1981 Wollongong City FC season

Wollongong City
1981 season
Manager	Ken Morton
Stadium	Wollongong Showground; Memorial Park; Woonona Oval
National Soccer League	11th
NSL Cup	First round
Top goalscorer	League: Jim McBreen (7); All: Jim McBreen (8)
Highest home attendance	6,930; vs. Preston Makedonia; (26 April 1981); National Soccer League
Lowest home attendance	815; vs. Downer Olympic; (21 March 1981); NSL Cup
Average home league attendance	4,745
Biggest win	4–0; vs. Marconi Fairfield (H); (6 September 1981); National Soccer League
Biggest defeat	0–6; vs. Preston Makedonia (A); (2 August 1981); National Soccer League
	1982 →

The 1981 season was the first in the history of Wollongong City Football Club (now Wollongong Wolves). It was also the first season in the National Soccer League. In addition to the domestic league, they also participated in the NSL Cup. Wollongong City finished 11th in their National Soccer League season, and were eliminated in the NSL Cup second round by APIA Leichhardt.

Players[edit]

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


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	SCO	Jim Preston
2	MF	AUS	Peter Willis
3	DF	AUS	Tony Dickinson
4	DF	ENG	Chris Dunleavy (Captain)
5	DF	ENG	Jeff Ainsworth
6	MF	ENG	Lee Adam
7	FW	AUS	Glen Fontana
8	MF	ENG	John Fleming
9	MF	NZL	Clive Campbell
10	MF	ENG	John Lathan


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
11	FW	AUS	Jock Morlando
13	FW	NZL	Brian Turner
14	DF	NZL	Willem de Graaf
15	DF	AUS	Ray Mohring
16	MF	AUS	Peter Tredinnick
17		ENG	Jim McBreen
18	MF	ENG	Ken Morton
19	MF	AUS	Paul Kay
22	GK	AUS	Natch Vardareff
—	DF	AUS	Arno Bertogna

Competitions[edit]

Overview[edit]

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
National Soccer League	15 February 1981	13 September 1981	Matchday 1	11th	30	8	12	10	35	39	−4	026.67
NSL Cup	21 March 1981	6 May 1981	First round	Second round	2	1	0	1	5	4	+1	050.00
Total					32	9	12	11	40	43	−3	028.13

Last updated: complete
Source: Competitions

National Soccer League[edit]

League table[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Relegation
1	Sydney City (C)	30	19	5	6	59	30	+29	43
2	South Melbourne	30	13	13	4	41	27	+14	39
3	Brisbane City	30	12	11	7	37	25	+12	35
4	APIA Leichhardt	30	12	11	7	39	33	+6	35
5	Canberra City	30	13	7	10	41	32	+9	33
6	Brisbane Lions	30	11	11	8	41	33	+8	33
7	Adelaide City	30	13	6	11	46	42	+4	32
8	Heidelberg United	30	12	7	11	48	40	+8	31
9	Sydney Olympic	30	11	9	10	46	46	0	31
10	Newcastle KB United	30	11	8	11	41	41	0	30
11	Wollongong City	30	8	12	10	35	39	−4	28
12	Preston Makedonia	30	9	7	14	39	41	−2	25
13	Footscray JUST	30	9	7	14	32	48	−16	25
14	Marconi Fairfield	30	9	7	14	23	45	−22	25
15	Blacktown City (R)	30	6	9	15	32	47	−15	21	Relegated to the 1982 NSW State League
16	West Adelaide	30	5	4	21	26	57	−31	14

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

Results by round[edit]

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	26	14	15	16	17	18	19	13	20	21	22	23	24	25	27	28	29	30
Ground	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A
Result	W	W	W	D	D	D	D	D	L	D	W	D	L	L	D	L	D	D	W	L	D	L	W	D	L	W	L	L	W	L
Position	2	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	3	4	3	4	8	8	9	9	9	9	9	5	9	9	8	8	9	8	10	11	11	11
Points	2	4	6	7	8	9	10	11	11	12	14	15	15	15	16	16	17	18	20	20	21	21	23	24	24	26	26	26	28	28

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

Matches[edit]

15 February 1981 1	Wollongong City	3–1	Sydney Olympic	Wollongong
14:00 AEDT	McBreen 35' Campbell 55', 62'	Report		Stadium: Wollongong Showground Attendance: 5,904^[1] Referee: Tony Boskovic

22 February 1981 2	Heidelberg United	0–3	Wollongong City	Melbourne
		Report	McBreen 34' Morton 51' Dunleavy 72'	Stadium: Olympic Park No. 2 Attendance: 5,200 Referee: David Yelland

1 March 1981 3	Wollongong City	2–1	Footscray JUST	Wollongong
15:00 AEST	Tredinnick 71' Dunleavy 85'	Report		Stadium: Wollongong Showground Attendance: 5,317 Referee: Tim Davies

