2014–15 in Australian soccer

Soccer in Australia
Season2014–15
Men's soccer
A-League PremiershipMelbourne Victory
A-League ChampionshipMelbourne Victory
National Premier LeaguesNorth Eastern MetroStars
FFA CupAdelaide United
Women's soccer
W-League PremiershipPerth Glory
W-League ChampionshipCanberra United
← 2013–14 Australia 2015–16 →

The 2014–15 season was the 46th season of national competitive association football in Australia and 132nd overall.

The season also included the inaugural FFA Cup (now Australia Cup), with the matches from the Round of 32 onwards taking place between July and December.

The domestic season scheduling was altered to avoid clashing with the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

Domestic leagues

[edit]

The 2014–15 A-League regular season began on 10 October 2014 and ended on 26 April 2015.[1]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Melbourne Victory (C) 27 15 8 4 56 31 +25 53 Qualification for 2016 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series
2 Sydney FC 27 14 8 5 52 35 +17 50
3 Adelaide United 27 14 4 9 47 32 +15 46 Qualification for 2016 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off and Finals series
4 Wellington Phoenix[a] 27 14 4 9 45 35 +10 46 Qualification for Finals series
5 Melbourne City 27 9 8 10 36 41 −5 35
6 Brisbane Roar 27 10 4 13 42 43 −1 34
7 Perth Glory[b] 27 14 8 5 45 35 +10 50
8 Central Coast Mariners 27 5 8 14 26 50 −24 23
9 Western Sydney Wanderers 27 4 6 17 29 44 −15 18
10 Newcastle Jets 27 3 8 16 23 55 −32 17
Source: A-League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. ^ Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.
  2. ^ Perth Glory disqualified from the Finals series and given a compulsory 7th-place finish due to salary cap violations.[2]
Elimination-finals
1–3 May
Semi-finals
8–9 May
Grand final
17 May
Melbourne Victory 3
Wellington Phoenix 0 Melbourne City 0
Melbourne City 2 Melbourne Victory 3
Sydney FC 0
Sydney FC 4
Adelaide United 2 Adelaide United 1
Brisbane Roar 1

The 2014–15 W-League regular season began on 13 September 2014 and ended on 7 December 2014.[3]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Perth Glory 12 10 0 2 39 10 +29 30 Qualification to Finals series
2 Melbourne Victory 12 6 2 4 26 15 +11 20
3 Canberra United (C) 12 6 2 4 22 18 +4 20
4 Sydney FC 12 5 3 4 17 16 +1 18
5 Newcastle Jets 12 5 2 5 25 21 +4 17
6 Brisbane Roar 12 4 2 6 18 19 −1 14
7 Adelaide United 12 3 1 8 9 29 −20 10
8 Western Sydney Wanderers 12 2 2 8 14 42 −28 8
Source: au.soccerway.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Semi-finals
13–14 December
Grand final
21 December
      
1 Perth Glory 3
4 Sydney FC 0
Perth Glory 1
Canberra United 3
3 Melbourne Victory 0(4)
2 Canberra United (p) 0(5)

The 2014 National Premier Leagues regular season in the states' leagues ran from 21 February 2014 until 14 September 2014 and the states' finals series ran from 23 August 2014 until 14 September 2014.

The National Finals Series began on 20 September 2014 and ended with the Grand Final on 4 October 2014. The winner of the Grand Final was North Eastern MetroStars[4] who qualified for the 2015 FFA Cup round of 32.[5]

Elimination-finals
20 September
Semi-finals
27–28 September
Grand final
4 October
         
Australian Capital Territory Cooma 1
New South Wales Bonnyrigg White Eagles 6
New South Wales Bonnyrigg White Eagles 1
Queensland Palm Beach 0
New South Wales Weston Workers 1
Queensland Palm Beach 2
New South Wales Bonnyrigg White Eagles 0
South Australia North Eastern MetroStars 1
Tasmania South Hobart 0
Victoria (state) South Melbourne 1
Victoria (state) South Melbourne 1
South Australia North Eastern MetroStars 2
Western Australia Bayswater City 0 (3)
South Australia North Eastern MetroStars (p) 0 (4)

