Canberra FC - Cringila Lions (6:0) (Test Match, 18. February 2012)
Attendance: 150
Cost: Free
Programme: Nil
Captains preparing for the coin toss
Ready for kick-off
Penalty for Canberra FC
Canberra FC on the attack
Storm clouds rolling in
Cringila with a rare foray forward
At half-time the heavens opened up
But these two didn't seem to mind!
Canberra FC with a corner kick
CLUB HISTORY: (wiki)
Canberra Football Club is an Australian football (soccer) club from the city of Canberra that competes in the ACT competitions including the ACT Premier League. The club was founded in 1958 as Canberra Croatia by local Croatian Australians, later taking the names HOPE, Croatia Deakin, Canberra Metro and Canberra Deakin, before becoming Canberra FC. The club has competed in the top level ACT league every year since 1960, and also had a successful stint in NSW State League from 1988-1994.
The club colours are red and white reflecting the club's Croatian heritage. The badge depicts the flagpole of Parliament House, a symbol of Canberra, over red and white check reflecting the Coat of arms of Croatia.
A slighty water sodden pitch
Canberra FC has an impressive record in the ACT Premier league. In 2011, the Croatian-based club has won their 20th league championship, their 10th in the last 11 years. This consistent dominance in the ACT premier league has made them the standard-bearers for football in the nation’s capital and has earned them a great deal of respect.
HONOURS:
NSW State League Grand Final Runner-Up: 1989, 1990, 1991
NSW State League Regular Season Runner-Up: 1989, 1990
NSW State League Finalists: 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994
Tuggeranong United - Weston Creek SL1 (4:1) (Trial Match, 12. February 2012)
Attendance: 40
Cost: Free
Programme: Nil
Ready for kick-off this evening
The reserves taking a relaxed approach at the start
Weston Creek on the prowl for an early goal
TUFC on the attack
Looking towards Curtin
View of the pitch
Another view of the pitch
Weston Creek looking for the equaliser
CLUB HISTORY: (wiki)
Tuggeranong United FC, are a football team in Tuggeranong, Australia. The club currently fields teams in both the Men's and Women's ACT Premier League. In 2011, the club had 13 State League and 4 Masters teams across the Men's and Women's Capital Football State League divisions, and 28 Junior's (Under 10's to Under 18's) team as well as 39 Rooball (Under 9's) teams. With such a large amount of teams, this makes TUFC one of the largest football clubs in the ACT.
The history of Tuggeranong United Football Club dates back to as far as 1976, when Kambah United Soccer Club was formed. It catered for both junior and senior players in that district, with the seniors fielding teams in the first division. The following year, the Wanniassa Soccer Club was formed, catering for junior players from Wanniassa and it's environs. In 1985, Wanniassa Soccer Club changed it's name to Tuggeranong Soccer Club.
To promote the game and to provide a more cohesive structure between juniors and seniors, Kambah United combined with Tuggeranong Soccer Club in 1986, to form Tuggeranong United Soccer Club. In 1989 TUSC won it's first major trophy, the Federation Cup. A knock out competition run in conjunction with the entire league, involving teams from across the top divisions.
With a dedicated Executive Committee, and newfound strength, the club moved ahead strongly and won back to back premierships in 1991 and 1992. These achievements were followed by the club winning the Federation Cup again in 1993 and 1994, and narrowly losing the final in 1995. The club was brought back to earth soon after with disapointing results in 1996 and 1997 resulting in its Premier League teams being relegated back to the newly renamed Premier League 2 division for the 1998 season.
In 1999 the club recovered some key players and won the Grand Final in what was then called the State League 1. The win enabled the club to be promoted back into the Premier League. In 2000 the club came runners up in the Federation Cup Grand Final.
In the subsequent 4 years the club maintained a good player base and made the top 4 twice. In 2005 the club lost momentum and came bottom of the Premier League and were relegated into Division 1.
In 2006 the club again picked up and moved forward, attracting a new coach a several players. They progressed to the Grand Final of the Division 1, however were beaten in extra-time.