8 March 1981 4	Brisbane Lions	1–1	Wollongong City	Brisbane
	Ferris 44'	Report	Adam 27' (pen.)	Stadium: Lions Stadium Attendance: 1,970 Referee: Jack Wood

15 March 1981 5	Wollongong City	1–1	Blacktown City	Wollongong
15:00 AEST	Fleming 41'	Report	Culina 86'	Stadium: Wollongong Showground Attendance: 5,637 Referee: Richard Lorenc

29 March 1981 6	Newcastle KB United	1–1	Wollongong City	Newcastle
14:30 AEST	Drinkwater 73'	Report	Fontana 37'	Stadium: Newcastle International Sports Centre Attendance: 7,567 Referee: Doug Rennie

5 April 1981 7	Wollongong City	1–1	APIA Leichhardt	Wollongong
15:00 AEST	Tredinnick 30'	Report	Kafka 5'	Stadium: Wollongong Showground Attendance: 6,087 Referee: Gary Power

12 April 1981 8	West Adelaide	0–0	Wollongong City	Adelaide
		Report		Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 3,100 Referee: Graham Neal

19 April 1981 9	South Melbourne	1–0	Wollongong City	Melbourne
	Stevenson 72'	Report		Stadium: Middle Park Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Chris Bambridge

26 April 1981 10	Wollongong City	2–2	Preston Makedonia	Wollongong
15:00 AEST	Fleming 46' Fontana 49'	Report	Ollerton 7' Little 75'	Stadium: Wollongong Showground Attendance: 6,930 Referee: Doug Rennie

3 May 1981 11	Adelaide City	1–2	Wollongong City	Adelaide
	Mitchell 34'	Report	Fontana 44' McBreen 72'	Stadium: Olympic Sports Field Attendance: 3,100 Referee: Stewart Mellings

10 May 1981 12	Wollongong City	0–0	Brisbane City	Wollongong
15:00 AEST		Report		Stadium: Wollongong Showground Attendance: 5,309 Referee: Tim Davies

17 May 1981 26	Brisbane City	1–0	Wollongong City	Brisbane
	P. Wilkinson 17'	Report		Stadium: Spencer Park Attendance: 4,800 Referee: Dave Nugent

24 May 1981 14	Wollongong City	0–1	Canberra City	Wollongong
15:00 AEST		Report	Valeri 78'	Stadium: Wollongong Showground Attendance: 3,015 Referee: Richard Lorenc

31 May 1981 15	Marconi Fairfield	1–1	Wollongong City	Sydney
15:00 AEST	Krncevic 43'	Report	Adam 21'	Stadium: Marconi Stadium Attendance: 2,400 Referee: Henry Witschge

7 June 1981 16	Wollongong City	3–4	Heidelberg United	Wollongong
	Lathan 20' Adam 87' McBreen 88'	Report	Cole 29', 73' Paton 51' McGrory 65'	Stadium: Wollongong Showground Attendance: 4,371 Referee: Doug Rennie / Barry Wilkinson

14 June 1981 17	Footscray JUST	1–1	Wollongong City	Melbourne
15:00 AEST	Verweij 78'	Report	Adam 87' (pen.)	Stadium: Schintler Reserve Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Bobby Kerr

21 June 1981 18	Wollongong City	1–1	Brisbane Lions	Wollongong
	McBreen 62'	Report	Low 40'	Stadium: Wollongong Showground Attendance: 3,748 Referee: Gary Power

28 June 1981 19	Blacktown City	0–1	Wollongong City	Sydney
		Report	Tredinnick 76'	Stadium: Gabbie Stadium Attendance: 2,965 Referee: Jim Reeves

1 July 1981 13	Sydney City	1–0	Wollongong City	Sydney
	Cant 68'	Report		Stadium: St George Stadium Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Peter Rampley

5 July 1981 20	Wollongong City	0–0	Newcastle KB United	Wollongong
		Report		Stadium: Wollongong Showground Attendance: 2,100 Referee: Ken Small

12 July 1981 21	APIA Leichhardt	1–0	Wollongong City	Sydney
	Butler 14'	Report		Stadium: Lambert Park Attendance: 4,222 Referee: Peter Rampley

19 July 1981 22	Wollongong City	2–1	West Adelaide	Wollongong
	Campbell 49' Fontana 60'	Report	Smythe 53'	Stadium: Wollongong Showground Attendance: 4,364 Referee: Henry Witschge

26 July 1981 23	Wollongong City	1–1	South Melbourne	Wollongong
	de Graaf 8'	Report	Cummings 40'	Stadium: Wollongong Showground Attendance: 4,723 Referee: Doug Rennie

