1988 Wollongong City FC season

The 1988 season was the eighth in the history of Wollongong City (now Wollongong Wolves). It was the seventh season in the National Soccer League. In addition to the domestic league, they also participated in the NSL Cup. Wollongong City finished 1st in their National Soccer League season, and were eliminated in the NSL Cup first round by Brisbane Lions.

Wollongong City
1988 season
ManagerJohn Fleming
StadiumBrandon Park
National Soccer League1st
NSL FinalsPreliminary Final
NSL CupFirst round
Top goalscorerLeague: Marshall Soper (6)
All: Marshall Soper (6)
Highest home attendance7,106 vs. Sydney Croatia
(21 August 1988)
National Soccer League
Lowest home attendance1,284 vs. Brisbane Lions
(10 April 1988)
Average home league attendance2,753
Biggest win6–1
vs. Brisbane Lions (H)
(10 April 1988)
National Soccer League
Biggest defeat0–4
vs. Marconi Fairfield (H)
(5 March 1988)
National Soccer League
← 1986
1989 →

Players

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF   ENG Jeff Ainsworth
  AUS Jeff Allport
MF   AUS Mineo Bonetig
FW   SCO Alan Brazil
FW   AUS Pat Brodnik
  AUS John Brown
MF   AUS Brian Cokely
MF   AUS Roy Cotton
MF   SCO Danny Crainie
MF   AUS Randall Easthorpe
FW   ENG Trevor Francis
MF   AUS Robert Giraldi
No. Pos. Nation Player
  AUS Paul Keyes
DF   AUS Jason Higgs
DF   ENG Mike Hollifield
MF   AUS Peter Kotamanidis
FW   ENG Paul Mariner
FW   AUS Jock Morlando
DF   AUS David Ratcliffe
DF   AUS David Skeen
FW   AUS Marshall Soper
MF   AUS Rade Stefanovski
DF   AUS Ray Vliestra
GK   AUS Warwick Young

Competitions

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Overview

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Competition First match Last match Starting round Final position Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
National Soccer League 31 January 1988 7 August 1988 Matchday 1 1st 26 13 8 5 44 32 +12 050.00
NSL Cup 23 January 1988 First round First round 1 0 0 1 3 5 −2 000.00
Total 27 13 8 6 47 37 +10 048.15

Last updated: complete
Source: Competitions

National Soccer League

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League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Wollongong City 26 13 8 5 44 32 +12 34 Qualification for the Finals series
2 Sydney Croatia 26 15 4 7 38 30 +8 34
3 South Melbourne 26 13 8 5 36 29 +7 34
4 Marconi Fairfield (C) 26 12 8 6 46 26 +20 32
5 Sydney Olympic 26 9 9 8 28 22 +6 27
6 Adelaide City 26 10 7 9 36 35 +1 27
7 Sunshine George Cross 26 11 5 10 38 39 −1 27
8 St George-Budapest 26 10 6 10 41 35 +6 26
9 Melbourne Croatia 26 9 6 11 28 33 −5 24
10 Footscray JUST 26 7 9 10 34 32 +2 23
11 APIA Leichhardt 26 8 7 11 28 35 −7 23
12 Preston Makedonia 26 5 12 9 29 35 −6 22
13 Brunswick Juventus (R) 26 7 5 14 31 43 −12 19 Relegation to the Victorian State League
14 Brisbane Lions (R) 26 4 4 18 28 59 −31 12 Relegation to the Brisbane Premier League
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Results by round

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Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526
GroundHHAHAHAAAHAHAHAHAHAHHHAHAA
ResultWDWWDLWWDWWWLLDWWLDDWDWWLD
Position42111321111112221122131121
Source: worldfootball.net
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

