1996 National Soccer League Grand Final
Event1995–96 National Soccer League
Melbourne Knights Marconi-Fairfield
2 1
Date26 May 1996 (1996-05-26)
VenueOlympic Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Man of the MatchAndrew Marth (Joe Marston Medal)
RefereeEddie Lennie
Attendance14,256

The 1996 National Soccer League Grand Final was the first grand final to be held under the A-League name after the short-lived rebranding of the National Soccer League (NSL) began before the 1995–96 season. Melbourne Knights defeated Marconi-Fairfield 2–1 to win their second consecutive grand final.[1][2]

Route to the final

Melbourne Knights

Melbourne Knights were the first team into the grand final defeating Marconi-Fairfield 3–2 over two legs in the major semi-final.[3]

Marconi-Fairfield

After losing the major semi-final to the Knights, Marconi-Fairfield followed up with a 4–1 win over Adelaide City in the preliminary final to book their place in the grand final.[3][4][5]

Pre-match

Venue selection

With Melbourne Knights the first into the final, there was speculation that the Knights would host the match at Somers Street, however Soccer Australia announced on 12 May that the match would be played at Olympic Park.[3]

Match

Details

26 May 1996 (1996-05-26) Grand final Melbourne Knights 2–1 Marconi-Fairfield Melbourne, Australia
15:00 Andrew Marth 58'
Adrian Cervinski 74'		 Report Andy Harper 78' Stadium: Olympic Park
Attendance: 14,256
Referee: Eddie Lennie

Assistant referees:
Fourth official:

Match rules

References

  1. ↑ Cockerill, Mike (13 September 1995). "Hill gets nod for A-League". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  2. ↑ Cockerill, Michael (26 May 1996). "It's two in a row for Knights". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015. Melbourne Knights 2 (A Marth 58th A Cervinski 75th) bt Marconi 1 (A Harper 80th). Referee: E Lennie. Crowd: 14,258 at Olympic Park. For once the game matched the occasion as the Melbourne Knights confirmed their favouritism with a stylish 2-1 win over Marconi-Fairfield in yesterday's A-League grand final.
  3. 1 2 3 Cockerill, Michael (13 May 1996). "Knights Favoured At Home". The Sydney Morning Herald. After a 1-0 win in the first leg at Somers Street, the Knights followed with a gutsy 2-2 draw in the return leg at Bossley Park on Saturday night, securing a 3-2 win on aggregate.
  4. ↑ Cockerill, Michael (20 May 1996). "Marconi Rediscover Themselves In Time". The Sydney Morning Herald. Experience ultimately triumphed over youth as Marconi-Fairfield gave themselves genuine encouragement for next weekend's grand final by eliminating Adelaide City 4-1 in convincing style at Parramatta Stadium yesterday.
  5. ↑ Cockerill, Michael (25 May 1996). "We're hungry enough to win, claim underdogs Marconi". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2020-06-03 – via Newspapers.com.
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