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2007–08 A-League

31st season of top-tier soccer league in Australia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2007–08 A-League was the 31st season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the third season of the A-League competition since its establishment in 2004. Football Federation Australia hoped to build on the success of the previous two seasons and on the interest generated by Sydney FC and Adelaide United playing in the 2007 AFC Champions League, and the Socceroos competing in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup.

Season2007–08
Dates24 August 2007 – 24 February 2008
ChampionsNewcastle Jets (1st title)
PremiersCentral Coast Mariners
(1st title)
Quick facts Season, Dates ...
A-League
Season2007–08
Dates24 August 2007 – 24 February 2008
ChampionsNewcastle Jets (1st title)
PremiersCentral Coast Mariners
(1st title)
AFC Champions LeagueNewcastle Jets,
Central Coast Mariners
Matches111
Goals223 (2.01 per match)
Top goalscorerJoel Griffiths
(12 goals)
Best goalkeeperMichael Theoklitos
Biggest home winCentral Coast Mariners 3–0 Wellington Phoenix
Wellington Phoenix 4–1 Perth Glory
Adelaide United 4–1 Melbourne Victory
Adelaide United 4–1 Wellington Phoenix
Queensland Roar 3–0 Wellington Phoenix
Wellington Phoenix 3–0 Perth Glory
Melbourne Victory 3–0 Wellington Phoenix
Central Coast Mariners 3–0 Newcastle Jets
Biggest away winNewcastle Jets 1–4 Perth Glory
Perth Glory 1–4 Queensland Roar
Central Coast Mariners 2–5 Melbourne Victory
Highest scoringCentral Coast Mariners 4–5 Sydney FC
Longest winning run4 games
Newcastle Jets
Longest unbeaten run6 games
Melbourne Victory
Longest winless run11 games
Perth Glory
Longest losing run4 games
Adelaide United
Wellington Phoenix
Highest attendance33,458
Lowest attendance6,252
Average attendance14,610 ( 1683)
Close

Based on their A-League 2006-07 season performances Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory competed in the 2008 AFC Champions League, making it two consecutive seasons in the competition for Adelaide United. Based on the 2007–08 season of the A-League, the Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets qualified for the 2009 AFC Champions League, as the competition's Premiers and Champions respectively.

Changes included:

Clubs

Foreign players

The following do not fill a Visa position:
1Those players who were born and started their professional career abroad but have since gained Australian Residency (and New Zealand Residency, in the case of Wellington Phoenix);
2Australian residents (and New Zealand residents, in the case of Wellington Phoenix) who have chosen to represent another national team;
3Injury Replacement Players, or National Team Replacement Players;
4Guest Players (eligible to play a maximum of ten games)

Salary cap exemptions and captains

Pre-Season Challenge Cup

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

The pre-season cup was won by Adelaide United at the final on 12 August 2007.

Regular season

The league season took a triple round-robin format over 21 rounds between 24 August 2007 and 20 January 2008 with each team playing the other seven teams three times.[25]

League table

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Central Coast Mariners 21 10 4 7 30 25 +5 34 Qualification for 2009 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series[a]
2 Newcastle Jets (C) 21 9 7 5 25 21 +4 34
3 Sydney FC 21 8 8 5 28 24 +4 32 Qualification for 2008 Pan-Pacific Championship and Finals series
4 Queensland Roar 21 8 7 6 25 21 +4 31 Qualification for Finals series
5 Melbourne Victory 21 6 9 6 29 29 0 27
6 Adelaide United 21 6 8 7 31 29 +2 26
7 Perth Glory 21 4 8 9 27 34 −7 20
8 Wellington Phoenix[b] 21 5 5 11 25 37 −12 20
Close
Source: ultimatealeague.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. First place qualifies for the 2009 AFC Champions League group stage.
    Winning the 2008 A-League Grand Final earns qualification for the 2009 AFC Champions League group stage, unless the Grand Final winners are also first place, in which case the Grand Final runner up qualifies.
  2. Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

Round 1

26 August 2007 Perth Glory 0–0 Newcastle Jets Members Equity Stadium, Perth
15:00 UTC+8 Report
Summary[link removed]
Attendance: 8,508
Referee: Simon Przydacz

Round 2

1 September 2007 Sydney FC 2–2 Adelaide United Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
17:00 UTC+10 Talay 13'
Brosque 74'
Report
Summary[link removed]
Alagich 9'
Burns 76'
Attendance: 14,233
Referee: Mark Shield
2 September 2007 Newcastle Jets 1–1 Queensland Roar EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
17:00 UTC+10 J. Griffiths 89' Report
Summary[link removed]
Reinaldo 70' Attendance: 13,144
Referee: Simon Przydacz

