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Albion Rovers FC (Cairnlea)

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File:Cairnlea 2013 team photo with Clubroom in the backdrop.jpg
Typical match day at Cairnlea Park, Cairnlea
Cairnlea FC
Cairnlea FC emblem
Full nameCairnlea FC Sports Club Inc
Nickname(s)The Army, The Reds
Founded1969
GroundCairnlea Park
Capacity1000
PresidentAustralia Yagiz Adal
CoachAustralia Kruni Razov
Assistant CoachAustralia Mustafa Mustafa
LeagueVictorian State League Division 1 N/W
Websitehttp://www.cairnleafc.com.au
[[Victorian State League Division 1|Current season]]

Cairnlea FC Sports Club Inc. is a football (soccer) club based in Cairnlea, Victoria, Australia. The club was formerly known as the Albion Rovers Soccer Club which was formed by the amalgamation of Royal Park Soccer Club and Albion Rovers Soccer Club in 1982. Since this time the club has enjoyed success playing at the highest levels in Victorian football including finals campaigns in the Victorian Premier League (VPL), a host of Victorian State League titles and many League Cups. Currently the club's Senior Men team plays in the Victorian State League Division 1 N/W competition while the Senior Woman team play in the Victorian Women's Premier League.


History

Royal Park Soccer club was first formed in 1969 by the members of the Cyprus Turkish Association which consisted of first and second generation Turkish Cypriots. Some members of the association suggested that efforts towards other projects such as building a new Mosque was more beneficial for the Turkish community before the establishment of a sporting club. However, after much deliberation the association decided that a sports and recreation club would not only provide an opportunity to engage the Turkish Cypriot community, but a better means of migrating its people into the Australian community - hence the club was born.

File:Royal Park Soccer Club Men's team 1970.jpg
A rare photograph of the Royal Park Soccer Club team circa 1970.

An initial sum of $500 was allocated towards the establishment costs of the Soccer club. The money allocated went towards purchasing essentials such as soccer balls, netting for the goals and other necessities. The first initial matches were organised friendly games against other nationality clubs. These games were played in Carlton at Princess Park on the famous Ground Number 6 and the majority of the players from Royal Park came from the Cyprus Turkish Association. The team was also known to have a few skillful players of Albanian background. Royal Park Soccer Club joined the Victorian Amateur Soccer Federation entering at the lowest division in the season of 1969. A one dollar fee was charged to the players per game to cover their insurance and other playing costs. The team would travel as far as rural Mornington, Victoria to officially complete against other clubs.

The following year, Royal Park Soccer Club began to attract the interest of the new immigrants from Turkey. The club decided to register several experienced immigrant players who had played professionally in the Turkish Football leagues in hope that the experience would bring much improved team performances. At the end of the season Royal Park achieved promotion much to the delight of the Turkish Cypriot community. The level of community support for the team could be measured by the increased number of spectator cars parked around the ground, beeping horns, flashing lights and cheering the team on match days.

File:Albion Turk Gucu Soccer Club Men's team 1988.jpg
A rare photograph of the Albion Turk Gucu squad 1988 with the famous Selwyn Park grandstand in the backdrop.

Several years later in 1986, Royal Park Soccer Club and the Cyprus Turkish Association decided to relocate to Sunshine, Victoria after the sale of the club building. Royal Park merged with Scottish side Albion Rovers Soccer Club who was based at Selywn Park, Albion and playing in the Victorian State League division 1. The new club provided excellent facilities including a large clubroom, change room and generous grandstand, however the amalgamation was seen as a logical move as it allowed the club to grow amongst the local Turkish Cypriot community.

After a season of power-sharing between the Turkish Cypriots and Scots, an AGM was called to determine the future of the Soccer club. A members vote resulted in the election of a new Turkish president and the club would be known as Albion Rovers "Turk Gucu" Soccer Club. By the late 1980's, the Scots interest in the administration of the club declined, despite a promotion to the Victorian Premier League in 1989. The Scots opted to take a minority role in running the club but remained as loyal supporters. The Turkish Cypriot club members then decided to acknowledge its Scottish heritage by adopting a young Scottish man with a minor mental impairment as it's club mascot. The young man known as "Johhny" would lead the team out on match days, sit with the team on the substitutes bench, as well as display his silky skills at half time much to the delight of the faithful.

Years later the club merged with Albion Rovers Soccer Club and played out of Selwyn Park, Albion in the Victorian Premier League for more then 10 years in front of thousand of people at home games. During their time at Selwyn Park the team would be known as Albion Rovers, Albion Turkgucu and Albion Redsox. Players such as Levent Osman, Ossie Latif, Ossie Fehmi, Ayhan Patsaman, Yasar Behich, Tamer Simsek, Mustafa Mustafa, Serhat Hulusi, Eddie Cetkin, Don MacLeod, Goran Georgieski, Jonathan Carter, Tyron James, Charlie Villani, Sertac Karayel, Paul Donnelly, Steve Douglas, Joe Spiteri, Zoran Markovski, Gunay Kuyucuogullari, Claude Lucchesi, Ernie Toth, Luciano Trani, John Grimaud, Les Carter, Enver Osman, Salih Sozer and Kevin Muscat all played for the Albion during their time at Selwyn Park.

