Soccer Bowl '79

Soccer Bowl '79 was the championship final of the 1979 NASL season. The National Conference champion Vancouver Whitecaps played the American Conference champion Tampa Bay Rowdies. The match was played on September 8, 1979, at Giants Stadium, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. This was the second straight year that Giants Stadium hosted the Soccer Bowl. The Whitecaps won the match, 2–1, to claim their first North American championship.^[1][2]

Soccer Bowl '79

Event	Soccer Bowl
Vancouver Whitecaps Tampa Bay Rowdies 2 1
Date	September 8, 1979 (1979-09-08)
Venue	Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Man of the Match	Alan Ball
Referee	Gino D'Ippolito (United States)
Attendance	50,699
← 1978 1980 →

Background

Giants Stadium was the venue for Soccer Bowl '79

Vancouver Whitecaps

Further information: 1979 Vancouver Whitecaps season

The Vancouver Whitecaps qualified for the playoffs by virtue of winning the Western Division of the National Conference with 172 points. The Whitecaps defeated the Dallas Tornado in a first round series, two games to none. The first leg was played on August 15, 1979, in Dallas. The 'Caps won the match, 3–2. The return leg was played in Vancouver on August 18, 1979, before 30,328 fans. The home side did not disappoint, delivering a series winning, 2–1, victory.

In the conference semifinal series they went up against a divisional foe that knew them well, the Los Angeles Aztecs. Game 1 of the series proved to be their biggest test yet. When regulation ended the teams were level at 2–2. After 15 minutes of scoreless golden goal extra time the teams moved on to an NASL shoot-out, which the Aztecs won, 2–1. With their backs against the wall in Game 2, the Whitecaps delivered a gritty, 1–0, victory to tie the series at one game apiece. The squads took a 10-minute intermission before returning to the pitch to play a 30-minute mini-game tie breaker. Vancouver won it, 1–0, sending 32,375 fans home happy and themselves into the National Conference finals.

In what would prove to be one of the most memorable series in NASL history, they faced the defending champion and number one seeded New York Cosmos. The first game was played in Vancouver on August 29, 1979, before 32,875. The Whitecaps top defense stymied the high powered Cosmos' attack to the tune of 2–0. The second leg was played at Giants Stadium on September 1, 1979, with 44,109 in the stands and millions more watching the nationally televised match on ABC. The affair was a dogfight that saw Willie Johnston level the score at 2–2 with a diving header the 85th minute to force extra time.^[3]

The Cosmos won a shootout, 3–1, after neither team was able to break through in the 15 minutes of extra time. This tied the series at 1 game apiece, and set the stage for another 30-minute mini-game. In the mini-game each teamed thought they'd taken the lead, only to have referee Toros Kaibritjain wave off the goal. And so, after another scoreless 30 minutes, a shootout was again the order of the day. This time it however, it was Vancouver who would come out on top, 3–2, to win the National Conference title and earn a hard-fought, well-deserved spot in the Soccer Bowl.

Tampa Bay Rowdies

The Tampa Bay Rowdies' road to the finals, though not nearly as bumpy as Vancouver's, had its challenges as well. Tampa Bay qualified for the playoffs by virtue of winning the Eastern Division of the American Conference with 169 points. The Rowdies easily dispatched the Detroit Express in a first round series, two games to none. The first leg was played in the climate-controlled Pontiac Silverdome on August 15, 1979. The Rowdies won convincingly that evening, 3–0. The return leg was played at Tampa Stadium in the afternoon heat of August 19, 1979, before 27,210 fans. The Rowdies again proved to be too much for the Express, delivering a series winning, 3–1, victory.

In the conference semifinal series they went up against the upstart Philadelphia Fury, who had coolly swept the number one seeded Houston Hurricane out of the playoffs. On the evening of August 23, 1979, after four second-half goals, game 1 of the series ended level at 2–2. Following a scoreless overtime period, the teams moved to a shoot-out, which the Rowdies won, 2–0.^[4] Game 2 was played on a hot and muggy Florida afternoon before 21,112 sweat-drenched fans, with national television coverage from ABC. Tampa Bay counter punched their way to a 1–0 victory on Steve Wegerle's goal and Željko Bilecki's save of a late penalty kick on August 23, 1979.^[5] The win propelled them into the American Conference finals.

Their opponent for this series was the Western Division winner, San Diego Sockers, whom the Rowdies had eliminated the previous year via the mini-game. The Sockers took game 1 on August 30, 1979, at home, by the score of 2–1. When the teams returned to Tampa, the pressure was squarely on the Rowdies' shoulders. In a match played under threat of cancellation^[6] due to Hurricane David on September 2, 1979, and reminiscent of the previous day's Whitecaps-Cosmos tilt, 38,766 fans witnessed a 2–2 draw that needed a shoot-out to break the deadlock. Tampa Bay wasted no time converting their first three shots, while goalie Winston DuBose snuffed out all three Sockers' attempts.