The National Youth League season 2014–15 ran from 14 October 2014 to 1 March 2015.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Melbourne City Youth (C) 18 10 5 3 40 27 +13 35
2 Brisbane Roar Youth 18 11 2 5 38 25 +13 35
3 Perth Glory Youth 18 10 4 4 33 24 +9 34
4 Sydney FC Youth 18 8 4 6 40 27 +13 28
5 Melbourne Victory Youth 18 8 3 7 34 33 +1 27
6 Central Coast Mariners Academy 18 8 2 8 38 34 +4 26
7 Adelaide United Youth 18 7 2 9 28 27 +1 23
8 Newcastle Jets Youth 18 7 2 9 31 37 −6 23
9 Western Sydney Wanderers Youth 18 6 2 10 21 29 −8 20
10 FFA Centre of Excellence 18 1 2 15 11 51 −40 5
Source: au.soccerway.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

Domestic cups

[edit]

The 2014 FFA Cup began on 29 July and ended on 16 December. This was the inaugural staging of the competition.[6]

Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
Sydney United 58 4
Far North Queensland 1 Sydney United 58 1
Melbourne City 1 Sydney FC 3
Sydney FC (a.e.t.) 3 Sydney FC 1
Adelaide United 1 Adelaide United (a.e.t.) 3
Wellington Phoenix 0 Adelaide United 2
Stirling Lions 0 Brisbane Roar 0
Brisbane Roar 4 Adelaide United 3
Hakoah Sydney City East 1 Central Coast Mariners 2
Palm Beach 2 Palm Beach 1
South Springvale (pen.) 2 (4) South Springvale 0
South Cardiff 2 (3) Palm Beach 0
Olympic FC 3 Central Coast Mariners 5
Melbourne Knights 1 Olympic FC 1
South Coast Wolves 0 Central Coast Mariners 3
Central Coast Mariners 1 Adelaide United 1
Manly United 1 Perth Glory 0
Sydney Olympic 3 Sydney Olympic 1
Blacktown City 0 Bentleigh Greens 2
Bentleigh Greens 1 Bentleigh Greens (a.e.t.) 2
Adelaide City 1 Adelaide City 1
Western Sydney Wanderers 0 Adelaide City 1
Broadmeadow Magic 1 Brisbane Strikers 0
Brisbane Strikers (a.e.t.) 2 Bentleigh Greens 0
Parramatta FC 0 Perth Glory 3
St Albans Saints 1 St Albans Saints 1
Newcastle Jets 0 Perth Glory 4
Perth Glory 2 Perth Glory (a.e.t.) 4
South Hobart 1 (4) Melbourne Victory 2
Tuggeranong United (pen.) 1 (5) Tuggeranong United 0
Bayswater City 0 Melbourne Victory 6
Melbourne Victory 2

International club competitions

[edit]

Western Sydney Wanderers qualified for the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup as winners of the 2014 AFC Champions League.[7]

13 December 2014 Quarter-final Cruz Azul Mexico 3–1 Australia Western Sydney Wanderers Rabat, Morocco
19:30 (UTC+1) Torrado 89' (pen.), 118' (pen.)
Pavone 108'
Report La Rocca 65'
Spiranovic Red card 31'
Nikolai Topor-Stanley Red card 53'
Stadium: Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium
Attendance: 22,153
Referee: Noumandiez Doué (Ivory Coast)

International Women's Club Championship

[edit]

The W-League was represented in the third edition of the International Women's Club Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the Nestlé Cup.

Melbourne Victory (the winners of the 2013–14 season) participated in the tournament, which took place from 30 November until 8 December 2013, and finished in sixth place (out of 6 teams).

National teams

[edit]

Men's senior

[edit]

Australia played five friendlies ahead of the AFC Asian Cup. They recorded their 5th consecutive loss against Belgium at Stade Maurice Dufrasne in Liège[8] but snapped the losing streak with their second win in the Ange Postecoglou era against Saudi Arabia at Craven Cottage in London.[9] The Socceroos didn't succeed in their friendlies in the Persian Gulf, as they were held to a goalless draw against the United Arab Emirates on a hot and humid evening at Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi[10] and 4 days later lost to Qatar at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha in their 500th international match.[11] In their last friendly before the AFC Asian Cup, Australia lost to Japan at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, despite dominating the hosts in the first half.[12]

