2002–03 National Soccer League

27th season of top-tier soccer league in Australia

Sports season
NSL 2002–03
LeagueNational Soccer League
SportAssociation football
Duration2002–2003
Number of teams13
NSL season
ChampionsPerth Glory
Top scorerDamian Mori (24)
National Soccer League seasons

The 2002–03 National Soccer League season, was the 27th season of the National Soccer League in Australia. The finals format was revised for this season, with the top six teams at the end of the regular season qualifying for a home-and-away championship series. The top two teams from the championship series progressed to the grand final. Olympic Sharks were crowned premiers and Perth Glory were champions.

Teams

Team Home city Home ground
Adelaide City FC Adelaide Hindmarsh Stadium
Brisbane Strikers Brisbane Ballymore Stadium
Football Kingz Auckland Mt Smart Stadium
Marconi-Stallions Sydney Marconi Stadium
Melbourne Knights Melbourne Knights Stadium
Newcastle United Newcastle Newcastle Stadium
Northern Spirit Sydney North Sydney Oval
Olympic Sharks Sydney Endeavour Field
Parramatta Power Sydney Parramatta Stadium
Perth Glory Perth Perth Oval
South Melbourne Melbourne Lakeside Stadium
Sydney United Sydney Edensor Park
Wollongong City Wollongong Brandon Park

Regular season

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Olympic Sharks 24 16 3 5 51 28 +23 51 Qualification for the Championship play-offs
2 Perth Glory 24 16 2 6 48 22 +26 50
3 Parramatta Power 24 12 4 8 51 27 +24 40
4 Newcastle United 24 10 7 7 37 25 +12 37
5 Adelaide Force 24 11 4 9 40 34 +6 37
6 Northern Spirit 24 11 3 10 37 44 −7 36
7 South Melbourne 24 10 5 9 36 37 −1 35
8 Sydney United 24 7 6 11 23 31 −8 27
9 Melbourne Knights 24 7 6 11 38 52 −14 27
10 Brisbane Strikers 24 7 5 12 38 45 −7 26
11 Football Kingz 24 6 6 12 26 45 −19 24
12 Marconi Fairfield 24 6 5 13 25 42 −17 23
13 Wollongong Wolves 24 5 8 11 25 43 −18 23
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored

Home and Away Results

Round 1

Marconi Fairfield2–2Wollongong Wolves
Brosque 7', 75' Report Sekulovski 44', 53'
Attendance: 3,972
Referee: Ben Williams
Newcastle United2–0South Melbourne
A Griffiths 43'
Baillie 47'
Attendance: 7,853
Referee: Con Diomis
Brisbane Strikers1–2Northern Spirit
Grierson 42' Report Tomasevic 20'
Hutchinson 57'
Attendance: 2,103
Referee: Peter Green
Parramatta Power3–0*Perth Glory
Horsley 59'
Despotovski 64'
Attendance: 4,155
Referee: Simon Micallef
  • This match was awarded to Parramatta 3-0 after it was found that Perth Glory breached regulation 16.13 in playing an unregistered player - Andre Gumprecht. The determination was made on 4 February 2003.
Football Kingz0–0Sydney United
Attendance: 2,999
Referee: Derek Rugg
Melbourne Knights1-1Olympic Sharks
Pelikan 36' Report Milicic 47'
Knights Stadium, Melbourne
Attendance: 4,462

Round 2

Northern Spirit1-4Football Kingz
Tomasevic 90' (pen.) Report Ngata 3', 18', 83' (pen.), 87'
Attendance: 3,289
Referee: Angelo Nardi
Wollongong Wolves0–0Parramatta Power
Attendance: 3,627
Referee: Mark Shield
Olympic Sharks3–0Marconi Fairfield
Juric 26'
Porter 50'
Ishida 62'		 Report
Attendance: 4,638
Referee: Simon Micallef
Sydney United2–0Newcastle United
B Santalab 49'
Menapi 74'
Attendance: 3,441
Referee: Brett Hugo
Adelaide Force1-1Melbourne Knights
Valkanis 90+2' Tunbridge 15' (o.g.)
Attendance: 3,441
Referee: Craig Zetter
Perth Glory3-4Brisbane Strikers
Hassell 56'
Mori 75' (pen.), 85' (pen.)		 Rech 9', 78'
Grierson 21'
Roche 73'
Attendance: 10,573
Referee: Eddie Lennie

