1996–97 National Summer Soccer League

May 2015 May 2015 The 1997 National Summer Soccer League was the second season of a short-lived nationwide association football club competition in New Zealand. Despite being known as the 1997 league, competition started in November 1996, with the later rounds and final playoffs held in 1997. The competition was won by Waitakere City. Structure The league was an invitation-only competition, with no promotion or relegation taking place. Matches took place between November 1996 and April 1997, with a three-week break from late December to mid-January. The competition was divided into two stages. In the first stage the ten teams took part in a round-robin league, with each team playing every other team home and away. 1996 participants Waikato United were replaced by new team Melville United, which had been formed from a merger of Waikato United and Melville AFC. The top four teams from this stage progressed to a play-off series. This involved the top two teams from the league phase playing each other, and third and fourth place also playing each other. The winner of the match between first and second progressed through to the final; the loser of that match met the winner of the other match to decide the other finalist.https://www.rsssf.org/tablesn/nz97.html New Zealand 1996/97 A unique system of awarding points was used for this competition. Teams were awarded four points for a win and one for a draw. In drawn matches, a penalty shoot-out (minimum of three shots per side) would then take place, with the winning side awarded a bonus point. This system was abandoned at the end of the season; the 1998 league was played using the traditional system of three points for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss, with no penalty shoot-outs. League stage League table main WDL Q 4 y NCR Napier City Rovers CUF Central United WCF Waitakere City NSU North Shore United MR Miramar Rangers NSF Nelson Suburbs MU Melville United WU Wellington United WMC Woolston WMC TCU Mount Maunganui 12 2 4 42 18 0 12 1 5 47 26 1 10 2 6 39 21 1 C 9 4 5 40 29 3 8 6 4 35 26 4 9 0 9 25 33 0 5 3 10 31 43 2 5 5 8 31 46 0 R 3 3 12 17 39 2 1 6 11 14 40 3 R #FFFFAA 1997 National Soccer League Finals F F F #D0F0C0 1996–97 National Soccer League Champions C #FFCCCC Team withdrew WD WD 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. complete Finals Playoffs #eeeeee 22 March 1997 Napier City Rovers 3 – 0 Central United New, Ryan, Christie Park Island, Napier #eeeeee 22 March 1997 Waitakere City 2 – 1 North Shore United Gray ×2 Stevens Auckland #eeeeee 28 March 1997 Central United 1 – 3 Waitakere City de Jong K Smith, Viljoen, Laus Auckland Final #eeeeee 6 April 1997 Napier City Rovers 1 – 3 Waitakere City Goodacre Viljoen, McClennan, Gray Bill McKinlay Park, Auckland Records and statistics Top scorers Tim Stevens (North Shore United), 14 goals Mark Elrick (Central United), 13 goals Martin Akers (Napier City Rovers), 12 goals Justin Fashanu (Miramar Rangers), 12 goals Stephen Mack (Central United), 12 goals Biggest winning margin Waitakere City 8, Wellington United 1 Highest aggregate score Miramar Rangers 3, Central United 7 References Category:National Summer Soccer League seasons Category:1996 in New Zealand association football Category:1997 in New Zealand association football New Zealand