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31 January 1988 1 Wollongong City 3–1 St George-Budapest Wollongong
Report
Stadium: Brandon Park
Attendance: 1,969[1]
Referee: John McConnell
7 February 1988 2 Wollongong City 0–0 Preston Makedonia Wollongong
Report Stadium: Brandon Park
Attendance: 2,140
Referee: Bob Marshall
15 February 1988 3 Adelaide City 2–3 Wollongong City Adelaide
Report
Stadium: Olympic Sports Field
Attendance: 3,120
Referee: Mike Browning
21 February 1988 4 Wollongong City 4–1 Melbourne Croatia Wollongong
Report
Stadium: Brandon Park
Attendance: 2,836
Referee: Arthur Owens
28 February 1988 5 Footscray JUST 0–0 Wollongong City Melbourne
Report Stadium: Schintler Reserve
Attendance: 2,861
Referee: Jim Rossis
5 March 1988 6 Wollongong City 0–4 Marconi Fairfield Wollongong
Report
Stadium: Brandon Park
Attendance: 2,176
Referee: Rob Davies
20 March 1988 7 Sydney Olympic 0–1 Wollongong City Sydney
Report
Stadium: Sydney Football Stadium
Attendance: 4,616
Referee: Gary Power
27 March 1988 8 Sunshine George Cross 0–1 Wollongong City Melbourne
Report
Stadium: Chaplin Reserve
Attendance: 2,200
Referee: Chris Bambridge
3 April 1988 9 APIA Leichhardt 1–1 Wollongong City Sydney
Report
Stadium: Wentworth Park
Attendance: 1,050
Referee: Richard Lorenc
10 April 1988 10 Wollongong City 6–1 Brisbane Lions Wollongong
Report
Stadium: Brandon Park
Attendance: 1,284
Referee: Terry Seacy
17 April 1988 11 Brunswick Juventus 1–2 Wollongong City Melbourne
Report
Stadium: Olympic Park
Attendance: 850
Referee: John Fraser
24 April 1988 12 Wollongong City 4–0 South Melbourne Wollongong
Report Stadium: Brandon Park
Attendance: 2,995
Referee: Gary Power
1 May 1988 13 St George-Budapest 2–1 Wollongong City Sydney
Report
Stadium: St George Stadium
Attendance: 1,548
Referee: John McConnell
8 May 1988 14 Wollongong City 0–3 Sydney Croatia Melbourne
Report
Stadium: Olympic Park
Attendance: 4,755
Referee: Bob Marshall
15 May 1988 15 Preston Makedonia 1–1 Wollongong City Melbourne
Report
Stadium: B.T. Connor Reserve
Attendance: 2,353
Referee: Bernie Upjohn
22 May 1988 16 Wollongong City 2–1 Adelaide City Wollongong
Report
Stadium: Brandon Park
Attendance: 2,539
Referee: Richard Lorenc
29 May 1988 17 Melbourne Croatia 0–1 Wollongong City Melbourne
Report
Stadium: Olympic Park
Attendance: 1,851
Referee: Chris Bambridge
5 June 1988 18 Wollongong City 1–4 Footscray JUST Wollongong
Report
Stadium: Brandon Park
Attendance: 2,795
Referee: Bill Monteverde
13 June 1988 19 Marconi Fairfield 1–1 Wollongong City Sydney
Report
Stadium: Marconi Stadium
Attendance: 2,949
Referee: Roger Doneau
19 June 1988 20 Wollongong City 1–1 Sydney Olympic Wollongong
Report
Stadium: Brandon Park
Attendance: 2,230
Referee: Jim Reeves
26 June 1988 21 Wollongong City 3–1 Sunshine George Cross Wollongong
Report
Stadium: Brandon Park
Attendance: 1,432
Referee: Rob Davies
3 July 1988 22 Wollongong City 0–0 APIA Leichhardt Wollongong
Report Stadium: Brandon Park
Attendance: 1,731
Referee: Don Campbell
16 July 1988 23 Brisbane Lions 2–3 Wollongong City Brisbane
Report
Stadium: Richlands Stadium
Attendance: 320
Referee: Arthur Owens
24 July 1988 24 Wollongong City 3–2 Brunswick Juventus Wollongong
Report
Stadium: Brandon Park
Attendance: 1,716
Referee: Richard Lorenc
31 July 1988 25 South Melbourne 2–1 Wollongong City Melbourne
Report
Stadium: Middle Park
Attendance: 4,830
Referee: Don Campbell
7 August 1988 26 Sydney Croatia 1–1 Wollongong City Sydney
Report
Stadium: Croatian Sports Centre
Attendance: 6,702
Referee: Richard Lorenc

Finals series

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21 August 1988 Major semi-final Wollongong City 0–0
(3–4 p)
Sydney Croatia Sydney
Report Stadium: Marconi Stadium
Attendance: 7,106
Referee: Rob Davies
28 August 1988 Preliminary Final Wollongong City 0–2 Marconi Fairfield Sydney
Report
Stadium: Croatian Sports Centre
Attendance: 3,592
Referee: Gary Power

NSL Cup

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23 January 1988 First round Brisbane Lions 5–3 Wollongong City Brisbane
Report Stadium: Richlands Stadium
Attendance: 2,855
Referee: Alan Kibbler

Statistics

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Appearances and goals

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Players with no appearances not included in the list.[2][3]

No. Pos. Nat. Name National Soccer League NSL Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
DF   Jeff Ainsworth 22(1) 4 0 0 23 4
  Jeff Allport 0(1) 0 0 0 1 0
MF   Mineo Bonetig 1(1) 0 0 0 2 0
FW   Alan Brazil 12 4 1 1 13 5
FW   Pat Brodnik 22(2) 5 0 0 24 5
FW   John Brown 0 0 0(1) 0 1 0
MF   Brian Cokely 15(4) 1 1 1 20 2
MF   Roy Cotton 1(2) 0 0 0 3 0
FW   Danny Crainie 28 4 1 1 29 5
MF   Randall Easthorpe 21(3) 0 1 0 25 0
FW   Trevor Francis 3 2 0 0 3 2
MF   Robert Giraldi 3(1) 1 0 0 4 1
  Paul Keyes 2 0 0 0 2 0
DF   Jason Higgs 0(1) 0 0 0 1 0
DF   Mike Hollifield 21(1) 1 0 0 22 1
MF   Peter Kotamanidis 12(8) 1 1 0 21 1
FW   Paul Mariner 2 0 0 0 2 0
FW   Jock Morlando 21 2 1 0 22 2
DF   David Ratcliffe 27 2 1 0 28 2
DF   David Skeen 26 1 1 0 27 1
FW   Marshall Soper 6(3) 6 0 0 9 6
  Rade Stefanovski 8(4) 1 1 0 13 1
DF   Ray Vliestra 27 0 1 0 28 0
GK   Warwick Young 28 0 1 0 29 0

Clean sheets

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Rank No. Pos Nat Name National Soccer League NSL Cup Total
1 GK   Warwick Young 8 0 8
Total 8 0 8

References

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  1. ^ "1988 National Soccer League Results". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Australia's Premier Football Player Archive". ozfootball.net. Aussie Footballers. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  3. ^ "1988 National Soccer League Cup Results". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 17 December 2022.