AIS - Brisbane Roar(2:11) (Y-League, 11. February 2012)
0:1 A. Proia (10.), 0:2 I.Nakajima-Farran (16.), 0:3 K. Danning (24.), 1:3 J. Karatzas (29.), 1:4 A. Proia (33.), 1:5 A. Proia (42.), 1:6 I. Nakajima-Farran (49.), 1:7 M. Thurtell (51.), 1:8 I. Nakajima-Farran (54.), 2:8 S. Mauk (73.), 2:9 M. Thurtell (80.), 2:10 J. Geria (85.), 2:11 M. Thurtell (92.)
Attendance: 132
Cost: Free
Programme: Nil
On the way to the ground
Pretty cool commentary box
The teams are ready for the obligatory handshakes
Ready for kick-off
An early attack for the Roar
View from under the commentary box
You can run around the track for a cost
The keeper cuts a desolate figure
Another view of the ground
Hard to see, but a pretty embarrasing scoreboard
Full time and an easy win for the visitors
CLUB HISTORY: (aussport.gov.au)
AIS Men’s Football is an internationally renowned residential program, which has produced many high-quality players in domestic and international clubs.
It was established in 1981, as one of the AIS’s eight founding sports, with two broad aims: to identify and develop players for the national under-20 youth team, and to develop coaches through the scholarship coaching scheme.
In 2009, the program altered its focus to specifically train athletes usually aged 16 and turning 17 for the AIS’s youth team, which competes in Football Federation Australia’s National Youth League.
Scholarships are initially offered for one year, with the option of a second subject to the player meeting expectations.
STADIUM HISTORY: (ausstadiums.com)
The AIS Athletics Track was originally constructed in 1985 as the warm-up track for the World Cup Athletics which were held next door at the National Athletics Stadium (now Canberra Stadium). With the removal of the athletics track from that venue in 1990, this has become the main venue for athletics in the nation’s capital.
The venue features a covered grandstand, lighting and an electronic scoreboard. The total capacity is around 5,000.
Sydney FC - Newcastle Jets(2:5) (A-League, 5. February 2012)
0:1 Topor-Stanley (22.), 0:2 Zadkovich (29.), 0:3 Brockie (38.), 1:3 Moriyasu (47.), 2:3 Beauchamp (72.), 2:4 Brockie (87.), 2:5 Abbas (90+5)
Attendance: 10.232
Cost: $20AUD
Programme: Nil
Pre-match drinking pub - The Fox & Lion
A bit of work is happening at the entrance
Standing in the main grandstand
The away fans - The Squadron
Todays teams
Time for kickoff
Dominos pizza for dinner?
Looking across to the main grandstand
Newcastle on the attack
View of the pitch looking towards the city
Standing with The Cove - The Sydney fanatics
CLUB HISTORY: (wiki)
Sydney FC is a professional football (soccer) club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and competes in the country's premier football (soccer) competition, the A-League. Sydney FC were inaugural winners of the A-League in 2006 and are considered as one of the most successful teams in Australia having won two national A-League Championships (2006 and 2010) and one Premiers' Plate (2010). Covertly, Sydney also remain the only A-League team to have won the OFC Champions League as since 2006, competing A-League teams have gained qualification to the AFC Champions League instead, in which Sydney has also competed finishing 2nd in the group stage of the 2007 season of the tournament and will also compete in the 2011 season. Having won titles in the W-League and in the National Youth League Sydney hold the distinction of being the only club in the A-League to have won all 3 competitions.
Its home ground is Sydney Football Stadium, a 45,500 seat multi-use venue in the suburb of Moore Park. Right from the beginning Sydney FC was marketed as the "glamour club" of the new competition, with the involvement of the club's high-profile personnel, including investor and actor Anthony LaPaglia, ex-Manchester United star Dwight Yorke as the team's first "marquee player" and 1990 FIFA World Cup winner Pierre Littbarski as manager in the first season. Sydney went on to sign Former English International defender Terry Butcher as the 2006–07 season coach, Brazilian superstar midfielder Juninho Paulista in the 2007–08 season, and Socceroos legend John Aloisi as striker in their 2008–09 season, with each as the highest paid footballer in Australia in their respective seasons. Strikers Benito Carbone of Italy, and Japanese legend Kazuyoshi Miura have also made appearances in the sky blue jersey.
The first steps towards the foundation of Sydney FC were taken in April 2004 when Soccer New South Wales (now Football NSW) announced their intention to bid for a licence in the new Australian football competition.
