1987 National Soccer League
Season | 1987 |
---|---|
Dates | 27 March – 1 November 1987 |
Champions | APIA Leichhardt 1st title |
Relegated | Heidelberg United |
Matches played | 162 |
Goals scored | 391 (2.41 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Frank Farina (18 goals) |
Biggest home win | Sydney Croatia 6–1 Melbourne Croatia (29 March 1987) |
Biggest away win | Sydney Croatia 0–5 Marconi Fairfield (11 October 1987) |
Highest scoring | Heidelberg United 6–2 Sunshine George Cross (10 May 1987) |
Highest attendance | 9,000 Heidelberg United 1–1 South Melbourne (24 May 1987) |
Lowest attendance | 400 Brunswick Juventus 0–1 Adelaide City (27 September 1987) |
Total attendance | 500,763 |
Average attendance | 3,091 |
← 1986 1988 → |
The 1987 National Soccer League season was the 11th season of the National Soccer League, the former top Australian professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1977. The season saw the format returned to a single league of fourteen teams instead of the two-conference system. Sydney City SC withdrew from the competition after round 1, reducing the competition to 13 teams. The finals series for the Championship was also removed and replaced with the standard non-Championship defining play-offs with the actual Championship determined by a first past the post, won by APIA Leichhardt.
Teams[edit]
- Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
Team | Location | Stadium(s) | Capacity |
---|---|---|---|
Adelaide City | Adelaide | Hindmarsh Stadium Olympic Sports Field |
16,500 8,000 |
APIA Leichhardt | Sydney (Leichhardt) | Lambert Park Belmore Oval |
7,000 19,000 |
Brunswick Juventus | Melbourne (Brunswick East) | Olympic Village Olympic Park |
12,000 18,500 |
Footscray JUST | Melbourne (Footscray) | Schintler Reserve | ? |
Heidelberg United | Melbourne (Heidelberg West) | Olympic Village Deakin Reserve |
12,000 10,000 |
Marconi Fairfield | Sydney (Fairfield) | Marconi Stadium | 9,000 |
Melbourne Croatia | Melbourne (Sunshine North) | Olympic Park | 12,000 |
Preston Makedonia | Melbourne (Preston) | B.T. Connor Reserve | 8,000 |
South Melbourne | Melbourne (Albert Park) | Middle Park Olympic Park |
18,000 12,000 |
St George-Budapest | Sydney (Albert Park) | St George Stadium | 12,000 |
Sunshine George Cross | Melbourne (Fraser Rise) | Chaplin Reserve | 5,000 |
Sydney Croatia | Sydney (Edensor Park) | Croatian Sports Centre | 12,000 |
Sydney Olympic | Sydney (Belmore) | St George Stadium King Tomislav Park |
12,000 |
Regular season[edit]
League table[edit]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | APIA Leichhardt (C) | 24 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 39 | 21 | +18 | 35 | Qualification for the Finals series |
2 | Preston Makedonia | 24 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 32 | 22 | +10 | 29 | |
3 | St George-Budapest | 24 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 31 | 24 | +7 | 29 | |
4 | Marconi Fairfield | 24 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 41 | 25 | +16 | 27 | |
5 | Sydney Croatia | 24 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 31 | 25 | +6 | 26 | |
6 | South Melbourne | 24 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 32 | 34 | −2 | 25 | |
7 | Sydney Olympic | 24 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 29 | 32 | −3 | 23 | |
8 | Brunswick Juventus | 24 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 18 | 23 | −5 | 23 | |
9 | Melbourne Croatia | 24 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 22 | 30 | −8 | 23 | |
10 | Adelaide City | 24 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 29 | 23 | +6 | 22 | |
11 | Footscray JUST | 24 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 27 | −10 | 22 | |
12 | Sunshine George Cross | 24 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 26 | 42 | −16 | 15 | |
13 | Heidelberg United (R) | 24 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 25 | 44 | −19 | 13 | Relegation to the Victorian State League |
14 | Sydney City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Results[edit]
Finals series[edit]
A top five Finals series was played at the end of the regular season. The Finals series was not considered the Championship for this season.
Preliminary semi-final[edit]
18 October 1987 | Preston Makedonia | 1–2 | St George-Budapest | Sydney |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: St George Stadium Attendance: 3,964 Referee: Jim Reeves |
Elimination semi-final[edit]
21 October 1987 | Marconi Fairfield | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | Sydney Croatia | Sydney |
Report | Stadium: St George Stadium Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Chris Bambridge |
Minor semi-final[edit]
25 October 1987 | Preston Makedonia | 2–2 (a.e.t.) (5–3 p) | Marconi Fairfield | Melbourne |
Report | Stadium: Olympic Park Attendance: 2,700 Referee: Rob Davies |
Major semi-final[edit]
25 October 1987 | APIA Leichhardt | 1–2 | St George | Sydney |
|
Report | Stadium: St George Stadium Attendance: 3,400 Referee: Dennis Voutsianis |
Preliminary Final[edit]
28 October 1987 | APIA Leichhardt | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (3–1 p) | Preston Makedonia | Melbourne |
Report | Stadium: Olympic Park Attendance: 2,700 Referee: Don Campbell |
Grand Final[edit]
St George-Budapest | 4–0 | APIA Leichhardt |
---|---|---|
|
Report |
Season statistics[edit]
Top scorers[edit]
Rank | Player | Club | Goals[1] |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
Marconi Fairfield | 16 |
2 | ![]() |
APIA Leichhardt | 14 |
3 | ![]() |
Melbourne Croatia | 10 |
![]() |
Preston Makedonia | ||
5 | ![]() |
Adelaide City | 9 |
![]() |
Sydney Croatia | ||
![]() |
Adelaide City | ||
8 | ![]() |
Preston Makedonia | 8 |
![]() |
Sunshine George Cross | ||
![]() |
South Melbourne |
Hat-tricks[edit]
Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
Sydney Croatia | Melbourne Croatia | 6–1 (H) | 29 March 1987 |
![]() |
Brunswick Juventus | Heidelberg United | 3–1 (H) | 5 July 1987 |
![]() |
Sunshine George Cross | South Melbourne | 3–0 (H) | 19 July 1987 |
![]() |
Marconi Fairfield | Heidelberg United | 5–1 (A) | 9 August 1987 |
![]() |
Preston Makedonia | APIA Leichhardt | 4–0 (H) | 13 September 1987 |
![]() |
Marconi Fairfield | Sydney Croatia | 5–0 (A) | 11 October 1987 |
Awards[edit]
Award | Winner | Club |
---|---|---|
Referee's Player of the Year | ![]() |
Brunswick Juventus |
Player's Player of the Year | ![]() |
Marconi Fairfield |
U-21 Player of the Year | ![]() |
Sunshine George Cross |
Coach of the Year | ![]() |
APIA Leichhardt |
References[edit]
- ^ Stock, Greg. "1987 National Soccer League Top Goalscorers". OzFootball.net.