A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup

A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup
Organising body	Football Federation Australia
Founded	2005
Abolished	2009
Number of teams	8
Last champions	Melbourne Victory
Most successful club(s)	Adelaide United (2 titles)

Last updated September 11, 2020

The A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup competition was an annual soccer tournament held for all A-League clubs in July and August in the lead up to the start of the A-League season. The competition featured a group stage and a knockout stage. Commentators did not give much weight to the competition as a guide for performance during the season proper, as injuries or club strategic policy ruled that many teams did not use their best players and often used experimental tactics. The Pre-Season Cup was removed from the 2009–10 A-League schedule in order to give the clubs more control over their own pre-season training.^[1]

History

2005–2006

The inaugural A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup was won by Central Coast Mariners after they beat the reigning NSL Champions, Perth Glory 1–0 in the grand final. The event was a huge success and attracted clubs to thoroughly prepare for their A-League endeavours. The second edition of the Pre-Season Cup was used to enhance the A-League's profiles by playing pre-season games in regional centres including the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Launceston, Canberra, Wollongong, Port Macquarie, Orange and Tamworth.^[2] A new format allowed matches for: third, fifth and seventh place as well as a grand final. A trophy was given to the teams that finished first, second and third. Adelaide United won the Grand Final after beating reigning champions Central Coast Mariners 5–4 on penalties after 1–1 at the end of extra time. Sydney FC finished in third place.

2007–2008

The 2007 edition had an identical format as the 2006 edition, it was won by Adelaide United after they came back from 1–0 down to win the game 2–1, 9,606 spectators attended the grand final and just over 3,500 spectators attended the third place play-off where Brisbane Roar beat Central Coast Mariners 3–1 after the Roar received two red cards during the match.

Bunbury , Caloundra, Cessnock, Mandurah and Mount Gambier all hosted matches for the first time. The Format changed again, the third, fifth and seventh place matches were removed and the top team from each group played each other instead of the regular knockout format. Melbourne Victory won the last ever A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup after beating Wellington Phoenix 8–7 in a penalty shoot-out after a 0–0 score at the end of extra time.

Format

In the Pre-Season Cup, the teams were evenly placed into two groups. Each team played the others in the group once over three rounds.

Beginning in 2006, an additional bonus round was then held, with each team playing a cross-over match with a team from a different group. In addition to the standard points (3 for a win, 1 for a draw), there were special bonus points on offer for the bonus round matches:

1 bonus point for 2 goals scored by a team,
2 bonus points for 3 goals scored by a team, or
3 bonus points for 4 or more goals scored by a team.
4 bonus points for scoring 5 goals by a player.

This format was edited for the 2007 competition. The bonus round was removed, and the bonus points system introduced into each of the first three rounds. All eight teams then entered a knock-out round, culminating in the final in late August.

Results by club

Pre-Season Challenge Cup winners by club
Team	Winners	Runners-up	Third place^{[lower-alpha 1]}	Fourth place	Years won	Years lost
Adelaide United	2	0	0	0	2006, 2007
Central Coast Mariners	1	1	0	1	2005	2006
Melbourne Victory	1	0	0	0	2008
Perth Glory	0	2	0	0		2005, 2007
Wellington Phoenix	0	1	0	0		2007
Brisbane Roar	0	0	1	0
Sydney FC	0	0	1	0
Newcastle Jets	0	0	0	1

↑ Only the 2006 & 2007 competitions had a third place play-off match.

Past tournaments/winners

Season	Grand Final Date	Winning Team	Score	Losing Team	Location	GF Attendance
2005	21 August 2005	Central Coast Mariners (1)	1–0	Perth Glory	Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium, Gosford (1)	6,609
2006	19 August 2006	Adelaide United (1)	1–1 (5–4) (PSO)	Central Coast Mariners	Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium, Gosford (2)	10,453
2007	12 August 2007	Adelaide United (2)	2–1	Perth Glory	Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide (1)	9,606
2008	6 August 2008	Melbourne Victory (1)	0–0 (8–7) (PSO)	Wellington Phoenix	Westpac Stadium, Wellington (1)	9,208