The bid was lodged with the Australian Soccer Association (now Football Federation Australia) on 19 July, challenged only by a consortium headed by Nick Politis, known as the "Sydney Blues", for Sydney's place in the 'one team per city' competition. A public row broke out between the two bidders after reports that the ASA were set to vote in favour of Sydney FC, causing Politis to withdraw his support for a team, and leaving Sydney FC as the only candidate remaining.
Sydney was officially launched as a member of the new 8-team A-League on 1 November 2004, with a 25% stake in the club held by Soccer NSW, the remainder privately owned. Walter Bugno was announced as the inaugural chairman of the club.
By February 2005, Sydney had filled 16 of their allowed 20 squad positions—attracting Socceroos Alvin Ceccoli, Clint Bolton, Steve Corica and David Zdrilic as well as youth internationals Justin Pasfield, Mark Milligan, Wade Oostendorp, Iain Fyfe and Jacob Timpano. German Pierre Littbarski was signed as Head Coach, to be assisted by former Norwich City player Ian Crook. Sydney FC played its first ever match against Manly United FC on 25 March 2005, winning 6–1. Shortly after, Sydney set off on a tour to the United Arab Emirates to play matches against local teams FC Hatta, Al Ain FC and Al Jazira, winning all three. Whilst in Dubai, Sydney FC announced that they had agreed to terms with former Manchester United player Dwight Yorke to join Sydney as their "marquee player" – one paid outside of the $1.5 million salary cap — for two seasons.
Sydney FC's first competitive match was held against Queensland Roar at Central Coast Stadium in Gosford as part of an Australian qualifying tournament to enter the 2005 Oceania Club Championship. After winning the match 3–0, Sydney went on to defeat Perth Glory and the Central Coast Mariners to win their first piece of silverware and qualify for the Oceania Club Championship, to be held in Tahiti. Despite an early scare against New Zealand club Auckland City FC, Sydney won all of their matches in the competition and qualified for the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship in Japan. The start of the 2005 Pre-Season Cup marked Sydney FC's first match at Sydney Football Stadium, as well as Dwight Yorke's first appearance for the club—Yorke scoring the first goal of Sydney's 3–1 win which stretched their unbeaten run to 9 competitive matches (15 including friendlies). Upon reaching the semi-finals, Sydney's unbeaten run finally ended at 11 with Perth Glory midfielder Nick Ward scoring in injury time to inflict the new club's first ever loss.
Sydney FC's first season was ultimately a success. Finishing 2nd on the ladder behind Adelaide United they went on to defeat Central Coast Mariners 1-0 in the 2006 A-League Grand Final with Steve Corica scoring in the second half. However their success wouldn't last long, with German manager Pierre Littbarski leaving the club due to being forced to accept a lower pay cheque[19] and inaugural marquee player Dwight Yorke being signed by Premier League club Sunderland. Former English international Terry Butcher was signed as their new coach for the 2006-07 season, however it was regarded as an overall failure, with Sydney playing poor football, despite the signing of Alex Brosque and Benito Carbone as a Guest player. Sydney also had 3 points taken away during the season, after it was found that they had breached the Salary cap, involving player David Zdrillic.[20] Despite the off field problems, Sydney scraped into the finals series, however lost out in the semi final to Newcastle Jets. Despite him leading Sydney into the finals, Sydney fans were unhappy with Butchers tactics, and both Butcher and Sydney FC went their separate ways. Sydney would then sign Branko Čulina for their 2007 Asian Champions League campaign, where they finished second in the group, one point behind ultimate champions and J-League heavyweights Urawa Red Diamonds. Despite the ACL success, Sydney FC's start to the 07-08 season was poor, and the club sacked him, replacing him with former Adelaide United manager John Kosmina. Sydney FC played well for the rest of the season, but got knocked out in the finals by Brisbane Roar.