2 August 1981 24	Preston Makedonia	6–0	Wollongong City	Melbourne
	Lucchesi 11', 23' Whittle 59' Brown 75' Fontana 80' (o.g.) Cullen 89'	Report		Stadium: B.T. Connor Reserve Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Stewart Mellings

9 August 1981 25	Wollongong City	4–1	Adelaide City	Wollongong
	Bertogna 3' Fleming 10' McBreen 44' Lathan 48'	Report	Northcote 65'	Stadium: Wollongong Showground Attendance: 3,879 Referee: Tony Boskovic

23 August 1981 27	Wollongong City	0–5	Sydney City	Wollongong
		Report	Boden 5' Kosmina 57' Souness 65', 83' Barnes 88'	Stadium: Wollongong Showground Attendance: 3,974 Referee: Tim Davies

30 August 1981 28	Canberra City	2–0	Wollongong City	Canberra
	Valeri 6' (pen.) Gibson 82'	Report		Stadium: Bruce Stadium Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Bob Mee

6 September 1981 29	Wollongong City	4–0	Marconi Fairfield	Wollongong
	McBreen 60' Tredinnick 74' Lathan 79', 89'	Report		Stadium: Wollongong Showground Attendance: 5,819 Referee: Tony Boskovic

13 September 1981 30	Sydney Olympic	2–1	Wollongong City	Sydney
	Ziras 70' (pen.) Raskopoulos 84'	Report	Campbell 18'	Stadium: Pratten Park Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Richard Lorenc

NSL Cup[edit]

21 March 1981 First round	Wollongong City	3–0	Downer Olympic	Wollongong
	Lathan 30' Campbell 18' Adam 90' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Memorial Park Attendance: 815^[2] Referee: Ken Small

6 May 1981 Second round	Wollongong City	2–4 (a.e.t.)	APIA Leichhardt	Wollongong
	McBreen 77' Tredinnick 90'	Report	O'Connor 75' Soper 89', 119' Kafka 100'	Stadium: Woonona Oval Referee: Tony Boskovic

Statistics[edit]

Appearances and goals[edit]

Includes all competitions. Players with no appearances not included in the list.^[3]^[2]

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Player	National Soccer League		NSL Cup		Total
No.	Pos.	Nat.	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK		Jim Preston	11+1	0	2	0	14	0
2	MF		Peter Willis	13	0	1	0	14	0
3	DF		Tony Dickinson	2	0	0	0	2	0
4	DF		Chris Dunleavy	30	2	2	0	32	2
5	DF		Jeff Ainsworth	26	0	2	0	28	0
6	MF		Lee Adam	29	4	2	1	31	5
7	FW		Glen Fontana	19+2	4	1	0	22	4
8	MF		John Fleming	29	3	2	0	31	3
9	MF		Clive Campbell	17+6	4	1	1	24	5
10	MF		John Lathan	27+1	4	2	1	30	5
11	FW		Jock Morlando	6+2	0	0+1	0	9	0
13	FW		Brian Turner	5+2	0	1	0	8	0
14	DF		Willem de Graaf	22+3	1	2	0	27	1
15	DF		Ray Mohring	0+2	0	0	0	2	0
16	MF		Peter Tredinnick	30	4	2	1	32	5
17	—		Jim McBreen	25+1	7	2	1	28	8
18	MF		Ken Morton	1+7	1	0+1	0	9	1
19	MF		Paul Kay	4+2	0	0+1	0	7	0
22	GK		Natch Vardareff	19+1	0	1	0	20	0
—	DF		Arno Bertogna	15	1	0	0	15	1

Clean sheets[edit]

Includes all competitions. The list is sorted by squad number when total clean sheets are equal. Numbers in parentheses represent games where both goalkeepers participated and both kept a clean sheet; the number in parentheses is awarded to the goalkeeper who was substituted on, whilst a full clean sheet is awarded to the goalkeeper who was on the field at the start of play. Goalkeepers with no clean sheets not included in the list.

Rank	No.	Goalkeeper	NSL	NSL Cup	Total
1	22	Natch Vardareff	5	0	5
2	1	Jim Preston	1	1	2
Total			6	1	7

References[edit]

^ Stock, Greg. "1981 National Soccer League Results". OzFootball.
^ ^a ^b Stock, Greg. "1981 National Soccer League Cup Results". OzFootball.
^ Persoglia, Tony; Stock, Greg. "Wollongong City 1981 Squad". OzFootball.

[1] Stock, Greg. "1981 National Soccer League Results". OzFootball.

[NSLCup-2] Stock, Greg. "1981 National Soccer League Cup Results". OzFootball.

[3] Persoglia, Tony; Stock, Greg. "Wollongong City 1981 Squad". OzFootball.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Wollongong Wolves FC seasons
Wollonong City FC	1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1988 1989 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96
Wollongong Wolves FC	1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04