Round 3

Marconi Fairfield1-2Adelaide Force
Brosque 57' Report Valkanis 72'
Budin 87'
Attendance: 2,800
Referee: Mark Shield
Newcastle United5–0Northern Spirit
J Griffiths 23', 32', 67'
Thomas 45'
Moreira 76'
Brisbane Strikers1-2Wollongong Wolves
Rech 82' Young 7', 16'
Babic 31'
Attendance: 2,065
Referee: Craig Zetter
Football Kingz0–1Perth Glory
Mori 58'
Attendance: 3,282
Referee: Con Diomis
South Melbourne1-1Sydney United
Coveny 24' Report Cacic 32'
Attendance: 4,156
Referee: Perry Mur
Parramatta Power1-2Olympic Sharks
Cardozo 45' Juric 60'
Parisi 69'
Attendance: 6,298
Referee: Brett Hugo

Round 4

Wollongong Wolves0–0Football Kingz
Report
Attendance: 3,681
Referee: James Lewis
Northern Spirit3-2South Melbourne
Spencer 16'
Hutchinson 37'
Richter 88'		 Kisnorbo 62'
Buljan 85'
Attendance: 2,823
Referee: Simon Micallef
Olympic Sharks2–0Brisbane Strikers
Packer 52'
Parisi 90+2'
Attendance: 4,439
Referee: Derek Rugg
Adelaide Force2–2Parramatta Power
Pantelis 34'
Vidmar 52'		 Thompson 60'
Elrich 74'
Attendance: 2,454
Referee: Eddie Lennie
Perth Glory1–0Newcastle United
Mori 26'
Attendance: 10,448
Referee: Angelo Nardi
Melbourne Knights1–0Marconi Fairfield
Vasilevski 78' Report
Knights Stadium, Melbourne
Attendance: 3,287
Referee: Perry Mur

Round 5

Newcastle United2–0Wollongong Wolves
J Griffiths 71' (pen.)
Dodd 87'
Parramatta Power2–2Melbourne Knights
Piorkowski 38' (o.g.)
Brown 75'		 Lapansky 68'
R Vargas 90+3'
Attendance: 2,450
Referee: Peter Green
Brisbane Strikers2-3Adelaide Force
Rech 18'
Grierson 23'		 Report Pelosi 66', 77'
Vidmar 79'
Attendance: 1,840
Referee: Derek Rugg
Football Kingz2-2Olympic Sharks
Almendra 52', 81' (pen.) Packer 51'
Harris 54'
Attendance: 2,804
Referee: Ben Williams
South Melbourne2–0Perth Glory
Buljan 61'
Baird 6'
Attendance: 6,194
Referee: Perry Mur
Sydney United1-1Northern Spirit
Menapi 38' McDermott 43'
Attendance: 5,352
Referee: Con Diomis

Round 6

Marconi Fairfield0–2Parramatta Power
Renaud 28'
Salapasidis 54'
Attendance: 2,750
Referee: Angelo Nardi
Olympic Sharks1–0Newcastle United
Porter 39'
Attendance: 2,513
Referee: Eddie Lennie
Wollongong Wolves0–0South Melbourne
Attendance: 3,286
Referee: James Lewis
Adelaide Force2-1Football Kingz
Vidmar 43'
Tunbridge 52'		 Almendra 40' (pen.)
Attendance: 2,996
Referee: Craig Zetter
Perth Glory2–0Sydney United
Mori 9', 74' (pen.)
Attendance: 7,595
Referee: Mark Shield
Melbourne Knights3-3Brisbane Strikers
Pelikan 8'
Fa’Arodo 39', 50'		 Report Rech 21', 90+4' (pen.)
Pilic 52'
Knights Stadium, Melbourne
Attendance: 3,873
Referee: Ben Williams

Round 7

Football Kingz2-2Melbourne Knights
deGregorio 47'
Almendra 51' (pen.)		 Sabljak 69'
Pelikan 81'
Attendance: 3,682
Referee: Peter Green
Newcastle United2-1Adelaide Force
J Griffiths 53' (pen.)
Masi 90+1'		 Tunbridge 35'
Northern Spirit1-3Perth Glory
Fisher 55' Hassell 26'
Miller 62'
Mori 90+1'
Attendance: 2,918
Referee: Craig Zetter
Brisbane Strikers1-4Marconi Fairfield
Trajanovski 57' (pen.) Report Spiteri 11', 84'
Perinich 51'
Sekulic 65'
Attendance: 2,061
South Melbourne6–4Olympic Sharks
Baird 2', 40'
Buljan 8'
Coveny 13', 89' (pen.)
Panopoulos 20'		 Report Packer 22'
Milicic 44'
Halpin 60'
Pondeljak 85'
Attendance: 6,027
Referee: Mark Shield
Sydney United2-1Wollongong Wolves
Angelucci 71'
Cacic 81'		 Young 53'
Attendance: 4,152
Referee: Simon Przydacz

