2005 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup

The 2005 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup was played in the lead up to the inaugural (2005-06) A-League season. It was won by the Central Coast Mariners, who beat Perth Glory in the final.

2005 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup

Country	Australia  New Zealand
Teams	8
Champions	Central Coast Mariners (1st title)
Runners-up	Perth Glory
Matches played	15
Goals scored	34 (2.27 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Bobby Despotovski Nik Mrdja Sasho Petrovski (6 goals)
2006 →

Group stage

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Melbourne Victory	3	1	2	0	2	1	+1	5	Advance to semifinals
2	Perth Glory	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
3	Adelaide United	3	0	3	0	3	3	0	3
4	Newcastle Jets	3	0	2	1	3	4	−1	2

Source:

22 July 2005

Newcastle Jets	1–1	Melbourne Victory
Deans  28'	Summary	Thompson  85'

Newcastle International Sports Centre, Newcastle

Attendance: 1,864

Referee: James Lewis (Australia)

22 July 2005

Adelaide United	2–2	Perth Glory
Aloisi  54' Valkanis  62'	Report	Valkanis  29' (o.g.) Despotovski  52'

Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide

Attendance: 5,263

Referee: Craig Zetter

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29 July 2005

Adelaide United	1–1	Newcastle Jets
Valkanis  74'	Report	Johnson  79'

Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide

Attendance: 6,750

Referee: Simon Przydacz

30 July 2005

Melbourne Victory	1–0	Perth Glory
Thompson  60'	Report

Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne

Attendance: 4,528

Referee: Peter Green

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5 August 2005

Melbourne Victory	0–0	Adelaide United
	Report

Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne

Attendance: 4,687

Referee: Perry Mur

6 August 2005

Perth Glory	2–1	Newcastle Jets
Despotovski  12', 61'	Report	Thompson  29'

Perth Oval, Perth

Attendance: 7,089

Referee: Angelo Nardi

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Sydney FC	3	2	1	0	5	1	+4	7	Advance to semifinals
2	Central Coast Mariners	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1	6
3	Queensland Roar	3	1	1	1	6	3	+3	4
4	New Zealand Knights	3	0	0	3	1	9	−8	0

Source:

23 July 2005

Central Coast Mariners	3–1	Queensland Roar
Mrdja  22', 40', 59'	Report	Tollenaere  29'

Central Coast Stadium, Gosford

Attendance: 4,247

Referee: Strebre Delovski

24 July 2005

Sydney FC	3–1	New Zealand Knights
Yorke  25' (pen.) Petrovski  45', 72'	Report	Fitzsimmons  83'

Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney

Attendance: 8,714

Referee: Ben Williams

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30 July 2005

New Zealand Knights	0–5	Queensland Roar
	Report	Brownlie  8', 9' Tollenaere  82' Moon  90' Murdocca  90'

North Harbour Stadium, Auckland

Attendance: 3,397

Referee: Peter O'Leary

30 July 2005

Central Coast Mariners	0–2	Sydney FC
	Report	Corica  57' Petrovski  79'

Central Coast Stadium, Gosford

Attendance: 8,362

Referee: Matthew Breeze

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6 August 2005

New Zealand Knights	0–1	Central Coast Mariners
	Report	Brown  5'

North Harbour Stadium, Auckland

Attendance: 2,269

Referee: Neil Fox

6 August 2005

Queensland Roar	0–0	Sydney FC
	Summary Report

Barlow Park, Cairns

Attendance: 4,500

Referee: Mark Shield

Knockout stage

Semi-finals

12 August 2005

Melbourne Victory	1–3	Central Coast Mariners
Byrnes  31'	Summary	Pondeljak  39' (pen.), 53' Brown  66'

Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne

Attendance: 4,500

Referee: Mark Shield (Australia)

14 August 2005

Sydney FC	0–1	Perth Glory
	Summary	Ward  90'

Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney

Attendance: 3,424

Referee: Ben Williams (Australia)

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Final

20 August 2005

Central Coast Mariners	1–0	Perth Glory
Petrie  39'	Report

Central Coast Stadium, Gosford

Attendance: 6,609

Referee: Matthew Breeze (Australia)

Top scorers

Position	Player	Club	Goals
1	Nik Mrdja	Central Coast Mariners	3
	Bobby Despotovski	Perth Glory
	Sasho Petrovski	Sydney FC
4	Michael Valkanis	Adelaide United	2
	Damien Brown	Central Coast Mariners
	Tom Pondeljak	Central Coast Mariners
	Archie Thompson	Melbourne Victory
	Royce Brownlie	Queensland Roar
	Reece Tollenaere	Queensland Roar