Match
Details
| Brisbane Strikers | 2–0 | Sydney United |
|---|---|---|
Farina  47'Brown 69' | Reports [4] |
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Match rules
|
| Event | 1996–97 National Soccer League | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| 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] |
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Match rules
|
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.
Adelaide City Football Club is a soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The club was known historically as Juventus — the original name given to the club by its founders in Adelaide's Italian community.
Clint Brian Bolton is an Australian former goalkeeper. He was one of the most experienced goalkeepers in the history of the National Soccer League, which preceded the A-League. He played over 300 games for Brisbane Strikers, Sydney Olympic FC and Parramatta Power, and won two A-League championships with Sydney FC.
Alexander John Kosmina, known as John Kosmina, is an Australian former football (soccer) player and manager, most recently being the Senior Head Coach of Brisbane Strikers. He is a member of the Football Federation Australia Football Hall of Fame.
Thomas Carl Veart is an Australian former footballer who is the head coach for Adelaide United.
Louis Karl Brain is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played for Adelaide United in the Hyundai A-League's inaugural season. Born in England, he represented the Australia U17 and U20 national teams.
Steve Fitzsimmons is a former Australian football (soccer) player and coach.
Brisbane Strikers Football Club is an Australian semi-professional football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in 1991 as Brisbane United, the club competed in the National Soccer League until the 2003–04 season and was one of two clubs contending for an A-League licence during the establishment of the league in 2004.
Brisbane City Football Club is an Australian semi-professional football club based in Newmarket, Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in 1952, the club competed in the National Soccer League until the 1986 season where they were relegated back to State League Competition. Brisbane City competed in the National Premier Leagues Queensland from 2013, until they were relegated to the lower tier Football Queensland Premier League with one match remaining in the 2020 season. They then won 20 out of 20 matches in the 2021 season to earn immediate promotion back to the National Premier Leagues Queensland. Home matches are played at Spencer Park.
Andy Harper is a former Australian soccer player who played in Australia's National Soccer League (NSL) for Sydney City, Sydney Olympic, St George, Marconi, Brisbane Strikers, Newcastle Breakers and Newcastle United. Harper began a commentary career while still playing, working for Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), Channel 9, C7 Sport, ABC Radio, Fox Sports and Paramount+. He currently covers the A-League for Paramount+ as an expert commentator.
Frank Farina OAM is an Australian football (soccer) coach and former player who played as a forward.
The 1977 National Soccer League season was the first season of the National Soccer League of Australia. The league was not only the first national soccer league in Australia but the first of any of the forms of football in Australia. Clubs predominantly joined from the top leagues in each state, with the exception of Tasmanian and Western Australia, and Canberra City forming in 1977 to join the league. The inaugural champions were Eastern Suburbs.
The 1994–95 National Soccer League season, was the 19th season of the National Soccer League in Australia. The season ended with Melbourne Knights winning the championship and minor premiership double.
The 1996–97 National Soccer League season, was the 21st season of the National Soccer League in Australia.
The 1996–97 NSL Cup was the 21st and final edition of the NSL Cup, which was the main national association football knockout cup competition in Australia. The NSL Cup was sponsored by Johnnie Walker and known as the Johnnie Walker Cup for sponsorship purposes.
The National Soccer League Cup was an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic Australian soccer organised by the Australian Soccer Federation between 1977 and 1997.
Rod Brown is an Australian former soccer player. Brown earned seven caps, including two full international caps, for the Socceroos. Both those full international caps were against New Zealand in 1987.
The 1994–95 NSL Cup was the 19th edition of the NSL Cup, which was the main national association football knockout cup competition in Australia. The NSL Cup was sponsored by Johnnie Walker and known as the Johnnie Walker Cup for sponsorship purposes.