Round 3

9 September 2007 Perth Glory 0–0 Sydney FC Members Equity Stadium, Perth
15:00 UTC+8 Report
Summary
Attendance: 7,907
Referee: Craig Zetter

Round 4

15 September 2007 Newcastle Jets 1–0 Adelaide United EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
19:00 UTC+10 Bridge 81' Report
Summary[link removed]
Attendance: 13,627
Referee: Angelo Nardi

Round 5

22 September 2007 Queensland Roar 0–1 Sydney FC Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
19:00 UTC+10 Report
Summary
Patrick 69' Attendance: 16,582
Referee: Mark Shield
23 September 2007 Central Coast Mariners 1–0 Perth Glory Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
19:00 UTC+10 Petrovski 80' Report
Summary
Attendance: 9,274
Referee: Craig Zetter

Round 6

29 September 2007 Sydney FC 1–0 Newcastle Jets Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
19:00 UTC+10 Brosque 36' Report
Summary
Attendance: 13,755
Referee: Craig Zetter

Round 7

5 October 2007 Queensland Roar 2–1 Wellington Phoenix Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
20:00 UTC+10 Zullo 4'
Kruse 45+1'
Report
Summary
Smeltz 90+5' Attendance: 12,458
Referee: Craig Zetter

Round 8

12 October 2007 Perth Glory 3–3 Sydney FC Members Equity Stadium, Perth
20:00 UTC+8 Harnwell 53'
Robinson 59'
Prentice 69'
Report
Summary
Brosque 40', 90+3'
Patrick 72'
Attendance: 6,876
Referee: Matthew Breeze

Round 9

21 October 2007 Melbourne Victory 2–1 Perth Glory Telstra Dome, Melbourne
16:30 UTC+10 Hernandez 24'
Thompson 34'
Report
Summary
Harnwell 42' Attendance: 25,598
Referee: Simon Przydacz

Round 10

27 October 2007 Queensland Roar 3–3 Perth Glory Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
19:00 UTC+10 Marcinho 45+3'
Lynch 69' (pen.), 86'
Report
Summary
Moore red-colored football 18' (o.g.)
Harnwell 43'
Coyne 90+3'
Attendance: 16,715
Referee: Ben Williams
28 October 2007 Adelaide United 4–1 Wellington Phoenix Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
16:30 UTC+9:30 Giraldi 5'
Burns 45+4'
Pantelis 50'
Spagnuolo 75'
Report
Summary
Smeltz 3' Attendance: 11,740
Referee: Simon Przydacz

Round 11

2 November 2007 Adelaide United 0–1 Queensland Roar Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
19:30 UTC+10:30 Report
Summary[link removed]
Reinaldo 63' Attendance: 10,705
Referee: Peter Green
2 November 2007 Perth Glory 0–1 Wellington Phoenix Members Equity Stadium, Perth
20:00 UTC+9 Report
Summary
Daniel 51' Attendance: 7,105
Referee: Simon Przydacz

Round 12

10 November 2007 Central Coast Mariners 2–0 Adelaide United Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
17:00 UTC+11 J.Aloisi 48' (pen.), 59' Report
Summary[link removed]
Attendance: 11,680
Referee: Simon Przydacz
11 November 2007 Queensland Roar 3–0 Wellington Phoenix Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
17:00 UTC+10 Reinaldo 67' (pen.), 79'
Marcinho 83'
Report
Summary
Attendance: 13,808
Referee: Matthew Breeze

Round 13

18 November 2007 Perth Glory 0–1 Central Coast Mariners Members Equity Stadium, Perth
19:00 UTC+9 Summary Owens 13' Attendance: 7,310
Referee: Craig Zetter

Round 14

Round 15

30 November 2007 Wellington Phoenix 1–2 Adelaide United Westpac Stadium, Wellington
19:30 UTC+12 Daniel 69' (pen.) Report
Summary[link removed]
Agostino 9'
Pantelis 79'
Attendance: 18,345
Referee: Craig Zetter

Round 16

8 December 2007 Melbourne Victory 2–2 Adelaide United Telstra Dome, Melbourne
19:00 UTC+11 Muscat 71' (pen.)
Alagich red-colored football 90+2' (o.g.)
Report
Summary[link removed]
Agostino 18', 50' Attendance: 22,466
Referee: Peter Green

Round 17

15 December 2007 Sydney FC 2–4 Perth Glory Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
19:00 UTC+11 Corica 50'
Bridges 90'
Report
Summary
Celeski 34', 35', 77' (pen.)
Bertos 49'
Attendance: 12,402
Referee: Michael Hester

