Soccer Bowl '78

Soccer Bowl '78 was the North American Soccer League's championship final for the 1978 season. It was the fourth NASL championship under the Soccer Bowl name.[1][2]

Soccer Bowl '78
EventSoccer Bowl
Cosmos Tampa Bay Rowdies
3 1
DateAugust 27, 1978 (1978-08-27)
VenueGiants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Man of the MatchDennis Tueart
RefereeJim Highet (Canada)
Attendance74,901

The match was played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on August 27 between the American Conference champion Tampa Bay Rowdies and the National Conference champion and defending Soccer Bowl champion Cosmos. Seeing the large home crowds the Cosmos had drawn during the 1977 NASL season, the league awarded Soccer Bowl hosting duties to the club.[3] The match drew a Soccer Bowl-record 74,901 fans, more than doubling the previous year's attendance at Portland's Civic Stadium. To date, it remains the largest crowd for a professional club soccer championship game in North America.

The Cosmos won the match by a 3–1 score, capturing their third league title and becoming the first repeat champion in NASL history.

Background

Tampa Bay Rowdies

The Rowdies started off 5-8, but would eventually tie the New England Tea Men for first place in the American Conference's Eastern Division with 165 points. New England won the division on the NASL's total wins tiebreaker (19 to the Rowdies' 18), and relegated Tampa Bay to fourth place in the American Conference's playoff standings.[4] After beating the Chicago Sting in the first round,[5] the San Diego Sockers were defeated by a Rodney Marsh overtime goal in a mini-game tiebreaker[6] and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers fell in a mini-game shootout in the American Conference finals.[7] It would be the Rowdies' second trip to the Soccer Bowl in four years. Marsh led Tampa Bay in scoring with 18 goals and 16 assists for 52 points, good for fourth in the league. Near the end of the deciding match between the Rowdies and Strikers, he had gotten spiked in the shin by Maurice Whittle of Fort Lauderdale. There was concern about his playing status, but all indications leading up to match day had looked positive.

Cosmos
Main article: 1978 New York Cosmos season

While Tampa Bay encountered trouble on the way to Giants Stadium, the Cosmos hit cruise control in early May and never looked back. A 7–0 crushing of the Strikers in the team's opener heralded a run of dominance not seen in the NASL before.[8] A 24-6 record and a league-high 212 points led to a first-place finish in the National Conference Eastern Division as the team looked to become the first back-to-back champions in NASL history. Giorgio Chinaglia's 34 goals and 79 points set league records. The Seattle Sounders fell at the first playoff hurdle,[9] but the Minnesota Kicks proved to be quite a challenge. The Kicks won their playoff opener 9–2 behind Alan Willey's five goals to immediately put the Cosmos on the brink of elimination.[10] However, a 4–0 win in the second game and a dramatic mini-game shootout victory helped the team from New York move on.[11] Two shutout wins over the Portland Timbers in the National Conference championship allowed the Cosmos to become the only team in league history to play in the Soccer Bowl in their own stadium.[12]

Broadcasters

The game was broadcast live in the United States on the TVS network. Jon Miller handled play-by-play duties, while Paul Gardner was the color analyst.[13] This would be the final NASL game broadcast by the network, as the league signed a deal with ABC Sports in the fall of 1978.[14] Gardner would continue as the color analyst for ABC's coverage, while Miller would move on to a long career announcing Major League Baseball.

Game summary

As it turned out, Marsh's shin injury had become infected and he was unable to play. An early-morning run in Central Park confirmed Tampa Bay's worst fears.[15] The Cosmos didn't take advantage early, but Dennis Tueart's goal at 30:42 broke the deadlock. Defender Bob Iarusci broke up an offensive rush, saw Steve Hunt open for a pass and Hunt spotted Tueart standing unmarked to the left of Rowdie goalkeeper Winston DuBose and Tueart made it 1–0.[16] Giorgio Chinaglia's 39th goal of the season made it 2–0 just before halftime. Hunt raced through the Rowdies defense, took a shot which DuBose saved, and the rebound came out to Chinaglia. The league's scoring leader put it away despite the presence of defender Mike Connell, who deflected the ball slightly with his head.[17]

A Mirandinha goal got the Rowdies on the board with fresh hope and 17 minutes left. Tampa Bay midfielder David Robb, switched from forward to defense due to Frantz St. Lot's injury, stole a pass from Tueart in the Cosmos' end and found Mirandinha. The Brazilian fired a low shot off of the Giants Stadium post and past Cosmos goalie Jack Brand to halve the deficit.[18] Tueart closed out the scoring four minutes later by taking a pass from Werner Roth and sliding it past the diving DuBose for the final 3–1 margin.[19]

Dennis Tueart won Soccer Bowl MVP honors for his two-goal efforts, while Pino Wilson was named the defensive player of the game.[20] After missing 10 games due to various injuries, Tueart led the NASL in playoff scoring with six goals and five assists for 17 points in six playoff games.

