NASL Final 1971 was the championship series of the 1971 season. It was contested as a best-of-three series between the Dallas Tornado and the Atlanta Chiefs. The matches were held on September 9, 15, and 19, 1971. Games one and three were played at Atlanta Stadium, in Atlanta, Georgia. Game two was played at Franklin Stadium of Hillcrest High School in Dallas. A combined 14,361 people attended the three game series. The Chiefs won game one, while the Tornado won games two and three to claim their first NASL championship.
Background The Dallas Tornado qualified for the playoffs by virtue of having the highest non-division-winning point total in the league (119 points). They defeated the defending league champion Rochester Lancers 2–1 in a marathon best-of-three semifinal series. The series featured two of the longest matches in the sport's history due to the NASL's adoption of a sudden death rule to replace the penalty shootout. The first leg ended shortly before midnight on September 1 with a victory for Rochester after 176 minutes and required six overtime periods; the third leg lasted 148 minutes with four overtime periods and sent the Tornado to the final with a 2–1 win.
The Atlanta Chiefs qualified for the playoffs by winning the Southern Division with 120 points. The Chiefs then defeated the New York Cosmos in the semifinals with two wins and no goals conceded.
Series summary Champion Runner-up Game 1 Venue 1 Game 2 Venue 2 Game 3 Venue 3 ResultDallas Tornado Atlanta Chiefs Atlanta Stadium Franklin Stadium Atlanta Stadium Notes
Match details First leg
Second leg
Playoff
GK 1 Manfred Kammerer DF Alan Hamlyn DF 5 Ken Bracewell (c) DF 6 Henry Largie DF 3 John Cocking DF 11 Uriel da Veiga MF 12 Alec Papadakis MF 10 Danny Paton FW 15 Freddie Mwila FW 9 Nick Papadakis FW 24 Kaizer MotaungManager: Vic Rouse
GK 16 Mirko Stojanović DF 5 Dick Hall DF 3 Oreco DF 4 John Best (c) DF 12 Momčilo Gavrić MF 14 Bobby Moffat MF 6 Roy Turner FW 18 Phillip Tinney FW 9 Luiz Juracy FW 10 Tony McLoughlin FW 11 Mike RenshawManager: Ron Newman
1971 NASL Champions: Dallas Tornado
See also 1971 North American Soccer League season
References
External links