2001_National_Soccer_League_Grand_Final

2001 National Soccer League Grand Final

2001 National Soccer League Grand Final

Football match

The 2001 National Soccer League Grand Final was held on 3 June 2001 between Wollongong Wolves and South Melbourne at Parramatta Stadium. Soccer Australia deemed Wollongong's 14,000 capacity home ground WIN Stadium too small for the centrepiece of the NSL season. Ironically the crowd attendance was 13,402. Wollongong won the match 2–1, with two goals in as many minutes from Sasho Petrovski and Stuart Young putting them ahead. Although John Anastasiadis got a goal for South Melbourne, it wasn't enough. This won the Wolves their second consecutive National Soccer League championship and their second overall. Matt Horsley won the Joe Marston Medal.[1]

Quick Facts Event, Wollongong Wolves ...

Route to the Final

As top-two finishers, South Melbourne and Wollongong Wolves were placed into the second week of the final series, with the winner to host the grand final. Wollongong won both legs 2–1 to qualify for the grand final with a 4–2 aggregate. In the preliminary final, South Melbourne defeated fourth-placed Sydney Olympic to qualify for the final.[2]

Soccer Australia chose Parramatta Stadium as the grand final venue, expecting a larger crowd than the WIN Stadium could hold.[3][4][5]

The Soccer Australia board initially refused an offer from the Seven Network to show the match live on free-to-air television. The board intended for the match to be played at 3pm, however Seven had pre-existing Australian Football League (AFL) commitments. Eventually, the board changed the time to midday and Seven showed the match live outside of Sydney.[6][7][8]

League Standings

More information Pos, Pld ...
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. Eastern Pride were stripped of all their points following a breach of regulations.[9]
  2. Carlton withdrew after eight rounds. All games against them were awarded 3–0.

Finals Bracket

Match

Details

More information Wollongong Wolves, 2 – 1 ...
Attendance: 13,402
Referee: Eddie Lennie

Assistant referees:
Fourth official:

Match rules

References

  1. [1]
    Cockerill, Michael (4 June 2001). "Wily Wolves fly like Hawks". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 33. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  2. [2]
    Desira, Peter (28 May 2001). "South wins final berth". Herald Sun.
  3. [3]
    Desira, Peter (22 May 2001). "In the South smiles". Herald Sun.
  4. [4]
    "Grand larceny; Kick in the guts as Wolves lose home grand final". Illawarra Mercury. 22 May 2001.
  5. [5]
    Cockerill, Michael (22 May 2001). "Wolves lose out as Sydney gets the grand final". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 42. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  6. [6]
    Lynch, Michael (18 May 2001). "Calls fail to change finals kick-offs for TV". The Age.
  7. [7]
    Taylor, John (25 May 2001). "At last some vision -- NSL final to be televised". Daily Telegraph.
  8. [8]
    Lewis, David (29 May 2001). "Wolves tip poor grand final crowd". Daily Telegraph.
  9. [9]
    "Australia 2000/01". RSSSF. 29 January 2003. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  10. [10]
    "2001 National Soccer League Playoff results". www.ozfootball.net. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
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