A-League 2005/06
The 2005/06 season of the A-League was the first edition of the new top division in football in Australia . After twelve months without a nationwide competition, the first games were played on August 26, 2005. A league round comprising 21 game days was followed by the championship playoffs, in which the four best teams played off the champions in the page playoff system .
The first A-League final took place on March 5, 2006. With a 1-0 win over the Central Coast Mariners , Sydney FC became the first champions of the new league format. Adelaide United was recognized as the winner of the league round ( A-League Premiership ). Adelaide and Sydney also qualified through their successes for the AFC Champions League 2007 , in which Australian teams participated for the first time.
Closing table
Pl. | society | Sp. | S. | U | N | Gates | Diff. | Points | comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Adelaide United | 21st | 13 | 4th | 4th | 33:25 | +8 | 43 | Qualified for the major semi-final |
2. | Sydney FC | 20th | 10 | 6th | 4th | 35:28 | +7 | 36 | |
3. | Central Coast Mariners | 21st | 8th | 8th | 5 | 35:28 | +7 | 32 | Qualified for the minor semi-final |
4th | Newcastle United Jets | 21st | 9 | 4th | 8th | 27:29 | −2 | 31 | |
5. | Perth Glory | 21st | 8th | 5 | 8th | 34:29 | +5 | 29 | |
6th | Queensland Roar | 21st | 7th | 7th | 7th | 27:22 | +5 | 28 | |
7th | Melbourne Victory | 21st | 7th | 5 | 9 | 26:24 | +2 | 26th | |
8th. | New Zealand Knights | 21st | 1 | 3 | 17th | 15:47 | −32 | 6th |
Final round
Semifinals | Preliminary Final | Grand Final | ||||||||||||
L1 | L2 | |||||||||||||
1 | Adelaide United | 2 | 1 | |||||||||||
2 | Sydney FC | 2 | 2 | 2 | Sydney FC | 1 | ||||||||
1 | Adelaide United | 0 | 3 | CC Mariners | 0 | |||||||||
3 | CC Mariners | 1 | ||||||||||||
3 | CC Mariners | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
4th | Newcastle United Jets | 1 | 0 |
Grand Final
Sydney FC | Central Coast Mariners | ||||||
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Clint Bolton - Andrew Packer , Mark Rudan (72nd Iain Fyfe ), Jacob Timpano (81st Ruben Zadkovich ), Alvin Ceccoli - Terry McFlynn , Matthew Bingley - Dwight Yorke - David Carney , Steve Corica - Sasho Petrovski (71st Robbie Middleby ) Coach: Pierre Littbarski |
Danny Vukovic - Andrew Clark , Alex Wilkinson (84th Paul O'Grady ), Michael Beauchamp , Dean Heffernan - Wayne O'Sullivan , André Gumprecht , Noel Spencer , Damien Brown (68th Matthew Osman ) - Tom Pondeljak , Stewart Petrie (73 . Adam Kwasnik ) coach: Lawrie McKinna |
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1-0 Corica (62nd) | |||||||
Spencer (57.) |
Awards
Award | winner |
---|---|
Johnny Warren Medal (Player of the Year) | Bobby Despotovski (Perth Glory) |
Reebok Golden Boot Award (Top Goalscorer) | Four players, see here |
Hyundai Rising Star Award (Young Player of the Year (U-20)) | Nick Ward (Perth Glory) |
Hyundai A-League Coach of the Year | Lawrie McKinna (Central Coast Mariners) |
Zurich Referee of the Year | Mark Shield |
Joe Marston Medal (Best Player in Grand Final) | Dwight Yorke (Sydney FC) |
Goalkeeper of the Year | Clint Bolton (Sydney FC) |
List of goalscorers
Pl. | Nat. | player | society | Gates |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Alex Brosque | Queensland Roar | 8th | |
Bobby Despotovski | Perth Glory | 8th | ||
Archie Thompson | Melbourne Victory | 8th | ||
Stewart Petrie | Central Coast Mariners | 8th | ||
5 | Carl Veart | Adelaide United | 7th | |
Dean Heffernan | Central Coast Mariners | 7th | ||
Dwight Yorke | Sydney FC | 7th | ||
