Football tournament season
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia New Zealand |
| Dates | 19 July – 6 August 2008 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Defending champions | Adelaide United |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Melbourne Victory (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Wellington Phoenix |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 13 |
| Goals scored | 24 (1.85 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Cristiano Sergio van Dijk (2 goals) |
| ← 2007 | |
The 2008 A-League Pre-season Challenge Cup competition was held in July and August 2008, in the lead up to the start of the Australian A-League football 2008–09 season.
All eight A-League clubs competed and were drawn into two groups of four teams. The format of the cup was modified from previous editions, reducing the number of matches. A group stage with three regular rounds saw team play each other in their group once, with the winner of each group advancing to the final. The final was played on 6 August, the first mid-week final in the competition history. The shortened format allowed clubs to schedule other matches in the lead up to the start of the A-League, and was completed before the 2008 Summer Olympics in which Australia competed.
Continuing from previous years, most Pre-season Cup matches were played at venues in regional centres to expand the profile of the clubs and the league. Bunbury, Caloundra, Cessnock, Mandurah and Mount Gambier all hosted matches for the first time, while Launceston, Campbelltown, Port Macquarie and Wollongong hosted matches again.
Group stage
Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne Victory | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 6 | Advances to final |
| Adelaide United | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 | |
| Newcastle Jets | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 | |
| Perth Glory | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 |
| Perth Glory | 1–1 | Newcastle Jets |
|---|---|---|
Trinidad  12' |
Report | Spencer 36' |
| Melbourne Victory | 1–2 | Adelaide United |
|---|---|---|
| Ney Fabiano 8' |
Report | Cristiano 33', 90' |
| Perth Glory | 0–1 | Melbourne Victory |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Thwaite 11' |
| Newcastle Jets | 0–0 | Adelaide United |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Newcastle Jets | 0–1 | Melbourne Victory |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Pondeljak 82' |
| Adelaide United | 0–0 | Perth Glory |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wellington Phoenix | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 7 | Advances to final |
| Central Coast Mariners | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 6 | |
| Sydney FC | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 | |
| Queensland Roar | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 1 |
| Sydney FC | 2–1 | Queensland Roar |
|---|---|---|
| Payne 53' Prentice 57' |
Report | van Dijk 49' Hyuk-Su Seo  57' |
| Wellington Phoenix | 1–0 | Central Coast Mariners |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel 72' |
Report |
| Central Coast Mariners | 3–0 | Sydney FC |
|---|---|---|
| Porter 43' Petrovski 60' Mrdja 68' |
Report |
| Queensland Roar | 1–1 | Wellington Phoenix |
|---|---|---|
| van Dijk 18' |
Report | Kwasnik 74' |
| Sydney FC | 2–3 | Wellington Phoenix |
|---|---|---|
| Brosque 16' Fyfe 39'Prentice 90' |
Report | Hearfield 57' Smeltz 62'Gao 82'Durante  90'  |
| Queensland Roar | 1–2 | Central Coast Mariners |
|---|---|---|
| Moore 49' Zullo 51' |
Report | Elrich 29' MacAllister 32' |
Final
| Wellington Phoenix | 0–0 | Melbourne Victory |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
Smeltz  Bertos  Hearfield Conveny Daniel Ferrante McKain Johnson Dodd |
7–8 | Vargas Pondeljak López Ward Hernández Ryall Allsopp Kemp Berger |
Top goalscorers
2 Goals:
1 Goal:
Adrian Trinidad (Perth Glory)
Ahmad Elrich (Central Coast Mariners)- Dylan MacAllister (Central Coast Mariners)
- Nik Mrdja (Central Coast Mariners)
- Sasho Petrovski (Central Coast Mariners)
- Brad Porter (Central Coast Mariners)
- Tom Pondeljak (Melbourne Victory)
- Michael Thwaite (Melbourne Victory)
- Noel Spencer (Newcastle Jets)
- Michael Zullo (Queensland Roar)
- Alex Brosque (Sydney FC)
- Iain Fyfe (Sydney FC)
- Chris Payne (Sydney FC)
- Mitchell Prentice (Sydney FC)
- Troy Hearfield (Wellington Phoenix FC)
- Adam Kwasnik (Wellington Phoenix FC)
Ney Fabiano (Melbourne Victory)- Daniel (Wellington Phoenix FC)
Gao Leilei (Wellington Phoenix FC)
Shane Smeltz (Wellington Phoenix FC)
References
- "Football spreads its reach". Football Federation Australia. 2 May 2007. Archived from the original on 17 June 2011. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
| A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup | |
|---|---|
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