Round 8

Marconi Fairfield2-1Football Kingz
Spiteri 40', 56' Ngata 69'
Attendance: 3,040
Referee: Brett Hugo
Parramatta Power2–0Brisbane Strikers
Cardozo 16' (pen.)
Brownlie 78'
Attendance: 2,148
Referee: Con Diomis
Adelaide Force4–0South Melbourne
Tunbridge 18'
Durakovic 19' (o.g.)
Smeltz 62'
Pelosi 81' (pen.)
Attendance: 3,308
Referee: Eddie Lennie
Olympic Sharks1–0Sydney United
Packer 90+2'
Attendance: 3,620
Referee: Derek Rugg
Melbourne Knights2–0Newcastle United
Pelikan 3'
Buhic 44'		 Report
Knights Stadium, Melbourne
Attendance: 3,955
Referee: Mark Shield
Wollongong Wolves2-1Northern Spirit
Babic 35'
Young 62'		 Hutchinson 55'
Attendance: 2,925
Referee: Simon Micallef

Round 9

Football Kingz2-1Parramatta Power
Renaud 62' (o.g.)
Urlovic 81'		 Salaoasidis 4'
Attendance: 2,908
Referee: Derek Rugg
Newcastle United0–0Marconi Fairfield
Attendance: 6,132
Referee: Con Diomis
Northern Spirit2-3Olympic Sharks
Tomasevic 77', 90+2' Watts 2' (o.g.)
Porter 17'
Pondeljak 68'
Attendance: 2,795
Perth Glory3-1Wollongong Wolves
Hassell 14', 43'
Mrdja 23'		 Young 37' (pen.)
Attendance: 12,801
Referee: Peter Green
South Melbourne4-2Melbourne Knights
Trimboli 1' (pen.)
Buljan 31'
Damianos 61'
Tolios 67'		 Report Buhic 30'
Pelikan 43' (pen.)
Attendance: 8,997
Referee: Brett Hugo
Sydney United2-1Adelaide Force
Angelucci 45', 87' Vidmar 84'

Round 10

Brisbane Strikers0–2Football Kingz
Report Ngata 25'
Almendra 81'
Attendance: 1,695
Referee: Angelo Nardi
Melbourne Knights3-2Sydney United
Pelikan 28' (pen.)
Biscayzacu 58' (pen.)
Cervinski 78'		 Santalab 3', 55'
Knights Stadium, Melbourne
Attendance: 4,155
Referee: Craig Zetter
Olympic Sharks2-1Perth Glory
Milicic 60'
Harris 86'		 Report Hassell 65'
Attendance: 5,020
Referee: Mark Shield
Parramatta Power1-4Newcastle United
Buonavoglia 88' J Griffiths 7', 18'
Dodd 24', 74'
Attendance: 2,755
Referee: Eddie Lennie
South Melbourne1–0Marconi Fairfield
Damianos 36' Report 1
Report 2
Attendance: 4,972
Referee: Simon Micallef
Adelaide Force1-1Northern Spirit
Valkanis 83' Hutchinson 89'
Attendance: 1,897
Referee: Con Diomis

Round 11

Northern Spirit2-1Melbourne Knights
Kwasnik 18'
Richter 65'		 Biscayzacu 87'
Attendance: 1,004
Referee: Brett Hugo
Newcastle United3-3Brisbane Strikers
Masi 12'
Tsekenis 39'
J Griffiths 81'		 Roche 55', 79'
Drake 59'
Attendance: 2,003
Referee: Craig Zetter
Perth Glory1–0Adelaide Force
Mrdja 84'
Attendance: 9,687
Referee: Con Diomis
South Melbourne1–0Parramatta Power
Coveny 85' Report
Attendance: 4,250
Olympic Sharks3–0Wollongong Wolves
Milicic 39'
Durante 52'
Porter 90+2'
Attendance: 3,920
Referee: Perry Mur
Sydney United2–0Marconi Fairfield
Santalab 34' (pen.)
Deur 64'		 Report

