Soccer Bowl '75 was the championship final of the 1975 NASL season, played between the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the Portland Timbers. The match took place on August 24, 1975 at Spartan Stadium, in San Jose, California. It was the first North American Soccer League championship to be known as the Soccer Bowl. The Tampa Bay Rowdies won the match, 2–0, to claim their first North American championship. This was the third consecutive year that an expansion team won the NASL title.
Background Tampa Bay Rowdies
The Tampa Bay Rowdies qualified for the playoffs by virtue of winning the Eastern Division with 135 points. The point total earned them the number 2 seed and the right to host all preliminary rounds of the playoffs. The Rowdies defeated the Toronto Metros-Croatia in the quarterfinal match, 1–0, on August 13, 1975. Three days later they dispatched the Miami Toros, 3–0, in their semifinal game played on August 16, 1975, to advance to the finals.
Portland Timbers
The Portland Timbers qualified for the playoffs by virtue of winning the Western Division with 138 points. The point total earned them the number 1 seed and the right to host all preliminary rounds of the playoffs. The Timbers defeated the Seattle Sounders in the quarterfinal match, 2–1, in sudden death overtime on August 12, 1975. Five days later they beat the St. Louis Stars, 1–0, in a semifinal game played on August 17, 1975, to advance to the finals.
Match details
GK 1 Paul HammondD 13 Stewart JumpD 3 Alex PringleD 6 Mike ConnellD 5 Malcolm Linton M 4 John Boyle (c)M 15 Mark LindsayF 9 Clyde BestF 10 Stewart Scullion F 12 Derek SmethurstF 14 John SissonsSubstitutes:D 18 Arsène Auguste D 2 Farrukh Quarishi M 7 Bernard HartzeM 8 Randy GarberF 11 Doug WarkF 17 Eddie AustinGK 1 Mike HewittManager: Eddie Firmani GK 1 Graham BrownD 2 Ray MartinD 3 Barrie LynchD 5 Graham DayM 6 Brian Godfrey (c) M 7 Thomas McLarenM 8 Barry PowellM 13 Chris Dangerfield F 9 Peter Withe F 11 Jimmy KellyF 12 Willie AndersonSubstitutes:D 4 Mick HobanD 18 Nick Nicolas F 10 Dan GardnerF 14 Tony Betts F 16 Roger GoldingayGK 22 Dave Landry Manager: Vic Crowe
1975 NASL Champions: Tampa Bay Rowdies Television: CBS Announcers: Frank Glieber, Jack Whitaker
Soccer Bowl MVP: Stewart Jump (Tampa Bay) Assistant referees:World Sports Marketing, publisher. (1975). Kick match program. New York, NY. NASL. p. 67 John Davies Cor de Groot
Match statistics +First halfStatistic Tampa Bay PortlandGoals scored 0 0Total shots 9 8Shots on target 2 6Saves 6 2Offsides 0 0Yellow cards 1 0Red cards 0 0+Second halfStatistic Tampa Bay PortlandGoals scored 2 0Total shots 10 10Shots on target 6 6Saves 6 4Offsides 0 0Yellow cards 0 2Red cards 0 0+OverallStatistic Tampa Bay PortlandGoals scored 2 0Total shots 19 18Shots on target 8 12Saves 12 6Offsides 0 0Yellow cards 1 2Red cards 0 0Fouls 25 21Corner kicks 8 4
See also 1975 North American Soccer League season
References
External links