1979 New Zealand National Soccer League
Encyclopedia
The 1979 New Zealand National Soccer League was the tenth season of a nationwide round-robin
club competition in New Zealand
football. It produced the biggest winning margin in the league's history, with Mount Wellington never being in serious danger of finishing anywhere but first.
, Manawatu United, and Dunedin City
respectively).
heading off a pack of teams separated by only a couple of points. North Shore United
— who were to go under the sponsorship-related name of Hanimex United from this year until 1985 — finished third, level on points with newly-promoted Manurewa
and Dunedin City
.
In mid-table, Nelson United
improved one place on the previous season to finish sixth, its good home form buoying it up but its poor away record proving a major hindrance. They were followed by Wellington Diamond United, who saw a late slump in their form after a good opening to the season which briefly had them in second place. Blockhouse Bay were fortunate to finish eighth, a late rally moving them off the foot of the table. Stop Out
also narrowly avoided the drop, staying up by virtue of a better goal difference than Manawatu United.
Manawatu United's first season in the league proved to be their last until 1986
. A dreadful start to the season left them languishing with just four points from their first 11 matches, and despite a greatly improved second half to the season the gap was too much to bridge. They were joined in relegation by Courier Rangers
, who started the season brightly but then had a poor run of form which saw only one win in their last 17 games. Last of all were 1971
champions Eastern Suburbs
, whose gradual progress down the table since that year finally saw the seam at the foot of the table.
Round-robin
The term round-robin was originally used to describe a document signed by multiple parties in a circle to make it more difficult to determine the order in which it was signed, thus preventing a ringleader from being identified...
club competition in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
football. It produced the biggest winning margin in the league's history, with Mount Wellington never being in serious danger of finishing anywhere but first.
Promotion and relegation
Promotion was automatic, with the three lowest placed sides in the 1978 league (Hamilton, Waterside, and Woolston WMC) replaced by the winners of the northern, central, and southern leagues (ManurewaManurewa (soccer)
Manurewa AFC is a semi-professional football club in Manurewa, Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1-History:...
, Manawatu United, and Dunedin City
Dunedin City
Dunedin City is a former New Zealand football club based in the South Island city of Dunedin. The team won the Chatham Cup in 1981, and was a member of the National League in 1977 and 1979-87, before withdrawing from the league for financial reasons...
respectively).
Team performance
Mount Wellington produced an emphatic performance to win the league by an unprecedented 14 points, a bigger gap than that between second and last. They won all eleven of their home games, scoring 34 and only letting in four.They also only lost two games away, to Dunedin City and to Nelson united — United proving the Mount's nemesis for the third year in a row. The race for second proved tense, with Christchurch UnitedChristchurch United
Christchurch United is a semi-professional association football club in Christchurch, New Zealand. They compete in the Robbie's Premier Football League.-Club history:...
heading off a pack of teams separated by only a couple of points. North Shore United
North Shore United
North Shore United is a semi-professional football club based in North Shore, Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 2.Their home ground, Allen Hill Stadium, is located in the suburb of Devonport.-History:...
— who were to go under the sponsorship-related name of Hanimex United from this year until 1985 — finished third, level on points with newly-promoted Manurewa
Manurewa (soccer)
Manurewa AFC is a semi-professional football club in Manurewa, Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1-History:...
and Dunedin City
Dunedin City
Dunedin City is a former New Zealand football club based in the South Island city of Dunedin. The team won the Chatham Cup in 1981, and was a member of the National League in 1977 and 1979-87, before withdrawing from the league for financial reasons...
.
In mid-table, Nelson United
Nelson United
Nelson United is a New Zealand soccer club, based in the South Island city of Nelson. Their home ground is Guppy Park. The team was founded in 1968 through the amalgamation of Nelson Rangers and Nelson Thistle...
improved one place on the previous season to finish sixth, its good home form buoying it up but its poor away record proving a major hindrance. They were followed by Wellington Diamond United, who saw a late slump in their form after a good opening to the season which briefly had them in second place. Blockhouse Bay were fortunate to finish eighth, a late rally moving them off the foot of the table. Stop Out
Stop Out
Stop Out is an association football club in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. They are based at Hutt Park, Gracefield in Lower Hutt.The Stop Out organisation was founded in 1919 with the aim of providing recreation to Te Aro Flat children associated with the wellington city missionso as to prevent them...
also narrowly avoided the drop, staying up by virtue of a better goal difference than Manawatu United.
Manawatu United's first season in the league proved to be their last until 1986
1986 New Zealand National Soccer League
The 1986 New Zealand National Soccer League was the seventeenth season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Mount Wellington finished as champions, one point ahead of Miramar Rangers.-Promotion and relegation:...
. A dreadful start to the season left them languishing with just four points from their first 11 matches, and despite a greatly improved second half to the season the gap was too much to bridge. They were joined in relegation by Courier Rangers
Courier Rangers
Courier Rangers, known prior to 1968 as Otahuhu Rangers, is a former New Zealand football club based in the suburb of Otahuhu, Auckland. The team was a member of the New Zealand National Soccer League in 1978 and 1979, finishing fifth on their first season but being relegated after finishing 11th...
, who started the season brightly but then had a poor run of form which saw only one win in their last 17 games. Last of all were 1971
1971 New Zealand National Soccer League
The 1971 New Zealand National Soccer League was the second season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. The league was expanded at the end of the inaugural season, so there was no relegation from the 1970 league season. Hungaria, who had competed in the inaugural...
champions Eastern Suburbs
Eastern Suburbs AFC
Eastern Suburbs is a semi-professional association football club in Kohimarama, New Zealand. They compete in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1.-Club history:...
, whose gradual progress down the table since that year finally saw the seam at the foot of the table.
League table
Sources
- Hilton, T. (1991) An association with soccer. Auckland: The New Zealand Football Association. ISBN 0-473-01291-X.