2003–04 Adelaide United FC season

Adelaide United
2003–04 season
Manager John Kosmina
Stadium Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
National Soccer League 3rd
National Soccer League Finals Series Preliminary final
Top goalscorer Carl Veart (12)
2005–06 →

The 2003–04 Adelaide United FC season was the clubs inaugural season since its establishment in 2003.

Despite the rush to form the team, and starting five weeks into the season (the first four rounds of matches were squeezed in later in the season), the team lost just twice in its first 13 matches. Hectic catch up phases in November and December (7 matches in 31 days for 4 wins and 3 draws) and February (6 matches in 24 days for 4 wins and 2 losses) passed by with success. Aside from the debut win over Brisbane, regular season highlights included a 2–1 away win over Parramatta Power, a resounding 2–0 home victory against South Melbourne, and a 1–0 win over an in-form Marconi and the effective sealing of third spot.

Despite the high position, many people expected the wheels to fall off in the finals. But the finals phase served up two more fairytale results. Everything came together for the first leg of the Elimination Final, and the 3–0 win over the Brisbane Strikers was the team's first win by more than two goals. The roller coaster ride passed deep into a trough the following week in Brisbane with a 4–1 loss – but United won the Elimination Final over all due to the away goals rule, progressing to the Minor Semi-Final versus South Melbourne. This attracted the club's largest ever crowd, officially 16,558, in a tough win on penalties. The team was then outclassed by the eventual premiers, Perth Glory, 5–0 at Subiaco Oval in the Preliminary Final.

Built up from the core of Adelaide City's 2002–03 squad, the Adelaide United team forged ahead with a burgeoning team spirit that became their signature attribute. The previous season's Adelaide City players Mike Valkanis, Aaron Goulding, Kristian Rees and captain Aurelio Vidmar merged superbly with the return to Adelaide of Alagich (from Brisbane), Aloisi (Italy) and others to form an outfit which performed consistently all season. Coach John Kosmina, also returning after 25 years to his home city, is a clear favourite of the fans.

With the winding-down of the NSL, the team has become a founding member of the A-League.

Players

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 Australia GK David Scarcella
2 Australia DF Richie Alagich
3 Australia DF Kristian Rees
4 Australia MF Aaron Goulding
5 Australia DF Michael Valkanis
6 Australia MF Ross Aloisi
7 Australia MF David Terminello
8 Australia FW Carl Veart
9 New Zealand FW Shane Smeltz
10 Australia MF Aurelio Vidmar
11 Australia MF Goran Lozanovski
12 Australia MF Shane Thompson
No. Position Player
14 Australia MF Sean Widera
15 Australia MF Aaron Westervelt
16 Australia FW Michael Brooks
17 Australia FW Mimi Saric
18 Australia MF Fred Agius
19 Australia FW Elias Demourtzidis
20 Australia GK Robert Bajic
21 Australia MF Adriano Pellegrino
22 Australia GK Nick Crossley
23 Australia FW Nick Budin
24 Australia MF Matthew Kemp

Technical staff

Position Name
Manager Australia John Kosmina

Competitions

Overall

Competition Started round Final
position / round		 First match Last match
National Soccer League — 3rd 30 November 2003 29 February 2004
National Soccer League Finals Elimination final Preliminary final 7 March 2004 28 March 2004

National Soccer League

League table

Pos
 Team Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Perth Glory (C) 24 18 3 3 56 22+34 57 2003–04 National Soccer League Champions
2 Parramatta Power 24 16 3 5 58 30+28 51 2004 National Soccer League Elimination Finals
3 Adelaide United 24 11 7 6 28 25+3 40
4 Marconi Stallions 24 10 8 6 29 25+4 38
5 South Melbourne 24 11 4 9 39 21+18 37
6 Brisbane Strikers 24 9 5 10 28 33−5 32
7 Northern Spirit 24 9 3 12 31 33−2 30
8 Sydney Olympic 24 7 8 9 26 31−5 29
9 Wollongong Wolves 24 8 5 11 34 41−7 29
10 Sydney United 24 7 8 9 18 25−7 29
11 Newcastle Jets 24 6 6 12 18 33−15 24
12 Melbourne Knights 24 6 5 13 21 41−20 23
13 Football Kingz 24 4 3 17 25 51−26 15

Updated to games played on 29 February 2004
Source: ozfootball.net
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Results summary

Season P W D L F A Pts Ladder
Position		 Teams Ave Home
Crowd
Regular
Season 		24 11 7 6 28 25 40 3rd 13 12,614
Finals
Series 		4 2 0 2 6 10 N/A N/A N/A 16,408

Matches

Date Opponent Result Crowd
17 Oct Brisbane Strikers W 1–0 15,877
24 Oct @ Newc United W 3–2 3,005
2 Nov Sydney Utd D 0–0 14,484
8 Nov @ Marconi D 0–0 1,820
16 Nov Perth L 1–4 13,266
23 Nov @Sth Melb L 1–2 8,359
28 Nov Wollongong D 2–2 9,528
30 Nov @ Olympic D 0–0 2,370
6 Dec @ Kingz W 3–1 1,121
10 Dec Nthn Spirit W 1–0 9,159
14 Dec Olympic D 1–1 11,153
20 Dec @ Parra Power W 2–1 1,967
28 Dec Melb Knights W 2–1 13,032
7 Jan @ Bris Strikers L 0–1 3,298
11 Jan Newc United D 0–0 14,280
18 Jan @ Sydney United D 1–1 2,065
23 Jan Kingz W 1–0 12,312
31 Jan @ Perth L 0–2 9,711
6 Feb Sth Melb W 2–0 12,463
8 Feb @ Melb Knights W 4–3 1,164
13 Feb @ Wollongong W 1–0 3,010
20 Feb Marconi W 1–0 13,690
25 Feb Parra Power L 0–2 12,125
29 Feb @ Nthn Spirit L 1-2 2,009

Finals Series

Date Opponent Result Crowd
7 Mar Bris Strikers W 3–0 16,258
13 Mar @ Bris Strikers L 1–4 2,790
20 Mar Sth Melb W 2–1 16,558
27 Mar @ Perth Glory L 0-5 17,524

References

    External links

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