Kosmina couldn't repeat the success of the previous season, replacing Brazilian international Juninho with Socceroos hero John Aloisi on a million dollar contract. However Aloisi didn't perform well at all during the season, and came under heavy fire, along with manager Kosmina, whose tactics were seen as controversial, and his relationship with the media, often becoming angry and frustrated didn't help causes either, many players fell out of favour with the coach, including Steve Corica and Clint Bolton and for the first time in the clubs history, they failed to make the play-offs. As a result Kosmina was fired, and new Owners were brought in - Russian billionaire David Traktovenko. The fresh change at the club was about to bear fruit, when Sydney announced they had signed Czech Republic manager Vítězslav Lavička. Lavicka completely changed the structure of the club, and for its first time turning it into a serious, European style football club. He kept faith in Steve Corica and John Aloisi and several others who had threatened to walk out on the club, and as a result, Sydney FC won its first premiership in the club's history. Sydney made it to the Grand Final of the 5th season of the A-League after defeating Wellington Phoenix in the preliminary final. The Grand Final was played against Melbourne Victory at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne. Sydney took the lead after 61 minutes through a Mark Bridge header, just seconds after Melbourne had a goal disallowed for offside. Melbourne equalised through Adrian Leijer in the 81st minute, and the game went on to a penalty shootout with no goals scored in extra time. Melbourne skipper Kevin Muscat missed his penalty, with his shot hitting the post. Sydney FC won the Grand Final 4-2 on penalties which handed them their second Hyundai A-League Championship.
HONOURS:
A-League:
Champions (2): 2005–06, 2009-10
Premiership (1): 2009-10
Finals Series Appearances (4): 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2009-10
Fair Play Award (1): 2009-10
Oceania Club Championship: 1
2005 — Champions
Oceania Club Championship Australian Qualifying Tournament: 1
2005 — Champions
Asian Champions League Appearances: 2
2007 — Group Stage
2011 — Group Stage
FIFA Club World Cup Appearances: 1
2005 — 5th
Pan-Pacific Championship Appearances: 1
2008 — 4th
STADIUM HISTORY: (wiki)
The Sydney Football Stadium in Moore Park, in Sydney, New South Wales – also known as the Allianz Stadium for sponsorship purposes – was built in 1988, to be the city's premier "rectangular field" for rugby league and is now also used for rugby union and association football for major matches and domestic competition. The Wallabies and the Socceroos occasionally play at the stadium, while the Sydney Roosters, NSW Waratahs and Sydney FC are the grounds major tenants.
The Sydney Football Stadium usually hosts both NRL semi finals and one preliminary final, and also held the annual pre-season Charity Shield football match between South Sydney and St George Illawarra for a number of years. All NSWRL / ARL Rugby League Grand Finals were played there between 1988 and 1998.
Prior to its construction, major events were usually held at the Sydney Cricket Ground, as it was the largest stadium in Sydney. But the SCG, being an oval field, was not considered ideal for sports requiring a rectangular field like soccer, rugby league and rugby union, although it had been used many times for such events. The Sydney Football Stadium was built upon the former Sydney Sports Ground in Moore Park, and the former SCG No 2 adjacent to the existing SCG. Both were owned by the SCG Trust. Its seating capacity was 41,159, but after numerous expansions, today stands at 45,500, although the venue's official record attendance for a sporting event stands at 43,967, for the 1994 FIFA World Cup Qualifier when Australia played Argentina.
The Sydney Football Stadium has been the Sydney Roosters' home ground since 1988. It is built on the site of the old Sydney Sports Ground which served as the Roosters home ground for decades, and the old SCG No 2 which served as a secondary ground for some state cricket matches, an additional training ground, and athletics. Both grounds were demolished in 1986 to make way for the SFS.
From 1988 to 2005 it served as the home ground for the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
It was used as the venue for the 2000 Summer Olympics Women's soccer gold medal match between Norway and the United States.
In 2002, the naming rights were purchased by Aussie Home Loans in a 5 year + 5 year deal. Due to this, the stadium was renamed Aussie Stadium. On 7 July 2007 the stadium reverted back to its original Sydney Football Stadium name after Aussie Home Loans and the SCG Trust mutually elected not to extend the naming rights deal.
In 2003, the SFS hosted several matches in the Rugby World Cup:
Ireland v Namibia
Argentina v Romania
Scotland v Fiji
South Africa v Georgia
Georgia v Uruguay.