In the late nineties the club was moved to McPherson Park in Melton, Victoria, which proved to be a tough time. Supporter base was radically down, the club would be known as Melton Reds and play in front of a handful of people. This would see the downfall of the club, as it would be relegated from the Victorian Premier League.

In early 2000 the club would temporally base itself out of the Sunshine George Cross home ground in Sunshine, Victoria and then move onto Bulla for 3 seasons they would also change their name to Albion Rovers. This proved to attract more loyal fans back to the club. In 2001 the club would be crowned Champions of State League 2 – North West. The same year Mustafa Mustafa would be crowned Victorian State League 2 Player of the Year. It was good times for the Rovers who closely missed out on promotion the previous season.

While the senior men team would base itself out of Bulla the juniors were based out of Lloyd Reserve in Albion. The club known as the Albion Junior Soccer Club was one of the first club in the state of Victoria to field girls into playing football. It was in 1999 when Kara Theodorou, Damala Mutluel and Tijen Hussein completed their first season in football. The move to give the young female footballers the chance paid off with the girls demonstrating the skills year in year out and going on to be selected in their respective Victorian teams. In 2001 Tijen Hussein, Damla Mutluel and Kara Theodorouall got selected for the Victorian Primary Schools Team furthermore Damla Mutluel went on to get selected to the Football Federation Victorian Team. While it was good time for the girls, it was more difficult time for the men. They would be relegated two leagues into State League 3 – North West.

The female success paved the way for other females to participate and encouraged the club to create our first female team in 2004. This was a challenging task as the girls were still 12-year’s old. The club entered the young girls into the Under-16s league and the girls were thrashed all year including an 18 nil thumbing in their first game to Sandringham. The humiliation would be forgotten the following year as the girls went on to win the Under 16B N/W Championship.

In 2006 the senior teams would move facilities yet again this time it would be closer to its more traditional supporter base. They temporary based themselves out of Green Gully Reserve, during this time under coach Ossie Fehmi, the club would miss out on promotion by one point. In 2007 the club would be awarded the facilities of Cairnlea Park in Cairnlea following the assistance of Brimbank City Council and Mayor Natalie Suleyman. The new name of the club would be known as Cairnlea FC. It proved to be a successful season under the guidance of new coach Dusan Kaledzic the team would be promoted to State League 2 – North West. Players such as Salih Sozer, Erdem Koc, Sener Genc and Oguzhan Gurkan would prove to be the critical in the promotion.

In 2008 the club would move to its new home of Cairnlea Park in Cairnlea. The same year the senior men would be relegated back to State League 3 – North West after a disappointing season. The success story would be the Senior Girls team. The girl’s team would emerge as the powerhouse of the western suburbs female football. They went onto to win various leagues and gain promotions in years 2009, 2010 and 2011 under the guidance of former player and 2012 Brimbank Coach of the Year, Mustafa Fehmi. The success paved the way for our team to complete in the Women’s Premier League of Victoria, the highest possible league any female team could participate in Victoria. The team is the only club in the western suburbs of Melbourne who currently participate in this league. They have also won the annual Brimbank Cup in years 2012, 2013 and 2014.

In 2013 the Senior Men won State-league 3 North-West championship in remarkable fashion including going 10 games unbeaten. On the final league game of the season Cairnlea FC travelled to Sunbury United FC who were in second place by goal difference. In third place was North Sunshine Eagles by 3 points but a better goal difference then Cairnlea FC and Sunbury United. The game between Carinlea FC and Sunbury United finished nil all. The golden boot winner for the league was Cairnlea FC’s Adem Alicevic with 18 goals and his runner-up was teammate Adamson Ajayi with 17. The two proved to be an exciting strike force throughout the season. Club captain Mustafa Mustafa was awarded Victorian State League 3 Player of the Year Award while fellow teammates Adamson Ajayi and Adem Alicevic finsihed in 3rd and 4th place respectively capping off a remarkable year. This was the first time in Cairnlea FC history and only the second time since our amalgamation that it had won a championship. It would also be the final season of club legend Salih Sozer, who followed the club around from home to home. The famous number 17 would call it quits from semi-professional football.

Currently our Senior Women play in the Womens Premier League and our Senior Men play in State League 1. This is incorporated with an excess of 350 junior players ranging from age 6 to 18. Today our club Cairnlea FC provides and caters for a strong and vibrant local community.