Two months after being crowned champions of Asia, Australia played a pair of friendlies in Europe. In the first match they were close to upsetting world champions Germany at Fritz-Walter-Stadion in Kaiserslautern, but finished the match as a draw.[13] In the following week they drew against Macedonia at Philip II Arena in Skopje, despite easily being the better side.[14]

Friendlies

[edit]
4 September 2014 Belgium  2–0  Australia Liège, Belgium
20:45 (UTC+2) Mertens 18'
Witsel 77'
Report Stadium: Stade Maurice Dufrasne
Attendance: 16,850
Referee: Michael Oliver (England)
8 September 2014 Saudi Arabia  2–3  Australia London, England
20:00 (UTC+1) Fallatah 71' (pen.)
Al-Jassim 84'
Report Cahill 3'
Jedinak 6'
Wright 77'
Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 3,677
Referee: Martin Atkinson (England)
14 October 2014 Qatar  1–0  Australia Doha, Qatar
19:30 (UTC+3) Ibrahim 61' Report Stadium: Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium
18 November 2014 Kirin Challenge Cup Japan  2–1  Australia Osaka, Japan
19:20 (UTC+9) Konno 61'
Okazaki 68'
Report Cahill 90+2' Stadium: Nagai Stadium
Referee: Paweł Gil (Poland)
25 March 2015 Germany  2–2  Australia Kaiserslautern, Germany
20:30 UTC+1 Reus 17'
Podolski 81'
Report Troisi 40'
Jedinak 50'
Stadium: Fritz-Walter-Stadion
Attendance: 47,106
Referee: Michael Oliver (England)
30 March 2015 Macedonia  0–0  Australia Skopje, Macedonia
21:00 UTC+2 Report Stadium: Philip II Arena
Attendance: 1,000
Referee: Edin Jakupović (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

The 2015 AFC Asian Cup was played in Australia in January 2015.[15] Australia were crowned champions for the first time after beating South Korea in extra time in the final.[16]

9 January 2015 Group stage Australia  4–1  Kuwait Melbourne, Australia
20:00 (UTC+11) Cahill 33'
Luongo 45'
Jedinak 62' (pen.)
Troisi 90+2'
Report Fadhel 8' Stadium: Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
Attendance: 25,231
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)
13 January 2015 Group stage Australia  4–0  Oman Sydney, Australia
20:00 (UTC+11) McKay 27'
Kruse 30'
Milligan 45+2' (pen.)
Juric 70'
Report Stadium: Stadium Australia
Attendance: 50,276
Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)
17 January 2015 Group stage Australia  0–1  South Korea Brisbane, Australia
19:00 (UTC+10) Report Lee Jung-hyup 33' Stadium: Brisbane Stadium
Attendance: 48,513
Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)
22 January 2015 Quarter-final Australia  2–0  China Brisbane, Australia
20:30 (UTC+10) Cahill 49', 65' Report Stadium: Brisbane Stadium
Attendance: 46,067
Referee: Kim Jong-hyeok (South Korea)
27 January 2015 Semi-final Australia  2–0  United Arab Emirates Newcastle, Australia
20:00 (UTC+11) Sainsbury 3'
Davidson 14'
Report Stadium: Newcastle Stadium
Attendance: 21,079
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)
31 January 2015 Final Australia  2–1 (a.e.t.)  South Korea Sydney, Australia
20:00 (UTC+11) Luongo 45'
Troisi 105'
Report Son Heung-min 90+1' Stadium: Stadium Australia
Attendance: 76,385
Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)

FIFA World Cup qualification

[edit]
16 June 2015 Second round  Kyrgyzstan 1–2  Australia Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
18:00 (UTC+6) Baymatov 90+2' Report Jedinak 2'
Oar 67'
Stadium: Spartak Stadium
Attendance: 18,000
Referee: Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar)

Men's under 23

[edit]

