1979 National Soccer League

3rd season of the National Soccer League and the third of top-flight Australian soccer overall

Football league season

National Soccer League
Season	1979
Dates	9 March – 4 November 1979
Champions	Marconi Fairfield 1st National Soccer League title
Relegated	Sydney Olympic
Matches played	182
Goals scored	488 (2.68 per match)
Top goalscorer	Mark Jankovics (18 goals)
Biggest home win	Marconi Fairfield 6–0 South Melbourne (22 April 1979)
Biggest away win	Brisbane Lions 0–6 Adelaide City (17 June 1979)
Highest scoring	Marconi Fairfield 4–4 Adelaide City (1 April 1979) Heidelberg United 6–2 Brisbane City (19 October 1979)
Longest winning run	5 matches Sydney City
Longest unbeaten run	10 matches Heidelberg United Marconi Fairfield
Longest winless run	10 matches Canberra City
Longest losing run	5 matches St George-Budapest Sydney Olympic
Highest attendance	18,376 Newcastle KB United 2–0 Sydney Olympic (14 April 1979)
Lowest attendance	500 Sydney City 1–1 Brisbane Lions (22 August 1979) Heidelberg United 6–2 Brisbane City (19 October 1979)
Total attendance	777,635
Average attendance	4,273
← 1978 1980 →

The 1979 National Soccer League was the third season of the National Soccer League, the former top Australian semi-professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1977. Marconi Fairfield secured a first National Soccer League title.

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Marconi Fairfield (C)	26	15	6	5	58	32	+26	40^[a]	Qualification to Finals series^[b]
2	Heidelberg United	26	14	7	5	44	30	+14	36^[a]
3	Sydney City	26	15	3	8	47	29	+18	34^[a]
4	Brisbane City	26	14	5	7	38	30	+8	34^[a]
5	Adelaide City	26	13	6	7	43	27	+16	33^[a]
6	Newcastle KB United	26	11	9	6	43	30	+13	32^[a]
7	West Adelaide	26	10	4	12	28	31	−3	25^[a]
8	APIA Leichhardt	26	11	3	12	29	37	−8	25
9	Brisbane Lions	26	8	6	12	28	40	−12	22
10	Footscray JUST	26	8	3	15	29	43	−14	20^[a]
11	St George-Budapest	26	7	6	13	27	43	−16	20
12	Canberra City	26	6	8	12	25	41	−16	20
13	Sydney Olympic (R)	26	7	5	14	23	30	−7	19	Relegated to the 1980 NSW State League
14	South Melbourne	26	6	3	17	26	45	−19	16^[a]

Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ A Bonus Point was awarded for victories of 4 goals or more.
^ The Finals series was not considered the championship for the 1979 National Soccer League.

Results

Home \ Away	ADE	API	BRC	BRL	CAN	FOO	HEI	MAR	NKU	SOU	STG	SYC	SYO	WES
Adelaide City	—	0–1	2–4	2–0	2–1	1–2	2–0	2–4	0–0	3–0	1–1	1–1	1–0	1–0
APIA Leichhardt	1–1	—	1–1	2–1	3–0	3–2	1–0	0–0	1–3	2–1	1–0	0–3	0–2	0–1
Brisbane City	2–1	2–0	—	0–0	0–1	2–1	3–1	3–4	1–1	1–0	4–0	0–1	2–1	2–0
Brisbane Lions	0–6	2–1	1–2	—	3–0	1–0	1–3	0–4	3–0	2–0	2–3	1–2	0–0	2–3
Canberra City	0–2	0–0	0–0	1–2	—	0–3	1–2	3–1	1–5	3–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	0–0
Footscray JUST	0–2	5–1	2–0	3–1	1–2	—	2–2	0–5	2–0	0–2	1–3	1–0	0–1	0–1
Heidelberg United	1–0	2–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–1	—	3–2	2–4	3–0	1–0	2–2	2–1	3–1
Marconi Fairfield	4–4	2–0	3–3	0–1	1–1	0–0	0–4	—	2–1	6–0	2–1	1–0	2–0	2–1
Newcastle KB United	0–0	1–0	4–1	2–2	0–2	3–0	3–3	2–1	—	3–0	4–2	0–1	2–0	0–0
South Melbourne	1–0	1–2	4–0	3–0	1–1	1–1	0–1	1–2	1–2	—	2–0	1–2	0–3	3–4
St George-Budapest	0–2	1–2	0–1	1–1	2–4	0–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–0	—	0–5	2–0	2–0
Sydney City	2–3	2–3	0–1	1–1	2–1	3–0	1–3	0–4	2–0	2–0	3–1	—	3–4	3–0
Sydney Olympic	1–2	0–2	0–1	0–1	0–0	2–0	1–2	0–3	1–1	1–1	0–1	0–1	—	2–0
West Adelaide	1–2	3–1	2–1	1–0	2–0	5–0	1–0	1–2	1–1	0–1	0–1	0–2	0–0	—