The ensuing 30-minute mini-game had early drama as the diminutive Ivan Grnja scored in the third minute, just 27 seconds after entering the match as a substitute for the injured John Gorman. From there the Rowdies hung on the rest of the way for a 1–0 win, the American Conference title, and their second straight trip to the Soccer Bowl.^[7]

Results summary

Vancouver Whitecaps				Phase	Tampa Bay Rowdies
West division: 1st place National Conference: 3rd seed NC West Division Pos Team v t e Pld BP Pts 1 Vancouver Whitecaps 30 52 172 2 Los Angeles Aztecs 30 54 162 3 Seattle Sounders 30 47 125 4 Portland Timbers 30 56 122 Updated to match(es) played on September 2, 1979. Source: Overall standings  -Playoffs via division standings.  -Playoffs via wildcard. National Conference playoff seeds Pos Team v t e Pld BP Pts 1 New York Cosmos 30 72 216 2 Minnesota Kicks 30 58 184 3 Vancouver Whitecaps (N) 30 52 172 4 Washington Diplomats 30 58 172 5 Los Angeles Aztecs 30 54 162 6 Dallas Tornado 30 50 152 7 Tulsa Roughnecks 30 55 139 8 Toronto Blizzard 30 49 133 Updated to match(es) played on September 2, 1979. Source: Overall standings (N) Conference champion  -Division winner  -Division runner-up  -Wildcard team.				Regular season	East division: 1st place American Conference: 2nd seed AC East Division Pos Team v t e Pld BP Pts 1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 30 55 169 2 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 30 63 165 3 Philadelphia Fury 30 51 111 4 New England Tea Men 30 38 110 Updated to match(es) played on September 2, 1979. Source: Overall standings  -Playoffs via division standings.  -Playoffs via wildcard. American Conference playoff seeds Pos Team v t e Pld BP Pts 1 Houston Hurricane 30 55 187 2 Tampa Bay Rowdies (A) 30 55 169 3 San Diego Sockers 30 50 140 4 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 30 63 165 5 Chicago Sting 30 63 159 6 California Surf 30 50 140 7 Detroit Express 30 48 132 8 Philadelphia Fury 30 51 111 Updated to match(es) played on September 2, 1979. Source: Overall standings (A) Conference champion  -Division winner  -Division runner-up  -Wildcard team.
Opponent	Game 1	Game 2	Mini-game	Playoffs	Opponent	Game 1	Game 2	Mini-game
Dallas Tornado	3–2 (A)	2–1 (H)	—	Conference Quarterfinals	Detroit Express	3–0 (A)	3–1 (H)	—
Los Angeles Aztecs	2–2 (SO: 1–2) (A)	1–0 (H)	1–0 (H)	Conference Semifinals	Philadelphia Fury	2–2 (SO: 3–2) (A)	1–0 (H)	—
New York Cosmos	2–0 (H)	2–2 (SO: 1–3) (A)	0–0 (SO: 3–2) (A)	Conference Championships	San Diego Sockers	1–2 (A)	2–2 (SO: 3–0) (H)	1–0 (H)

Match details

Vancouver Whitecaps	2–1	Tampa Bay Rowdies
Whymark 13', 60'	Report	Van der Veen 23'

September 8

2:00 p.m. EDT

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford

Attendance: 50,699

Referee: Gino D'Ippolito (United States)^[8]

Vancouver Whitecaps [9]

Tampa Bay Rowdies

GK 1 Phil Parkes DF 7 Buzz Parsons 69:42 DF 4 John Craven (c) DF 6 Roger Kenyon DF 5 Bob Lenarduzzi MF 2 Ray Lewington MF 23 Alan Ball MF 21 Carl Valentine FW 11 Kevin Hector FW 9 Trevor Whymark FW 20 Willie Johnston Substitutes: MF 10 Bob Bolitho 69:42 GK 22 Bruce Grobbelaar DF 17 Peter Daniel MF 8 Jon Sammels Manager: Tony Waiters

GK 2 Željko Bilecki D 3 John Gorman 85:07 DF 22 Barry Kitchener DF 6 Mike Connell 66:24 DF 21 Manny Andruszewski MF 9 Peter Anderson MF 5 Jan van der Veen 78:41 MF 8 Wes McLeod FW 7 Steve Wegerle 70:50 FW 20 Oscar Fabbiani 86:43 FW 10 Rodney Marsh (c) 33:37 78:37 Substitutes: MF 15 Petar Baralić 70:50 FW 23 Ivan Grnja 78:37 GK 1 Winston DuBose DF 16 Farrukh Quraishi MF 12 Perry Van der Beck Manager: Gordon Jago

1979 NASL Champions: Vancouver Whitecaps

Soccer Bowl MVP: Alan Ball (Vancouver) Assistant referees: John Davies Derek Smith

Television: ABC (Simulcast on CTV in Canada)
Announcers: Jim McKay, Paul Gardner

Statistics

Overall Totals^[10]

Statistic	Vancouver	Tampa Bay
Goals scored	2	1
Total shots	13	10
Shots on target	6	6
Saves	5	4
Corner kicks	7	8
Fouls	29	16
Offsides	1	4
Yellow cards	0	5
Red cards	0	0

See also

• 1979 North American Soccer League season

References

1. NASL. "NASLSoccerBowl - History - Past Winner". North American Soccer League.
2. NASL. "NASL 1968-1984 - Yearly Result". North American Soccer League.
3. "Reading Eagle - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved December 15, 2014.
4. "1979 NASL Conference Semifinal Highlights Philadelphia Fury v. Tampa Bay Rowdies". YouTube. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
5. "NASL 1979 Playoffs: Tampa Bay 1, Philadelphia 0". YouTube. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
6. "Lakeland Ledger - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved December 15, 2014.
7. "St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved December 15, 2014.
8. Soccer Bowl '79 Media Guide. 1979. p. 8.
9. "Photograph" (JPG). Nasljerseys.com. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
10. Soccer Digest. May 1980. p. 24.

External links

• Highlights of the game on YouTube
• Complete match on YouTube