Round 12

Football Kingz2–0Newcastle United
Urlovic 9'
Almendra 65'		 Report
Attendance: 2,753
Referee: Perry Mur
Brisbane Strikers2–1South Melbourne
Trajanovski 12'
McLaren 80'		 Report Coveny 52'
Attendance: 1,721
Referee: Mark Shield
Marconi Fairfield0–1Northern Spirit
Report Tomasevic 61' (pen.)
Attendance: 2,199
Referee: Senko Rastocic
Melbourne Knights1-4Perth Glory
Pelikan 18' (pen.) Report Mrdja 25'
Mori 33', 80'
Hassell 45'
Knights Stadium, Melbourne
Attendance: 4,770
Parramatta Power3–0Sydney United
Salapasidis 44'
Maloney 45'
Elrich 75'
Attendance: 3,004
Referee: Ben Williams
Wollongong Wolves1–0Adelaide Force
Sekulovski 9'
Attendance: 2,683
Referee: Angelo Nardi

Round 13

Northern Spirit2 - 1Parramatta Power
Adelaide Force1 - 3Olympic Sharks
Perth Glory3 - 0Marconi Fairfield
South Melbourne3 - 0Football Kingz
Melbourne Knights1 - 4Wollongong Wolves
Sydney United0 - 3Brisbane Strikers

Round 14

Marconi Fairfield0 - 3Olympic Sharks
Newcastle United4 - 1Sydney United
Brisbane Strikers1 - 1Perth Glory
Melbourne Knights4 - 3Adelaide Force
Parramatta Power1 - 0Wollongong Wolves
Football Kingz1 - 3Northern Spirit

Round 15

Northern Spirit2 - 3Brisbane Strikers
Wollongong Wolves2 - 4Marconi Fairfield
Perth Glory2 - 1Parramatta Power
South Melbourne1 - 1Newcastle United
Olympic Sharks3 - 1Melbourne Knights
Sydney United1 - 0Football Kingz

Round 16

Perth Glory5 - 0Football Kingz
Northern Spirit0 - 0Northern Spirit
Olympic Sharks1 - 2Parramatta Power
Sydney United0 - 1South Melbourne

Round 17

Football Kingz1 - 1Wollongong Wolves
Marconi Fairfield4 - 1Melbourne Knights
Newcastle United0 - 1Perth Glory
Brisbane Strikers3 - 0Olympic Sharks
Parramatta Power1 - 1Adelaide Force
South Melbourne1 - 0Northern Spirit

Round 18

Adelaide Force1 - 0Brisbane Strikers
Northern Spirit1 - 0Sydney United
Perth Glory2 - 0South Melbourne
Olympic Sharks1 - 0Football Kingz
Melbourne Knights0 - 4Parramatta Power
Wollongong Wolves2 - 2Newcastle United

Round 19

Newcastle United2 - 1Olympic Sharks
Brisbane Strikers1 - 5Melbourne Knights
Football Kingz0 - 3Adelaide Force
Parramatta Power7 - 0Marconi Fairfield
Sydney United1 - 1Perth Glory
South Melbourne0 - 0Wollongong Wolves

Round 20

Adelaide Force2 - 3Newcastle United
Marconi Fairfield2 - 1Brisbane Strikers
Wollongong Wolves2 - 1Sydney United
Perth Glory3 - 0Northern Spirit
Melbourne Knights1 - 2Football Kingz
Olympic Sharks3 - 2South Melbourne

Round 21

Football Kingz0 - 0Marconi Fairfield
Newcastle United1 - 1Melbourne Knights
Northern Spirit3 - 0Wollongong Wolves
Sydney United1 - 1Olympic Sharks
Brisbane Strikers3 - 0Parramatta Power
South Melbourne1 - 2Adelaide Force

Round 22

Adelaide Force2 - 0Sydney United
Marconi Fairfield0 - 1Newcastle United
Parramatta Power7 - 0Football Kingz
Melbourne Knights1 - 0South Melbourne
Olympic Sharks2 - 3Northern Spirit
Wollongong Wolves1 - 6Perth Glory

Round 23

Marconi Fairfield2 - 2South Melbourne
Newcastle United3 - 0Parramatta Power
Northern Spirit2 - 3Adelaide Force
Perth Glory0 - 1Olympic Sharks
Football Kingz0 - 3Brisbane Strikers
Sydney United2 - 0Melbourne Knights

Round 24

Adelaide Force0 - 2Perth Glory
Marconi Fairfield1 - 1Sydney United
Wollongong Wolves0 - 5Olympic Sharks
Parramatta Power4 - 1SouM

Round 25

South Melbourne1 - 0Brisbane Strikers
Newcastle United1 - 2Football Kingz
Perth Glory3 - 1Melbourne Knights
Sydney United0 - 1Parramatta Power

Round 26

Olympic Sharks3 - 0Adelaide Force
Brisbane Strikers1 - 3Sydney United
Football Kingz4 - 5South Melbourne
Marconi Fairfield2 - 0Perth Glory
Parramatta Power5 - 1Northern Spirit