Source: RSSSF
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Finals series

The top four teams in the league entered a play-off series. The winner of the Finals series was not considered the overall winner of the 1979 National Soccer League.^[1]

Round 1

Brisbane City v Sydney City

7 October 1979	Brisbane City	2–0	Sydney City	Brisbane
	Campbell 48', 63'	Report		Stadium: Perry Park Attendance: 3,200 Referee: Jim Reeves

Marconi Fairfield v Heidelberg United

7 October 1979	Marconi Fairfield	2–1	Heidelberg United	Sydney
	Byrne 1' (pen.) Henderson 68'	Report	Cole 24'	Stadium: Marconi Oval Attendance: 6,523 Referee: Jim Allen

Round 2

Brisbane City v Marconi Fairfield

14 October 1979	Brisbane City	2–1	Marconi Fairfield	Brisbane
	Campbell 38' Low 72'	Report	Jankovics 58'	Stadium: Perry Park Attendance: 5,100 Referee: Chris Bambridge

Heidelberg United v Sydney City

14 October 1979	Heidelberg United	1–3	Sydney City	Melbourne
	Cole 24'	Report	Stevenson 14' Trenter 18' Yzendoorn 68' (o.g.)	Stadium: Olympic Park No. 2 Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Don Campbell

Round 3

Heidelberg United v Brisbane City

19 October 1979	Heidelberg United	6–2	Brisbane City	Melbourne
	Buljevic 35' Cole 55', 57', 67' Bozikas 61', 71'	Report	Kelso 65' Campbell 70'	Stadium: Olympic Park Attendance: 500 Referee: Tony Boskovic

Marconi Fairfield v Sydney City

21 October 1979	Marconi Fairfield	0–1	Sydney City	Sydney
		Report	Barnes 75'	Stadium: Marconi Oval Attendance: 4,782 Referee: Stewart Mellings

Grand Final

Sydney City v Brisbane City

28 October 1979 First Leg	Sydney City	1–0	Brisbane City	Sydney
	M. Silva 78'	Report		Stadium: Wentworth Park Attendance: 2,523 Referee: Ken Allen

Brisbane City v Sydney City

4 November 1979 Second Leg	Brisbane City	1–1 (1–2 agg.)	Sydney City	Brisbane
	Kelso 78'	Report	Trenter 84'	Stadium: Perry Park Attendance: 4,200 Referee: Don Campbell

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals^[2]
1	Mark Jankovics	Marconi Fairfield	18
2	Eddie Krncevic	Marconi Fairfield	13
3	Ken Boden	Newcastle KB United	12
4	Kevin Low	Newcastle KB United	11
4	Jamie Paton	Heidelberg United	11
6	Tony Brennan	Brisbane Lions	10
	Gary Cole	Heidelberg United
	Peter Sharne	Marconi Fairfield
	Terry Smith	Sydney City
10	Terry Byrne	Canberra City	9

Individual awards

Player of the Year: Ivo Prskalo (Marconi Fairfield)
U-21 Player of the Year: Eddie Krncevic (Marconi Fairfield)
Top Scorer(s): Mark Jankovics (Marconi Fairfield – 18 goals)
Coach of the Year: Les Scheinflug (Marconi Fairfield)

References

^ Curran, Brian (20 September 1978). "'Think Australian' advice to Soccer". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
^ "1979 National Soccer League Top Goalscorers". ozfootball.net. 15 June 2021.

OzFootball Archives - 1979 NSL Season

National Soccer League

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