Ante Milicic | Newcastle United Jets | 7th | ||
Sasho Petrovski | Sydney FC | 7th | ||
Damian Mori | Perth Glory | 7th |
Venues
society | Stadion | capacity | Average audience |
---|---|---|---|
Sydney FC | Aussie Stadium | 42,000 | 16,669 |
Queensland Roar | Suncorp Stadium | 52,500 | 14,785 |
Melbourne Victory | Olympic Park Stadium | 18,500 | 14,158 |
Adelaide United | Hindmarsh Stadium | 17,000 | 10,947 |
Perth Glory | Members Equity Stadium | 18,156 | 9,734 |
Newcastle United Jets | EnergyAustralia Stadium | 26,164 | 8,912 |
Central Coast Mariners | Central Coast Stadium | 20,119 | 7,899 |
New Zealand Knights | North Harbor Stadium | 25,000 | 3,909 |
Preseason competitions
Before the start of the A-League season, two competitions were held between the participants. In addition to the pre-season cup, which has been mandatory since then, a qualifying tournament for participation in the continental oceanic club competition was held in 2005.
World Club Qualification Competition
The World Club Qualification Competition held in May 2005 was used to find the Australian participant in the Oceania Club Championship 2004/05 . The New Zealand A-League representative New Zealand Knights was not allowed to start in this competition. As the reigning national champions, Perth Glory received a bye in round 1. Competition winners Sydney FC then also won the continental tournament and qualified for the 2005 FIFA Club World Cup . Because of Sydney's participation in the Club World Cup, the A-League was suspended for three weeks in December.
1 round | Semifinals | final | |||||||||||
CC Mariners | 0 (4) 1 | ||||||||||||
Newcastle Jets | 0 (2) | ||||||||||||
CC Mariners | 4th | ||||||||||||
Adelaide United | 0 | ||||||||||||
Adelaide United | 0 (4) 1 | ||||||||||||
Melbourne Victory | 0 (1) | ||||||||||||
CC Mariners | 0 | ||||||||||||
Sydney FC | 1 | ||||||||||||
Perth Glory | |||||||||||||
Perth Glory | 1 | ||||||||||||
Sydney FC | 2 | ||||||||||||
Sydney FC | 3 | ||||||||||||
Queensland Roar | 0 |
1 after penalty shoot-out
Pre-Season Challenge Cup
The Pre-Season Challenge Cup 2005 took place in July and August as a run-up to the main season. The eight A-League teams were initially divided into two preliminary round groups of four teams each and played in a simple league round. The two group leaders in each group advanced to the semi-finals and played the winner in a knockout process.
The Central Coast Mariners became the first title holder with a 1-0 win over Perth Glory.
Group stage
Group A
Pl. | society | Sp. | S. | U | N | Gates | Diff. | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Melbourne Victory | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2: 1 | +1 | 5 |
2. | Perth Glory | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4: 4 | ± 0 | 4th |
3. | Adelaide United | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3: 3 | ± 0 | 3 |
4th | Newcastle United Jets | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3: 4 | −1 | 2 |
Group B
Pl. | society | Sp. | S. | U | N | Gates | Diff. | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Sydney FC | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5: 1 | +4 | 7th |
2. | Central Coast Mariners | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4: 3 | +1 | 6th |
3. | Queensland Roar | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6: 3 | +3 | 4th |
4th | New Zealand Knights | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1: 9 | −8 | 0 |
Final round
Semifinals | final | |||||
Melbourne Victory | 1 | |||||
CC Mariners | 3 | |||||
CC Mariners | 1 | |||||
Perth Glory | 0 | |||||
Sydney FC | 0 | |||||
Perth Glory | 1 |