}

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	National Soccer League		NSL Cup		Total
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
—	FW		Graham Arnold	26	5	1	0	27	5
—	DF		Shane Clinch	25	0	1	0	26	0
—	MF		Craig Foster	19	1	1	0	20	1
—	GK		Tony Franken	9	0	1	0	10	0
—	DF		Alan Hunter	24	4	1	0	25	4
—	FW		Sean Ingham	12	1	0	0	12	1
—	DF		Graham Jennings	13	0	1	0	14	0
—	DF		Mark Jones	23	2	0	0	23	2
—	GK		John Krajnović	17	0	0	0	17	0
—	FW		Tony Krslovic	2	0	0	0	2	0
—	FW		Manis Lamond	21	4	0	0	21	4
—	DF		Blago Milićević	2	0	0	0	2	0
—	MF		Ivan Petković	15	1	1	0	16	1
—	MF		David Rezo	18	0	1	1	19	1
—	MF		Vedran Rožić	20	0	0	0	20	0
—	DF		Ante Rumora	14	0	1	0	15	0
—	MF		Wally Savor	26	1	0	0	26	1
—	FW		David Seal	5	3	0	0	5	3
—	MF		Robbie Slater	23	3	1	0	24	3
—	MF		Tony Telisman	0	0	1	0	1	0
—	MF		Burim Zajmi	2	0	1	0	3	0
—	MF		Ned Zelic	9	0	1	0	10	0

References

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7. Gilmour, Keith (February 1989). "Henderson, De Bruin make big signings". Australian Soccer Weekly. Vol. 10, no. 364. Foreign Language Publications Pty Ltd.
8. Gilmour, Keith (February 1989). "Henderson, De Bruin make big signings". Australian Soccer Weekly. Vol. 10, no. 364. Foreign Language Publications Pty Ltd.
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10. Gilmour, Keith (February 1989). "Henderson, De Bruin make big signings". Australian Soccer Weekly. Vol. 10, no. 364. Foreign Language Publications Pty Ltd.
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15. Soccer, Aussie (June 1989). Who Moved Where, When...And The Cost! (2 ed.). Sunshine, Victoria: Aussie Soccer Magazine. p. 8.
16. Gautier, Paul. "Croatia back in strength". Australian Soccer Weekly. Vol. 10, no. January 18th 1989. Foreign Language Publications.
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18. Soccer, Aussie (May 1989). "Solid as A-ROK". Aussie Soccer. No. 1. Anthony Cerantonio.
19. Soccer, Aussie (June 1989). Who Moved Where, When...And The Cost! (2 ed.). Sunshine, Victoria: Aussie Soccer Magazine. p. 8.
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23. "Mark Bosnich". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
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25. "The 1989 Season". ozfootball.net.
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