# 1980 National Soccer League

The 1980 National Soccer League season was the fourth season of the National Soccer League in Australia. The champions were Sydney City SC, their second title after winning the 1977 season (as Eastern Suburbs).

## Teams

Fourteen teams competed in the league.

### Stadiums and locations

    Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Adelaide City | Adelaide (Norwood) | Olympic Sports Field | 8,000 |
| APIA Leichhardt | Sydney (Leichhardt) | Lambert Park | 7,000 |
| Blacktown City | Sydney (Seven Hills) | Gabbie Stadium | 5,000 |
| Brisbane City | Brisbane (Newmarket) | Spencer Park | 5,000 |
| Brisbane Lions | Brisbane (Inala) | Lions Stadium | 5,000 |
| Canberra City | Canberra | Canberra Stadium | 25,011 |
| Footscray JUST | Melbourne (Footscray) | Schintler Reserve | ? |
| Heidelberg United | Melbourne (Brunswick) | Olympic Village | 12,000 |
| Marconi Fairfield | Sydney (Bossley Park) | Marconi Stadium | 9,000 |
| Newcastle KB United | Newcastle | Newcastle International Sports Centre | 30,000 |
| South Melbourne | Melbourne (Middle Park) | Middle Park | 18,000 |
| St George-Budapest | Sydney (Mortdale) | St George Stadium | 12,000 |
| Sydney City | Sydney (Bondi) | ES Marks Athletics Field | 8,000 |
| West Adelaide | Adelaide (City of Adelaide) | Hindmarsh Stadium | 16,500 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Sydney City (C) | 26 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 51 | 26 | +25 | 37 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 2 | Heidelberg United | 26 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 55 | 33 | +22 | 36 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 3 | South Melbourne | 26 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 42 | 21 | +21 | 35 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 4 | Marconi Fairfield | 26 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 53 | 32 | +21 | 34 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 5 | Adelaide City | 26 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 40 | 27 | +13 | 30 | |
| 6 | Newcastle KB United | 26 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 32 | 31 | +1 | 30 | |
| 7 | Brisbane Lions | 26 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 28 | 32 | −4 | 25 | |
| 8 | APIA Leichhardt | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 27 | 35 | −8 | 23 | |
| 9 | Footscray JUST | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 32 | 41 | −9 | 23 | |
| 10 | Canberra City | 26 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 34 | 33 | +1 | 21 | |
| 11 | Blacktown City | 26 | 9 | 3 | 14 | 34 | 55 | −21 | 21 | |
| 12 | Brisbane City | 26 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 29 | 36 | −7 | 18 | |
| 13 | West Adelaide | 26 | 7 | 3 | 16 | 24 | 46 | −22 | 17 | |
| 14 | St George-Budapest (R) | 26 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 32 | 65 | −33 | 14 | Relegated to the 1981 NSW State League |
* ↑ The Finals series was not considered the championship for the 1980 National Soccer League.

## Results

| Home \ Away | ADE | API | BLA | BRC | BRL | CAN | FOO | HEI | MAR | NKU | SOU | STG | SYC | WES |
| Adelaide City | — | | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 6–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| APIA Leichhardt | 2–1 | — | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–5 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 |
| Blacktown City | 1–2 | 0–0 | — | 3–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 4–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 |
| Brisbane City | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 7–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Brisbane Lions | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| Canberra City | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–4 | — | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 4–3 |
| Footscray JUST | 1–3 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | — | 0–2 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 5–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 |
| Heidelberg United | 0–0 | 5–1 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | — | 3–3 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 4–2 |
| Marconi Fairfield | 2–1 | 1–2 | 9–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | — | 4–1 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| Newcastle KB United | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 |
| South Melbourne | 2–1 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | — | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 |
| St George-Budapest | 1–4 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 3–5 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–3 | — | 0–2 | 3–1 |
| Sydney City | 2–1 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | — | 7–0 |
| West Adelaide | 0–2 | 0–4 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | — |

## Finals series

The Finals series was not considered the championship for the 1980 National Soccer League.
| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | Grand final | Grand final | Grand final |
| 1 | Sydney City | 2 | | | | 1 | Sydney City | 0 |
| 2 | Heidelberg United | 0 | | | | 2 | Heidelberg United | 4 |
| | | | 2 | Heidelberg United | 4 | | | |
| | | | 3 | South Melbourne | 1 | | | |
| 3 | South Melbourne | 4 | | | | | | |
| 4 | Marconi Fairfield | 3 | | | | | | |

### Grand final
## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Gary Cole | Heidelberg United | 21 |
| 2 | Mark Jankovics | Marconi Fairfield | 16 |
| 3 | Jamie Paton | Heidelberg United | 15 |
| 4 | Ken Boden | Sydney City | 13 |
| 4 | Eddie Krncevic | Marconi Fairfield | 13 |
| 6 | John Nyskohus | Adelaide City | 12 |
| 7 | Dennis Duarte | St George-Budapest | 11 |
| 8 | Murray Barnes | Sydney City | 10 |
| 8 | Branko Buljevic | South Melbourne | 10 |
| 8 | Phil O'Connor | APIA Leichhardt | 10 |

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Gary Cole | Heidelberg United | West Adelaide | 4–2 (H) | 16 March 1980 |
| Eddie Krncevic | Marconi Fairfield | Blacktown City | 9–0 (H) | 16 March 1980 |
| Mark Jankovics | Marconi Fairfield | Blacktown City | 9–0 (H) | 16 March 1980 |
| Gary Cole | Heidelberg United | APIA Leichhardt | 5–0 (A) | 6 April 1980 |
| Murray Barnes | Sydney City | West Adelaide | 7–0 (H) | 6 April 1980 |
| Gary Cole | Heidelberg United | Blacktown City | 3–1 (H) | 13 April 1980 |
| John Nyskohus | Adelaide City | St George-Budapest | 4–1 (A) | 13 April 1980 |
| Barry Kelso | Brisbane City | Heidelberg United | 7–0 (H) | 27 July 1980 |
| Dennis Duarte | St George-Budapest | West Adelaide | 3–1 (H) | 28 September 1980 |

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Peter Laumets | South Melbourne | 12 |
| 2 | Allan Maher | Marconi Fairfield | 10 |
| 3 | Peter Marshall | Adelaide City | 8 |
| 3 | Greg Woodhouse | APIA Leichhardt | 8 |
| 5 | Dennis Boland | Footscray JUST | 7 |
| 6 | Martyn Crook | West Adelaide | 6 |
| 6 | Tony Scalan | Brisbane Lions | 6 |
| 6 | Richard Wilson | Canberra City | 6 |
| 9 | Yakka Banovic | Heidelberg United | 5 |
| 9 | Phil Dando | Newcastle KB United | 5 |

### Discipline
#### Player

* Most yellow cards: 7
** Paul Ontong (Brisbane Lions)
** Warren Turnbull (Blacktown City)
* Most red cards: 2
** Eddie Krncevic (Marconi Fairfield)

#### Club

* Most yellow cards: 30
** Footscray JUST
** St George-Budapest
* Fewest yellow cards: 13
** Heidelberg United
* Most red cards: 3
** West Adelaide
* Fewest red cards: 0
** Adelaide City
** Brisbane Lions
** Heidelberg United

## Awards
### Annual awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| National Soccer League Player of the Year | Jim Hermiston | Brisbane Lions |
| National Soccer League Under 21 Player of the Year | John Spanos | Sydney City |
| National Soccer League Coach of the Year | John Margeritis | South Melbourne |