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1990 New Zealand National Soccer League


The 1990 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 21st season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Waitakere City won the league for the first time, by two points over Auckland neighbours Mount Wellington.

Papatoetoe were relegated at the end of the 1989 season. Their place was taken by New Plymouth Old Boys, the winners of the Central League. the winners of the noirthern and Southern Leagues were Mount Roskill and Burndale United respectively.

Waterside Karori were relegated at the end of the 1990 season.

The 1990 league saw Waitakere City triumph in only their second league season. Mount Wellington led the league for much of the season, stringing together an undefeated 12-match run at the start of the season. Waitakere's consistency and determination paid off, however. They started the season with two losses, but strung together an excellent series of seventeen wins from nineteen games to climb the table, finally overhauling the Mount three games from the finish. They completed their season three points clear, then had to wait for a week for Mount Wellington's final game against relegation-bound Waterside Karori. The Wharfies held on to draw, and the West Auckland side had its first title. Mount Wellington fell away late in the season as they had done in 1988, throwing away what at times seemed a certain victorious campaign.

Christchurch United finished a distant third, its campaign ruined by its inability to beat any of the Auckland-based sides. It was pursued all the way by Waikato United, the tussle for third and fourth being as separate from the rest of the table as that for first and second. A further nine points separated these two teams from Manurewa, who were engaged in their own private tussle with Napier City Rovers. Manurewa only finished on top by goal difference after an astonishing 7–1 win over Hutt Valley United in their last game of the season, having been held 1–1 at half time. Napier paid for its inability to finish games off. Though they were a tough team to beat, they also found winning a problem, and finished the season with eleven draws from their 26 games.


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