Friendlies

[edit]
14 November 2014 Brazil  2–2  Australia Wuhan, China
16:00 (UTC+8) 45'
66'
Red card 90'
Report Gameiro 21'
Amini 90' (pen.)
Stadium: Wuhan Sports Center Stadium
16 November 2014 China  3–1  Australia Wuhan, China
19:30 (UTC+8) Xie 11'
Wu 57'
75'
Report Cooper 22' Stadium: Wuhan Sports Center Stadium
27 March 2015 Australia  6–0  Hong Kong Kaohsiung, Taiwan
16:00 (UTC+8) Amini 10'
Pain 21', 79'
Maclaren 76', 90+1', 90+5'
Report Stadium: National Stadium
Attendance: 300
Referee: Minoru Tōjō (Japan)
29 March 2015 Chinese Taipei  0–4  Australia Kaohsiung, Taiwan
19:00 (UTC+8) Report Brillante 2'
Taggart 45'
Sotirio 59'
Smith 78'
Stadium: National Stadium
Attendance: 5,000
31 March 2015 Australia  5–1  Myanmar Kaohsiung, Taiwan
16:00 (UTC+8) Hoole 10', 57', 70'
Maclaren 13', 68'
Report Kaung Sat Naing 78' Stadium: National Stadium
Attendance: 200
Referee: Marai Al-Awaji (Saudi Arabia)

Men's under 20

[edit]

Friendlies

[edit]
14 July 2014 US NTC Invitational Australia  4–1  Bermuda Los Angeles, United States
15:00 (UTC−8) Mabil 23', 55'
Marino 90+2'
Mauk 90+3'
Report Galloway 41' (o.g.) Stadium: StubHub Center
Attendance: 75
Referee: Jon Freemon (United States)
16 July 2014 US NTC Invitational Australia  5–4  Chile Los Angeles, United States
13:00 (UTC−8) Marino 16'
Clut 38'
Mabil 75', 79'
De Silva 90'
Report Pardo 40'
Cuevas 45+5' (pen.)
Carvalho 49'
Díaz 71'
Stadium: StubHub Center
Attendance: 75
Referee: Bernard Hosu (United States)
18 July 2014 US NTC Invitational United States  0–0  Australia Los Angeles, United States
19:00 (UTC−8) Report Stadium: StubHub Center
Attendance: 700
Referee: Victor Rivas (United States)
24 September 2014 Central Coast Mariners Australia 1–5  Australia Gosford, Australia
Report Stadium: Central Coast Stadium
Attendance: 0 (Behind closed doors)
27 September 2014 Newcastle Jets Australia 2–1  Australia Gosford, Australia
Pepper 18'
Jerónimo 25'
Report Mauk 89' (pen.) Stadium: Central Coast Stadium
Attendance: 0 (Behind closed doors)
3 May 2015 Five Nations Series New Zealand  2–3  Australia Auckland, New Zealand
19:00 (UTC+12) Lewis 28'
Rufer 40'
Report Woodcock 31'
Fofanah 58'
Blackwood 63'
Stadium: QBE Stadium
7 May 2015 Five Nations Series Qatar  4–1  Australia Auckland, New Zealand
16:00 (UTC+12) Afif 15'
Al Gabali 35'
Al Abdien 49', 58'
Report Fofanah 53' Stadium: Mount Smart Stadium
10 May 2015 Five Nations Series Panama  6–1  Australia Hamilton, New Zealand
13:00 (UTC+12) Small 5', 7', 40', 55'
Araya 45', 61'
Report Kuzmanovski 30' Stadium: Waikato Stadium
13 May 2015 Five Nations Series Ghana  2–0  Australia Hamilton, New Zealand
16:00 (UTC+12) Boateng 23'
Yeboah 28' (pen.)
Report Stadium: Waikato Stadium
18 May 2015 Australia  1–2  United States Gosford, Australia
18:00 (UTC+10) Mauk 15' Report Soñora 61'
Tall 63'
Stadium: Central Coast Stadium
Attendance: 600
Referee: Chris Young (Australia)
24 May 2015 Australia  2–2  Mexico Sydney, Australia
16:30 AEST Borrello 30' (pen.)
Brady 42'
Report Pineda 83'
Márquez 88' (pen.)
Stadium: Jubilee Oval
Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones (Australia)
27 May 2015 Australia  0–1  Brazil Wollongong, Australia
18:00 (UTC+10) Borrello Yellow card 60' Yellow-red card Report João Pedro 15' Stadium: WIN Stadium
5 September 2014 Group stage Vietnam  1–0  Australia Hanoi, Vietnam
19:00 (UTC+7) Phượng 88' Report
Summary
Stadium: Hàng Đẫy Stadium
Referee: Suhaizi Shukri (Malaysia)
7 September 2014 Group stage Australia  3–4  Japan Hanoi, Vietnam
16:30 (UTC+7) Galloway 17'
Ascroft 60'
Skapetis 90' (pen.)
Report
Summary
Yamato 44'
Masaya 45+1', 58'
Daisuke 90+3'
Stadium: Hàng Đẫy Stadium
Referee: Hadimin Shahbuddin (Brunei)
10 October 2014 Group stage Australia  1–1  United Arab Emirates Yangon, Myanmar
18:30 (UTC+6:30) Borrello 79' Report
Summary
Mubarak 84' (pen.) Stadium: Thuwunna Stadium
Attendance: 625
Referee: Yudai Yamamoto (Japan)
12 October 2014 Group stage Indonesia  0–1  Australia Yangon, Myanmar
14:00 (UTC+6:30) Report
Summary
Sotirio 67' Stadium: Thuwunna Stadium
Attendance: 450
Referee: Abdulrahman Abdou (Qatar)
14 October 2014 Group stage Uzbekistan  1–1  Australia Yangon, Myanmar
18:30 (UTC+6:30) Urinboev 82' Report
Summary
Mauk 66' Stadium: Thuwunna Stadium
Attendance: 536
Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)