Championship play-offs

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Perth Glory (C) 10 8 0 2 27 7 +20 27[a] Qualification for the Grand Final
2 Olympic Sharks 10 4 1 5 17 14 +3 19[b]
3 Adelaide Force (R) 10 5 2 3 19 14 +5 17 Joined the SASF Premier League[c]
4 Parramatta Power 10 3 4 3 16 21 −5 13
5 Northern Spirit 9 2 2 5 7 22 −15 8[d]
6 Newcastle United 9 2 1 6 9 17 −8 7[d]
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Awarded 3 bonus points, due to regular season position.
  2. ^ Awarded 6 bonus points, due to regular season position.
  3. ^ Adelaide Force was not forcibly relegated, but voluntarily left the league due to financial difficulties.[1]
  4. ^ a b The Round 9 match between Northern Spirit and Newcastle United was not played, as neither team could progress.

Championship Playoff Results

Playoff Round 1

Adelaide Force1 - 0Olympic Sharks
Perth Glory5 - 0Northern Spirit

Playoff Round 2

Adelaide Force3 - 2Newcastle United
Parramatta Power2 - 1Perth Glory
Olympic Sharks1 - 3Northern Spirit

Playoff Round 3

Newcastle United1 - 3Olympic Sharks
Perth Glory3 - 1Adelaide Force

Playoff Round 4

Adelaide Force2 - 2Parramatta Power
Newcastle United0 - 0Northern Spirit
Olympic Sharks1 - 2Perth Glory

Playoff Round 5

Northern Spirit1 - 2Adelaide Force
Perth Glory4 - 0Newcastle United
Parramatta Power2 - 2Olympic Sharks

Playoff Round 6

Northern Spirit0 - 3Perth Glory

Playoff Round 7

Perth Glory6 - 1Parramatta Power

Playoff Round 8

Adelaide Force1 - 2Perth Glory

Playoff Round 9

  • This match was initially postponed due to heavy rains in Sydney making the pitch unplayable. It was intended to be rescheduled for Rat Park. Neither side could affect the championship, so the match was not played.
Perth Glory1 - 0Olympic Sharks

Playoff Round 10

Newcastle United1 - 0Perth Glory

Grand final

Perth Glory2 – 0Olympic Sharks
Harnwell 29'
Mori 87'		 (Report)
Attendance: 38,111
Referee: Mark Shield
PERTH GLORY:
GK 1 Australia Jason Petkovic
MF 2 Australia Matt Horsley
DF 3 Australia Jamie Harnwell
MF 4 Australia Bradley Hassell downward-facing red arrow 60'
MF 6 Germany Andre Gumprecht
MF 7 Australia Scott Miller
FW 10 Australia Bobby Despotovski (c) downward-facing red arrow 87'
FW 16 Australia Damian Mori downward-facing red arrow 89'
DF 18 Australia Shane Pryce
DF 22 Australia Simon Colosimo
DF 23 Australia David Tarka Yellow card 40'
Substitutes:
GK 20 Australia Vince Matassa
FW 9 Australia Nik Mrdja upward-facing green arrow 89'
DF 12 Australia Mark Byrnes upward-facing green arrow 60'
MF 15 Brazil Edgar Aldrighi upward-facing green arrow 87'
FW 21 Australia Adrian Caceres
Manager:
South Africa Mich d'Avray
Joe Marston Medal:
Australia Simon Colosimo
OLYMPIC SHARKS:
GK 1 Australia Clint Bolton
DF 4 Australia Paul Kohler downward-facing red arrow 80'
DF 6 Australia Ante Jurić (c)
MF 8 Australia Tom Pondeljak
FW 9 Australia Ante Milicic
MF 10 Australia Troy Halpin
MF 11 Australia Jade North
FW 17 Australia Jeromy Harris downward-facing red arrow 76'
FW 18 Australia Joel Porter Yellow card 58' downward-facing red arrow 80'
DF 23 Australia Andrew Packer
MF 27 Japan Hiroyuki Ishida
Substitutes:
GK 20 Australia Brett Hughes
MF 7 Australia Wayne Srhoj upward-facing green arrow 80'
FW 12 Australia Franco Parisi upward-facing green arrow 80'
MF 14 Australia Greg Owens upward-facing green arrow 76'
DF 24 Australia Andrew Durante
Manager:
Australia Lee Sterrey

References

  1. ^ "A-League: Adelaide marks a decade United". abc.net.au. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  • OzFootball Archives - 2002–03 NSL Season
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