Records

Most tournament wins (team): 2 wins, Adelaide United
Most final appearances (team): 2, Adelaide United, Central Coast Mariners & Perth Glory
Most goals scored in a match (team): 5 goals, by Queensland Roar vs. New Zealand Knights, 30 July 2005
Biggest win: New Zealand Knights 0–5 Queensland Roar, group stage, 30 July 2005
Biggest win in a final: Central Coast Mariners 1–0 Perth Glory, 20 August 2005 & Adelaide United 2–1 Perth Glory, 12 August 2007.
Most penalties in a deciding penalty shootout: 8 – Wellington Phoenix 7–8 Melbourne Victory (6 August 2008)

Related Research Articles

The 2005–06 A-League was the 29th season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the inaugural season of the A-League. After over 12 months without a national professional club competition since the close of the 2003–04 National Soccer League season, the first match in the A-League was played on 26 August 2005. The competition was made up of a triple round robin league stage before a championship playoff featuring the top four teams.

The 2006–07 A-League was the 30th season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the second season of the A-League since its establishment the previous season. Football Federation Australia hoped to build on the success of the first season and on the interest generated by the Socceroos competing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Fox Sports had signed a A$120 million deal over 7 years for the exclusive broadcast rights of the A-League, AFC Champions League, and national team matches.

The 2006–07 season was Adelaide United FC's the club's second season in the A-League. The club had success winning the 2005–06 Adelaide United FC season Premiership and finishing third in the finals series. Adelaide began their 2006–07 season with a 2–2 draw with local club Adelaide Galaxy and a 2–1 win over a State Select in their pre-season fixtures. This was followed up with a highly successful pre-season cup which the Reds won, defeating Central Coast Mariners on penalties in the grand final.

The 2006–07 season was the second season of competitive football played by Central Coast Mariners. The club ended the 2006–07 A-League in sixth, and so did not qualify for the finals. They failed to retain their A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup title, losing to Adelaide United in the final.

The Melbourne Victory A-League 2006–07 season was their most successful A-League season. They defeated Adelaide United 6–0 in their first Grand Final, winning the Championship, Premiership and qualifying for the AFC Champions League 2008.

The 2006–07 season is Sydney FC's second season of soccer in Australia. Sydney FC contested in the 2006–07 A-League, and after winning the inaugural A-League Championship in 2005–06, competed in the 2007 AFC Champions League as one of Australia's two representatives.

Queensland Roar took part in the 2006–07 A-League competition, hoping to improve on their performance in the previous domestic season, which saw them finish in sixth position at the end of the A-League competition.

The 2006-07 season was Newcastle Jets' second season in the Hyundai A-League. After a poor start to the season, The Jets finished strongly to place 3rd at the conclusion of the regular season. They beat Sydney FC in the minor Semi-Final but lost to Adelaide United in the Preliminary Final on penalties.

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The 2007 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup competition was held in July and August in the lead-up to the start of the A-League 2007-08 season. The opening round started on 14 July 2007. The competition featured a group stage, with three regular rounds, followed by a two-week finals playoff.

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The 2008-09 Hyundai A-League season was Melbourne Victory's fourth season. They finished top of the table at the end of the regular season and defeated Adelaide United in the Grand Final to take their second A-League title.

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The 2011–12 Central Coast Mariners season will be Central Coast Mariners's seventh A-League season. It includes the 2011–12 A-League season as well as any other competitions of the 2011–12 football (soccer) season. This will include competing in the 2012 AFC Champions League.

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References

↑ Hassett, Sebastian (20 April 2009). "Clubs ditch Pre-Season Cup". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 23 April 2009.
↑ "A-League Pre-Season Schedule Confirmed". 1 June 2006. Archived from the original on 30 August 2006.

External links

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[3] Only the 2006 & 2007 competitions had a third place play-off match.

[1] Hassett, Sebastian (20 April 2009). "Clubs ditch Pre-Season Cup". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 23 April 2009.

[2] "A-League Pre-Season Schedule Confirmed". 1 June 2006. Archived from the original on 30 August 2006.

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