Club Name Changes

1969 - Royal Park Soccer Club
1978 - Albion Leyland Soccer Club
1992 - Albion Turk Gucu Soccer Club
1994 to 1996 - Albion Redsox Soccer Club
1997 to 1998 - Melton Reds Soccer Club
1999 to 2000 - Satellite City Rovers Soccer Club
2001 to 2006 - Albion Rovers Soccer Club
2007 onwards - Cairnlea FC

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Australia AUS Ante Loncaric
2 DF Australia AUS Aziz Paytoncular
3 DF Australia AUS Taskin Suleyman (3rd Captain)
4 DF Australia AUS Jossip Jurjevic
5 MF Australia AUS Mehmet Karakilic
6 MF Australia AUS Adem Ikiz
22 MF Australia AUS Mustafa Mustafa (Captain)
8 MF Australia AUS Tom Razov
9 FW Australia AUS Adamson Ajay
10 FW Australia AUS Kemal Irdem (Vice-Captain)
11 FW Australia AUS Adem Alicevic
No. Pos. Nation Player
12 FW Australia AUS Osman Mustafa
13 DF Australia AUS Sener Genc
14 DF Australia AUS Mustafa Uzunay
15 MF Australia AUS Phong Hoang
16 FW Australia AUS Leon Osei
17 FW Australia AUS Lewis Bilbao
18 DF Australia AUS Metekan Yilmaz

Competition timeline

Season League P W D L F A Pts Position
1977 Victorian Metropolitan League Division 1 22 16 1 4 61 61 35 1
1978 Victorian State League 22 4 6 12 28 44 14 11
1979 Victorian State League 22 4 6 12 23 41 14 14
1980 Victorian Metropolitan League Division 1 22 8 5 9 33 31 21 6
1981 Victorian Metropolitan League Division 1 22 13 4 5 45 27 30 2
1982 Victorian State League 26 6 10 10 37 37 22 9
1983 Victorian State League 26 6 5 15 16 41 17 12
1984 Victorian State League 26 8 7 11 23 35 23 9
1985 Victorian State League 26 6 5 15 20 40 17 13
1986 Victorian League Division 1 26 5 6 15 30 50 16 12
1987 Victorian League Division 1 26 11 5 10 32 31 27 7
1988 Victorian League Division 1 26 10 5 11 31 28 25 9
1989 Victorian League Division 1 26 13 10 3 34 18 36 2
1990 Victorian State League 34 16 7 11 41 33 39 7
1991 Victorian Premier League 26 9 8 9 43 32 26 8
1992 Victorian Premier League 26 13 3 10 35 34 29 7
1993 Victorian Premier League 26 9 10 7 33 30 28 7
1994 Victorian Premier League 26 6 9 11 33 53 21 11
1995 Victorian Premier League 26 11 6 9 31 32 39 5
1996 Victorian Premier League 26 5 6 15 26 43 21 10
1997 Victorian Premier League 26 2 3 21 29 98 9 14
1998 Victorian League Division 1 26 0 2 24 15 174 -1 14
1999 Victorian State League Division 2 26 6 6 14 27 48 24 11
2000 Victorian State League Division 2 Nth-West 22 13 6 3 53 21 45 3
2001 Victorian State League Division 2 Nth-West 22 13 7 2 69 26 46 1
2002 Victorian State League Division 1 22 7 8 7 40 35 29 7
2003 Victorian State League Division 1 22 4 4 14 29 44 16 11
2004 Victorian State League Division 2 Nth-West 22 3 4 15 23 61 13 11
2005 Victorian State League Division 3 Nth-West 22 6 1 15 40 56 19 9
2006 Victorian State League Division 3 Nth-West 22 8 8 6 46 39 32 4
2007 Victorian State League Division 3 Nth-West 22 11 8 3 47 23 41 2
2008 Victorian State League Division 2 Nth-West 22 5 4 12 35 41 19 11
2009 Victorian State League Division 3 Nth-West 22 8 6 8 25 30 30 7
2010 Victorian State League Division 3 Nth-West 22 11 3 8 53 32 36 5
2011 Victorian State League Division 3 Nth-West 22 7 3 12 45 52 24 10
2012 Victorian State League Division 3 Nth-West 22 7 4 11 22 37 25 9
2013 Victorian State League Division 3 Nth-West 22 13 4 5 53 31 43 1

Honours

References

  1. ^ 1977 Victorian State Division 1 – Season Table
  2. ^ 1981 Victorian State Division 1 – Season Table
  3. ^ 1981 Victorian State Division 1 – Season Table
  4. ^ 2001 Victorian State Division 2 – Season Table
  5. ^ 1973 Victorian State Division 2 – Season Table
  6. ^ 1966 Victorian State Division 3 – Season Table
  7. ^ 2007 Victorian State Division 3 – Season Table
  8. ^ 1965 Victorian State Division 4 – Season Table
  9. ^ 1987 Victorian State League Cup – Season Table
  10. ^ 2011 Victorian Women's State League Division 1 – Season Table
  11. ^ 2010 Victorian Women's State League Division 2 – Season Table
  12. ^ 2009 Victorian Women's State League Division 3 – Season Table

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