Round 18

28 December 2007 Adelaide United 1–3 Sydney FC Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
19:30 UTC+10:30 Sarkies 20' Report
Summary[link removed]
Santalab 44'
Corica 54'
Middleby 66'
Attendance: 25,039
Referee: Matthew Breeze
30 December 2007 Perth Glory 1–4 Queensland Roar Members Equity Stadium, Perth
19:00 UTC+9 Rizzo 57' Report
Summary
Kruse 34'
Reinaldo 42'
Minniecon 59'
McCloughan 74'
Attendance: 9,614
Referee: Peter Green

Round 19

Round 20

Round 21

Finals series

SemifinalsPreliminary finalFinal
2Newcastle Jets2021Central Coast Mariners0
1Central Coast Mariners0332Newcastle Jets1
2Newcastle Jets (a.e.t.)3
4Queensland Roar2
3Sydney FC000
4Queensland Roar022

Semi-finals

8 February 2008 Queensland Roar 2–0 Sydney FC Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
20:07 UTC+10
(Delayed Kickoff)
Report
Summary
Attendance: 36,221
Referee: Mark Shield

Preliminary-final

17 February 2008 Newcastle Jets 3–2 (a.e.t.) Queensland Roar EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
18:00 UTC+11
Report
Summary
Reinaldo 90+2' (pen.), 118' (pen.) Attendance: 16,021
Referee: Peter Green

Grand Final

Season statistics

Leading scorers

More information Total, Player ...
Total Player Team Goals per Round
 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 101112131415161718192021
12AustraliaJoel GriffithsNewcastle Jets11111112111
9New ZealandShane SmeltzWellington Phoenix11111211
8AustraliaAlex BrosqueSydney FC112211
8AustraliaJamie HarnwellPerth Glory11111111
7AustraliaDaniel AllsoppMelbourne Victory111211
7AustraliaJohn AloisiCentral Coast Mariners211111
6AustraliaSasho PetrovskiCentral Coast Mariners111111
6BrazilReinaldoQueensland Roar11211
6AustraliaArchie ThompsonMelbourne Victory111111
6AustraliaLucas PantelisAdelaide United111111
Close

  Goal scored from penalty kick

Attendance

The attendance records of each of the teams at the end of the home and away season, does not include finals series attendances.

More information Team, Hosted ...
Team Hosted Average High Low Total
Melbourne Victory1026,06431,88420,938260,642
Queensland Roar1116,95131,9338,815186,456
Sydney FC1116,37333,45810,732180,107
Newcastle Jets1113,20916,4338,112145,303
Central Coast Mariners1012,74119,2388,113127,409
Adelaide United1012,69725,03910,256126,966
Wellington Phoenix1011,68318,3458,039116,833
Perth Glory117,5969,6146,25283,557
{{{T9}}}00000
{{{T10}}}00000
{{{T11}}}00000
{{{T12}}}00000
League total 84 14,610 33,458 6,252 1,227,273
Close

* Adelaide United played a one-off match at the Adelaide Oval against Sydney FC in their Round 18 match. This is why Adelaide United's Highest single attendance exceeds the capacity of Hindmarsh Stadium.

Top 10 attendances

More information Attendance, Round ...
AttendanceRoundDateHomeScoreAwayVenueWeekdayTime of Day
36,354Grand Final24 February 2008Central Coast Mariners0–1Newcastle JetsSydney Football StadiumSundayDay
36,221Finals – Week 28 February 2008Queensland Roar2–0Sydney FCSuncorp StadiumFridayNight
33,458Round 2120 January 2008Sydney FC2–2Melbourne VictorySydney Football StadiumSundayDay
31,933Round 2013 January 2008Queensland Roar0–0Sydney FCSuncorp StadiumSundayTwilight
31,884Round 1210 November 2007Melbourne Victory0–0Sydney FCTelstra DomeSaturdayNight
31,545Round 21 September 2007Melbourne Victory0–0Perth GloryTelstra DomeSaturdayNight
27,351Round 416 September 2007Melbourne Victory0–0Central Coast MarinersTelstra DomeSundayAfternoon
27,123Round 1026 October 2007Melbourne Victory0–2Newcastle JetsTelstra DomeFridayNight
25,622Round 628 September 2007Melbourne Victory2–0Queensland RoarTelstra DomeFridayNight
25,598Round 921 October 2007Melbourne Victory2–1Perth GloryTelstra DomeSundayAfternoon
Close

Disciplinary

The Fair Play Award was awarded to Newcastle Jets, the team with the lowest points on the fair play ladder at the conclusion of the home and away season.

1 pointYellow Card
2 pointsSecond Caution Red Card
3 pointsDirect Red Card
More information Team, Points ...
Close

Awards

See also

References

Related Articles

Timelines

Top Qs

Fact Checks