Event | 2003–04 National Soccer League | ||||||
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(asdet) | |||||||
Date | 4 April 2004 | ||||||
Venue | Parramatta Stadium, Sydney, Australia | ||||||
Joe Marston Medal | Ahmad Elrich | ||||||
Referee | Mark Shield | ||||||
Attendance | 9,630 | ||||||
Weather | Wet, windy, 21.2 °C (70.2 °F) | ||||||
The 2004 National Soccer League Grand Final was held on 4 April 2004 between Parramatta Power and Perth Glory at Parramatta Stadium. Parramatta Power had gained home-ground advantage by beating Perth Glory in the major semi final, while Perth earned their place with a win over Adelaide United in the preliminary final. Perth won the match 1–0, with Nik Mrdja scoring a golden goal in extra time. [1] [2] [3]
The Australian Soccer Association (ASA) had decided that this would be the last National Soccer League season ahead of the launch of the provisionally-named Australian Premier League (APL) in 2005. [4]
The two teams were the clear standouts with Perth finishing the season first and Parramatta six points behind. As the top two teams, they earned the right to advance to the second week of the finals series. In the major semi-final, held over two legs at Parramatta Stadium and Perth Oval, Parramatta defeated Perth 6–2 on aggregate to advance to the grand final. Perth defeated Adelaide United in the preliminary final 5–0 at Subiaco Oval to earn the right to face the Power again. After initially suggesting that they might relinquish home-ground advantage to the Glory, the Power eventually decided to host the grand final at Parramatta. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
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1 | Perth Glory (C) | 24 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 56 | 22 | +34 | 57 | Qualification to Finals series |
2 | Parramatta Power | 24 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 58 | 30 | +28 | 51 | |
3 | Adelaide United | 24 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 28 | 25 | +3 | 40 | |
4 | Marconi Stallions | 24 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 29 | 25 | +4 | 38 | |
5 | South Melbourne | 24 | 11 | 4 | 9 | 39 | 21 | +18 | 37 | |
6 | Brisbane Strikers | 24 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 28 | 33 | −5 | 32 | |
7 | Northern Spirit | 24 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 31 | 33 | −2 | 30 | |
8 | Sydney Olympic | 24 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 26 | 31 | −5 | 29 | |
9 | Wollongong Wolves | 24 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 34 | 41 | −7 | 29 | |
10 | Sydney United | 24 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 18 | 25 | −7 | 29 | |
11 | Newcastle United | 24 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 33 | −15 | 24 | |
12 | Melbourne Knights | 24 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 21 | 41 | −20 | 23 | |
13 | Football Kingz | 24 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 25 | 51 | −26 | 15 |
Elimination Finals | Major/Minor Semifinal | Preliminary Final | Grand Final | |||||||||||||||||||
2 | Parramatta Power | 4 | 2 | 6 | Parramatta Power | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Perth Glory | 1 | 0 | 2 | Perth Glory (a.e.t.) | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Perth Glory | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||
3 | Adelaide United (a) | 3 | 1 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
3 | Adelaide United | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
6 | Brisbane Strikers | 0 | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
3 | Adelaide United (a.e.t.) | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
5 | South Melbourne | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
4 | Marconi Stallions | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
5 | South Melbourne | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
The match took place in heavy rain which led to a smaller than expected crowd and affected the pitch. [3]
Perth had the first real chance on goal in the 14th minute with Damian Mori having a shot from within the six-yard box saved by Clint Bolton, the Power goalkeeper. A Peter Zorbas cross after 23 minutes was spilt by Perth goalkeeper Jason Petkovic, however Power forward Ante Milicic was unable to capitalise. A promising Glory attack was thwarted in the 29th minute with a ball in the penalty area stopping in the mud near the line. [3] [10]
With conditions improving in the second half, Power midfielder Ahmad Elrich put in a cross to Milicic who shot wide. Shortly after, Mori again missed from just outside the six-yard box with only the keeper between him and the goal. In the 74th minute, Power forward Sasho Petrovski shot the ball wide after doing to move past his opponent. [3] [10]
With regulation time expiring, the teams began extra time with the Golden goal rule in effect. Mori missed a clear chance to win the grand final five minutes into extra time after Peter Zorbas slipped while trying to clear the ball from the penalty area. [2] [3]
Nik Mrdja, who had been an 82nd minute substitute for striker Bobby Despotovski, ended the match eight minutes into the first period of extra time with a low shot past Power goalkeeper Bolton. [11] [12]
Parramatta Power | 0 – 1 (asdet) | Perth Glory |
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Reports [13] | Mrdja ![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Parramatta Power | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Perth Glory |
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Match rules
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Power midfielder Ahmad Elrich was presented the Joe Marston Medal for best player of the grand final by Joe Marston. [14]
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.
Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues.
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.
Sydney Olympic Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club, based in Belmore, Sydney, New South Wales, that plays in the National Premier Leagues NSW. The club was founded as Pan-Hellenic Soccer Club in 1957 by Greek immigrants. In 1977, the club changed its name to Sydney Olympic and became a founding member of the Phillips Soccer League, later named the National Soccer League (NSL), the inaugural national football league of Australia, remaining a member of the competition until its demise in 2004.
Damian Mori is an Australian former football player who is an assistant coach for Adelaide United. He won two Johnny Warren Medals, awarded to the best player in the Australian league and was top scorer on 5 occasions. He established a reputation as a pacy, poaching goalscorer, which is notable for a player who started his career as a defender.
Ahmad Elrich is an Australian professional association footballer who plays as a right winger for Australian club Parramatta FC. Born in Australia to Lebanese parents, Elrich represented his native country internationally, both at youth and senior level.
Parramatta Power Soccer Club were a professional association football club who were based in the Western Sydney city of Parramatta. They played in the National Soccer League from season 1999-00 until the league folded in 2004. The Power were runners up to Perth Glory in the 2003–04 season of the NSL, both on the ladder and in the grand final, after Perth took control in extra time and scored the golden goal winner in horrendous weather to become the final NSL champions.
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.
Lawrie McKinna is a Scottish-Australian former football player, coach, and was the mayor of the former Gosford City Council.
Nikola "Nik" Mrdja is an Australian former soccer player, who played as a striker. Mrdja had a career spanning several National Soccer League (NSL) and A-League clubs from 1998 to 2011, as well as a brief spell in Sweden with AIK in 2004. Mrdja made one appearance for Australia, in a friendly against Argentina in 2007.
Ante Milicic ( AN-tay MIL-ə-chitch; Croatian: Ante Miličić ; is an Australian soccer manager and former professional player.
Tarek Elrich is an Australian professional soccer player who last played as a right-back or midfielder for Mt Druitt Town Rangers in the National Premier Leagues.
The 2003–04 National Soccer League season was the 28th and final season of the National Soccer League in Australia. Perth Glory were crowned both premiers and champions after winning both the league and grand final.
Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). formerly under licence by the Football Federation Australia (FFA). The club had established itself as a major force in both Australia and Asia, having won one A-Leagues Premiership and an AFC Champions League title in its history.
The 2003–04 Perth Glory SC season was the club's eighth season since its establishment in 1996, and its final season in the National Soccer League (NSL). Perth Glory finished top of the league and were crowned champions after defeating Parramatta Power in the 2004 NSL Grand Final.
The 2000–2001 Perth Glory SC season was the club's fifth in the Australian National Soccer League (NSL). The club finished third on the table, losing in the elimination final to the Melbourne Knights. It was the final season in charge for head coach Bernd Stange who left the club in mid-2001.
The 2003 National Soccer League Grand Final was held on 1 June 2003 between Perth Glory and Olympic Sharks at Subiaco Oval. Perth Glory had gained home-ground advantage as they topped the Championship Playoff, with Olympic Sharks finishing second. Perth won the match 2–0, with goals from Jamie Harnwell and Damian Mori sealing their first National Soccer League championship. Simon Colosimo won the Joe Marston Medal.