Sutherland Sharks FC - St George Saints (3:0) (Trial match, 4 February 2012)
Attendance: 200
Cost: Free
Programme: Nil
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| Entry to the ground, although the signs a little out of date |
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| Ready for kick-off |
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| Sutherland on the offensive early |
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| Looking towards the entrance |
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| Nice and even seating on the hill |
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| View of the grandstand |
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| Another view of the ground |
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| Old school manual scoreboard |
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| 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.
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