This match was notable for attracting a crowd of 28,576, despite the low profiles of both teams
The Sydney Football Stadium has been the venue of some of Australian sport's greatest matches and moments such as the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier between Australia and Argentina featuring Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona, finishing in a 1-1 draw with goals to Aurelio Vidmar for Australia and Abel Balbo for Argentina. This match retains the record attendance at the SFS and many more were actually in attendance as the gates were thrown open close to kick-off as a safety measure. The final of the 1993 World Youth Cup between Brazil and Ghana was also held at the SFS, Brazil won 2-1, 1989 Rugby League Grand Final which was won by the Canberra Raiders over the Balmain Tigers 19-14, the 1991 Rugby League Grand Final won by Penrith over Canberra 19-12 in which Royce Simmons scored 2 tries in his final match, the 1997 ARL Grand Final between Newcastle and Manly which the Knights won 22-16 and two standout State Of Origin matches in which QLD triumphed over NSW with last-minute victories in 1994 and 1998 and Michael O'Connor's sideline conversion for a NSW win in Game 2, 1991. The ground also hosted many memorable semi-finals and Monday Night Football games in 1996.
In 2007 the Sydney Roosters High Performance Centre and Administrative departments set up their headquarters at the Sydney Football Stadium. In 2012, German insurance company Allianz secured the rights to the naming of the Sydney Football Stadium; the venue is now known as Allianz Stadium.
Sutherland Sharks FC - St George Saints (3:0) (Trial match, 4 February 2012)
Attendance: 200
Cost: Free
Programme: Nil
Entry to the ground, although the signs a little out of date
Ready for kick-off
Sutherland on the offensive early
Looking towards the entrance
Nice and even seating on the hill
View of the grandstand
Another view of the ground
Old school manual scoreboard
Nice little snack and beverage bar
CLUB HISTORY: (club webpage)
Sutherland Sharks have a longer and more intriguing history than many might imagine. Despite the adversity of a small population base and relative isolation (no direct road access to Sydney), the seeds of the current football club was sown as far back as 1930 with the formation of Sutherland United SFC.
By 1936, the club had grown sizeably leading to a split and formation of the club we know today, albeit under a different moniker - Casuals Soccer Football Club.
With the return of Servicemen following WWII, the population of the area quickly grew and with it the prowess of the Casuals. Up until this point the club had competed in the St George Association but in 1947 the Casuals stepped up to the Metropolitan Soccer League (effectively the Sydney 2nd Division, second in status behind only the old NSW Soccer Association 1st Division).
The club soon earned its stripes in this highly competitive league and to the surprise of many, won the title in just their second year. This success led to promotion to the heady heights of the Association 1st Division but disappointingly, financial constraints forced them to let the opportunity pass. It would be another 24 years before the club would move into the State’s top flight.
This on-field progress was matched by off-field success. Along with a name change to the more representative Sutherland Shire Casuals SFC in 1949, the club acquired a long-term lease on the Seymour Shaw field (1950) that they use to this day. However the club did not move permanently to the Miranda ground until 1959, continuing to use Sutherland Oval as their base for the majority of the decade.
In 1955, the club again changed its title – becoming the recognisable Sutherland Shire Soccer Football Club.
Two years later the club thought it had finally been promoted to the top echelon of State Soccer, but it was to prove a false dawn. This was the year that the breakaway NSW Soccer Federation was formed with this rival competition generally considered the stronger and more influential of the two. Sutherland reverted to the Federation 2nd Division in 1959 after the Association finally became extinct. Still Sutherland would have to wait before they could say that they had truly made the top flight!
During the following decade, the club further consolidated its position in the local community. In 1961 it amalgamated with the ailing St George district club (a separate entity to the later St George Budapest) and for a brief period became ‘Sutherland – St George SFC’ before reverting back to its original name a couple of years later. 1961 was also notable for the staging of a curious ‘International’ fixture at Seymour Shaw Park when the locals took on the Fiji National Team. The Fijians ran out 5-3 winners before an estimated 4,000 spectators.
In 1966 the club was granted a liquor license and duly opened a social club on the southern side of the ‘Fiveways’ at Miranda. Following early success the social club was forced to shut its doors for the final time in the mid 80’s due to financial constraints.