Championship results
Cosmos3–1Tampa Bay Rowdies
Tueart  (Iarusci, Hunt) 30:42'
Chinaglia  44:30'
Tueart  (Iarusci, Roth) 76:49'		 Report Mirandinha  (Robb) 73:34'
Attendance: 74,901
Referee: Jim Highet (Canada)
Cosmos
Tampa Bay
GK0 Jack Brand
D19 Bob Iarusci
D4 Werner Roth (c)
D5 Carlos Alberto 20:38'
D23 Giuseppe Wilson
M15 Vito Dimitrijević 80:39'
M6 Franz Beckenbauer
M8 Vladislav Bogićević 77:36'
F7 Dennis Tueart 83:35'
F9 Giorgio Chinaglia
F11 Steve Hunt
Substitutes:
M12 Seninho 80:39'
M14 Terry Garbett 77:36'
F24 Garry Ayre 83:35'
M3 Nelsi Morais
M17 Rick Davis
F18 Fred Grgurev
F21 Gary Etherington
D25 Santiago Formoso
G1 Erol Yasin
Manager:
Eddie Firmani
GK18 Winston DuBose
D19 Frantz St. Lot 56:43'
D3 Jim Fleeting
D6 Mike Connell
D4 Arsène Auguste 41:15'
M13 Mick McGuire 67:30'
M8 Wes McLeod
M11 Graham Paddon
F7 Steve Wegerle
F5 David Robb
F12 Peter Anderson (c)
Substitutes:
M26 Mirandinha 56:43'
F14 Joey Fink 67:30'
D23 Tony Crudo[21]
M20 Boris Bandov[22]
M21 Perry Van der Beck[23]
D15 Luis Papandrea
D17 Kevin Eagan
D22 Sandje Ivanchukov
G27 Nicky Johns
Manager:
Gordon Jago

1978 NASL Champions: Cosmos

Soccer Bowl MVP:
Dennis Tueart (Cosmos)
Assistant referees:[24]
Jim Ross
David Socha

Television: TVS
Announcers: Jon Miller, Paul Gardner

Statistics
First half[25]
Statistic Cosmos Tampa Bay
Goals scored 2 0
Total shots 11 5
Shots on target 6 2
Saves 2 4
Corner kicks 3 4
Fouls x x
Offsides x x
Yellow cards 1 1
Red cards 0 0
Second half[26]
Statistic Cosmos Tampa Bay
Goals scored 1 1
Total shots 9 14
Shots on target 2 6
Saves 5 1
Corner kicks 6 3
Fouls x x
Offsides x x
Yellow cards 0 0
Red cards 0 0
Overall[27]
Statistic Cosmos Tampa Bay
Goals scored 3 1
Total shots 20 19
Shots on target 8 8
Saves 7 5
Corner kicks 9 7
Fouls 15 12
Offsides 6 4
Yellow cards 1 1
Red cards 0 0

References
  1. NASL. "NASLSoccerBowl – History – Past Winner". North American Soccer League.
  2. NASL. "NASL 1968-1984 - Yearly Result". North American Soccer League.
  3. Tierney, Mike (January 10, 1978). "Rowdies, Strikers Mates – But Not Cosmos". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  4. Schneider, Dick (August 4, 1978). "Rowdies Face Sting". Sarasota Journal. p. 4-D. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  5. Tierney, Mike (August 9, 1978). "Rowdies are too powerful for Sting 3-1". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  6. Tierney, Mike (August 18, 1978). "Rowdies in sudden heaven". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1C. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  7. Meyer, John (August 24, 1978). "A Fitting Show For Broadway". Evening Independent. p. 1C. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  8. "Minus A Star, Cosmos Shine". Evening Independent. April 3, 1978. p. 2-C. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  9. "Timbers work overtime for victory". Vancouver Sun. August 10, 1978. p. C1. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
  10. "Willey's Five Goals Propel Kicks". Ocala Star-Banner. August 15, 1978. p. 5B. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
  11. "Express Fall To Strikers In OT". Lakeland Ledger. August 17, 1978. p. 4D. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
  12. "Cosmos Cut Up Timbers". Evening Independent. August 24, 1978. p. 2-C. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
  13. "NASL TV: A Short History". Kenn Tomasch. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  14. Kleiman, Carol (May 9, 1979). "Banking on American dollars, ABC to televise NASL soccer games". Boca Raton News. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  15. Meyer, John (August 28, 1978). "Rowdies Were Mugged". Evening Independent. p. 1C. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
  16. Gammon, Clive (September 4, 1978). "Two In A Row For The Cosmos". Sports Illustrated. pp. 18–21. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
  17. Schneider, Dick (August 28, 1978). "Rowdies' Mistakes Not Forgiven". Lakeland Ledger. p. 1D. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
  18. Tierney, Mike (August 28, 1978). "Cosmos still rulers of NASL". St. Petersburg Times. p. 5-C. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
  19. "Cosmos triumph over Tampa Bay". Montreal Gazette. August 28, 1978. p. 44. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
  20. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2jxOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9-0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6817,5857954&dq=cosmos+nasl+champions&hl=en
  21. http://mytampabayrowdies.blogspot.com/2009/06/rowdies-memorabilia-tony-crudos-game.html
  22. http://mytampabayrowdies.blogspot.com/2009/06/rowdies-memorabilia-boris-bandovs-game.html
  23. http://mytampabayrowdies.blogspot.com/2012/08/rowdies-memorabilia-perry-van-der-beck.html
  24. TVS Broadcast footage
  25. TVS Broadcast footage
  26. Subtracted final stats from TVS halftime stats
  27. Tierney, Mike (August 28, 1978). "Cosmos still rulers of NASL". St. Petersburg Times. p. 5-C. Retrieved 2012-06-17.

Jose, Colin (1989). NASL: A Complete Record of the North American Soccer League. Derby, England: Breedon Books.

Jose, Colin (2003). North American Soccer League Encyclopedia. Haworth, New Jersey: St. Johann Press.

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