2008 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup
The 2008 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup competition was held in July and August 2008, in the lead up to the start of the Australian A-League football 2008–09 season.
All eight A-League clubs competed and were drawn into two groups of four teams. The format of the cup was modified from previous editions, reducing the number of matches. A group stage with three regular rounds saw team play each other in their group once, with the winner of each group advancing to the final. The final was played on 6 August, the first mid-week final in the competition history. The shortened format allowed clubs to schedule other matches in the lead up to the start of the A-League, and was completed before the 2008 Summer Olympics in which Australia competed.
Continuing from previous years, most Pre-Season Cup matches were played at venues in regional centres to expand the profile of the clubs and the league. Bunbury, Caloundra, Cessnock, Mandurah and Mount Gambier all hosted matches for the first time, while Launceston, Campbelltown, Port Macquarie and Wollongong hosted matches again.[1]
Fixtures and results
Group A
Fixtures
Perth Glory | 1–1 | Newcastle Jets |
---|---|---|
Trinidad |
Report | Spencer |
Melbourne Victory | 1–2 | Adelaide United |
---|---|---|
Ney Fabiano |
Report | Cristiano |
Launceston, Tasmania
Perth Glory | 0–1 | Melbourne Victory |
---|---|---|
Report | Thwaite |
Newcastle Jets | 0–0 | Adelaide United |
---|---|---|
Report |
Newcastle Jets | 0–1 | Melbourne Victory |
---|---|---|
Report | Pondeljak |
Port Macquarie, New South Wales
Adelaide United | 0–0 | Perth Glory |
---|---|---|
Report |
Mount Gambier, South Australia
Table
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Melbourne Victory | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 6 |
Adelaide United | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 |
Newcastle Jets | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 |
Perth Glory | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 |
Group B
Fixtures
Sydney FC | 2–1 | Queensland Roar |
---|---|---|
Payne Prentice |
Report | van Dijk Hyuk-Su Seo |
Wellington Phoenix | 1–0 | Central Coast Mariners |
---|---|---|
Daniel |
Report |
Wellington, New Zealand
Central Coast Mariners | 3–0 | Sydney FC |
---|---|---|
Porter Petrovski Mrdja |
Report |
Gosford, New South Wales
Queensland Roar | 1–1 | Wellington Phoenix |
---|---|---|
van Dijk |
Report | Kwasnik |
Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Sydney FC | 2–3 | Wellington Phoenix |
---|---|---|
Brosque Fyfe Prentice |
Report | Hearfield Smeltz Gao Durante |
Wollongong, New South Wales
Queensland Roar | 1–2 | Central Coast Mariners |
---|---|---|
Moore Zullo |
Report | Elrich MacAllister |
Brisbane, Queensland
Table
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wellington Phoenix | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 7 |
Central Coast Mariners | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 6 |
Sydney FC | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 |
Queensland Roar | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 1 |
Top goalscorers
2 Goals:
Cristiano (Adelaide United) Sergio van Dijk (Queensland Roar)
1 Goal:
Adrian Trinidad (Perth Glory) Ahmad Elrich (Central Coast Mariners) Dylan MacAllister (Central Coast Mariners) Nik Mrdja (Central Coast Mariners) Sasho Petrovski (Central Coast Mariners) Brad Porter (Central Coast Mariners) Tom Pondeljak (Melbourne Victory) Michael Thwaite (Melbourne Victory) Noel Spencer (Newcastle Jets) Michael Zullo (Queensland Roar) Alex Brosque (Sydney FC) Iain Fyfe (Sydney FC) Chris Payne (Sydney FC) Mitchell Prentice (Sydney FC) Troy Hearfield (Wellington Phoenix FC) Adam Kwasnik (Wellington Phoenix FC) Ney Fabiano (Melbourne Victory) Daniel (Wellington Phoenix FC) Gao Leilei (Wellington Phoenix FC) Shane Smeltz (Wellington Phoenix FC)
References
- "Football spreads its reach". Football Federation Australia. 2 May 2007. Archived from the original on 17 June 2011. Retrieved 2007-05-07.