The Seventies proved a prosperous decade for the club. In 1971, under the tutelage of Mike Johnson (and with a side featuring current President, Paul Smith and former club coach John Lavin), they won the 2nd Division (now Division 1), thus securing the long awaited promotion to the top league in NSW soccer. Incidentally the club has not been relegated since (nor promoted to the NSL) giving them the longest concurrent Super League term of any club.
The first few years in Division 1 (now Super League) were tough, with the club finishing near the bottom of the ladder each year until 1977 when they reached the semi finals for the first time. In the following year, they won a major trophy for the first time when they claimed the prestigious Ampol Cup. Just to prove this was no fluke, later that year Sutherland defeated Sydney Croatia 2-1 in a replayed Grand Final at Wentworth Park to clam a remarkable double.
This began a long period of success for the club based almost entirely on homegrown talent, a policy which has been fostered by the club to the present day.
The club were perennial semi finalists throughout the late 70’s and 80’s, during which time they again won the Ampol Cup (1981) and also achieved another Grand Final success memorably coming from behind to secure a 3-1 win against Melita Eagles at St George Stadium (1986).
In 1984, the NSL was to be expanded by the addition of four Sydney clubs, with Sutherland tipped to secure the fourth and final berth. In perhaps the greatest disappointment of this period, the club was edged out of contention by the newly formed Penrith City, who failed to live up to expectations and folded two years later when relegated from the NSL.
In 1988, the Sharks, in what was quite a coup, hosted a friendly with the Socceroos in a warm up for the Bicentennial Gold Cup drawing what is generally considered a ground record of 4,500 spectators.
Whilst the 90’s have seen some disappointing seasons, the club has nevertheless recorded its first ever minor premiership in 1991, and followed this up with a repeat victory in 1996.
1996 also saw major improvements being carried out to Seymour Shaw, including the long awaited building of a 650 seat grandstand with all weather protection, corporate boxes and modern facilities.
The past 70 years have bought both success and disappointment to the Sharks, but all involved with the club are positive that the local spirit will herald continued success into the future.
The club entered the new millennium with financial difficulties and poor results. After staving off relegation for a few seasons the club was relegated for the first time in its long history in 2002. This saw a change in the committee backed by Major sponsor John Hills with an improvement on and off the field and in 2006 a bold bid to enter the new 10 team elite Premier League was succesful.
The Sharks began to build a formidable outfit and narrowly missed the semi-finals in 2007 but won the reintroduced Leader Challenge Cup against St George. In 2008 the club raised a few eyebrows when they when they won the NSW Premier League Championship (Minor Premiership) and lost the Grandfinal in a hard fought game to Wollongong. Again the sharks successfully beat St george to retain the Challenge Cup.
The ground record was broken in 2008 when over 5000 spectators crammed into Seymour Shaw to watch the Sharks take on the high flying “A” League side Sydney FC in a friendly. In a great exhibition the Sharks came away 1-0 winners.
In 2009 under coach Robbie Stanton the club swept all before it winning firstly the prestigeous NSW Tiger Cup, Leader Challenge Cup, and became Premiers beating Marconi 4-1 in the Grandfinal at Penrith's CUA stadium. The club had re-established itself as a powerhouse in State Football.
The past 80 years has seen many changes with both success and disappointment to the Sharks, but all involved with the club are positive the local spirit and pride will herald continued success well into the new millennium.
HONOURS:
NSW Premier League:
Champions (3): 1978, 1986, 2009
Premiers (2): 1991, 2008
STADIUM HISTORY: (wiki)
Seymour Shaw Park is a football (soccer) stadium in Miranda, New South Wales, Australia. It is the current home ground of the Sutherland Sharks Football Club who play in the state league, the New South Wales Premier League.
Seymour Shaw Park has been the Sharks home ground since the club's move from Sutherland Oval in the late '50s. The ground has continuously been used to host regular season club games along with hosting the TigerTurf Cup, similar to England's FA Cup, with the Grand Final being played at the ground due to the surface being Synthetic which is supplied by TigerTurf Accessories.
In recent times, the Sharks invested into Seymour Shaw Park to upgrade the facilities with additional seating in a new grandstand, upgrading of floodlighting and the installation of the synthetic turf, being completed in February 2007. It is both the first approved football field of any code and first FIFA approved field in Australia – ranked in the top 4 for quality out of 23 currently in the world.