Men's under 17

[edit]

Friendlies

[edit]
28 November 2014 Nike International Friendlies Australia  0–4  Brazil Lakewood Ranch, United States
15:00 (UTC-5) Davies Yellow card 44' Yellow-red card 75' Report Andrey 5'
Evander 32'
Leandro 48'
Lincoln 63'
Stadium: Premier Sports Campus
Referee: Caleb Mendez (United States)
30 November 2014 Nike International Friendlies United States  2–1  Australia Lakewood Ranch, United States
18:00 (UTC-5) Gaines 15'
de la Torre 69'
Report Caletti 3' Stadium: Premier Sports Campus
Attendance: 1,400
Referee: Chipalo Street (United States)
2 December 2014 Nike International Friendlies England  2–1  Australia Lakewood Ranch, United States
15:00 (UTC-5) Ugbo 29'
Hector-Ingram 76'
Report Joice 57' Stadium: Premier Sports Campus
Attendance: 300
Referee: Randall Kelley (United States)
6 September 2014 Group stage Australia  3–0  China Bangkok, Thailand
19:00 (UTC+7) Bandiera 16'
Joice 60'
Petratos 72'
Report
Summary
Stadium: Rajamangala Stadium
Attendance: 130
Referee: Mohanad Qasim Eesee Sarray (Iraq)
8 September 2014 Group stage Hong Kong  0–2  Australia Bangkok, Thailand
16:00 (UTC+7) Report
Summary
Devereux 27'
Reiners 86'
Stadium: Rajamangala Stadium
Attendance: 102
Referee: Ammar Al Junaibi (United Arab Emirates)
10 September 2014 Group stage Japan  2–4  Australia Nonthaburi, Thailand
16:00 (UTC+7) Takumi 27'
Takuya 69'
Report
Summary
Brimmer 15', 59'
Joice 25', 81'
Stadium: SCG Stadium
Attendance: 350
Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)
14 September 2014 Quarter-final Australia  2–1  Malaysia Nonthaburi, Thailand
15:30 (UTC+7) Joice 35'
Maskin 76'
Report
Summary
Raj 31' Stadium: SCG Stadium
Attendance: 200
Referee: Kim Dong-jin (South Korea)

Women's senior

[edit]

Friendlies

[edit]
12 February 2015 New Zealand  2–3  Australia Auckland, New Zealand
19:00 (UTC+13) Gregorius 57', 83' Report van Egmond 9'
Heyman 12'
Foord 29'
Stadium: Bill McKinlay Park
7 April 2015 Austria  2–1  Australia Villach, Austria
18:00 (UTC+1) Schiechtl 25'
Makas 28'
Report Gorry 85' Stadium: Stadion Villach Lind
9 April 2015 Scotland  1–1  Australia Falkirk, Scotland
14:30 (UTC+1) Ross 59' Report Alleway 26' Stadium: Falkirk Stadium
19 May 2015 Australia  4–0  Vietnam Sydney, Australia
Catley