Bankstown City FC

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Bankstown City Lions
Bankstown City FC.png
Full nameBankstown City Lions Football Club
Nickname(s)Lions, Sydney Makedonia
Founded1975 [1]
1988 (as Bankstown City Sydney Macedonia SC)
Ground Jensen Oval
Sefton, New South Wales
Capacity8,000 [2]
President Robert Mileski [3]
ManagerSash Tirovski [4]
League NSW League One
2023 10th of 16
Website Club website

Bankstown City Lions Football Club, commonly referred to as Bankstown City Lions or simply Bankstown City, is an Australian football club from Bankstown, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the NSW League One Men's, playing their home games at Jensen Oval. [5]

Contents

History

In the 1940s and 1950s the original Bankstown club played at Bankstown Oval and then in the 1960s and 1970s, they played out of a ground at Stacey Street and Gartmore Ave, Bankstown, then known as Bankstown Soccer Centre and now Ruse Park.

In 1975, Yagoona Macedonia was created by Macedonian immigrants in Yagoona and competed in their first domestic season and their first recorded game by the Bankstown Soccer Federation was against Padstow. As the years passed, so did the players and new faces began to emerge in the ever-growing Macedonian-Australian Sydney-based club.

By 1988, the original Bankstown club had become insolvent and there was no elite team in the local area for several years. A local consortium purchased Maccabi Hakoah's licence to participate in the New South Wales Division 2. Bankstown once again had a team in the NSW State League. The new club had strong support from the local Bankstown and wider Macedonian community in Sydney, and named itself "Sydney Macedonia". Sydney Macedonia finished 3rd in 1988. [6]

In 1989, the club was Champion of Division 2, losing only 3 games all season and received promotion to New South Wales Division 1. [7] They finished 6th in their first year in Division 1. [8]

In 1992, Sydney Macedonia played its first game in the top tier of NSW Football since the early 1970s. The following year, the club finished 2nd, [9] however they went on to win the grand final, scoring a goal in the final minute against perennial rival Blacktown City, and were Premiers of 1993. This was the first ever time that Bankstown had its team as champions of the NSW State League.

1994 was the most successful season in the club's history. The team lost only 1 game in the season, winning 16 games in total. They scored 52 goals and conceded 9, [10] and went on to win the grand final and finished as back-to-back Champions. In addition, Sydney Macedonia went on to play Sydney Olympic in the 1994 Waratah Cup Final at Marconi Stadium. Sydney Macedonia defeated Sydney Olympic, an NSL team, 2–1 at a sold out Marconi Stadium. The club had ensured the treble: Premiers, Back to Back Champions, Cup Winners. This still is the most successful accomplishment for football in Bankstown. After the 1994 season, the club reverted to its current name.

In 2001, Bankstown City won the NSW Winter Super League and were promoted to the NSW Premier League. [11] The club's members financed an upgrade to their home ground at Jensen Oval, which saw the installation of TV Standard lighting and covered seating.

In 2004, Bankstown City finished in the top four earning participation in the finals series. They went on to win the NSWPL Grand Final against Belconnen in front of 7500 fans at Marconi Stadium, bringing back the Championship to Bankstown for the first time in 10 years.

In 2005 local junior, former Socceroo and current player Sasho Petrovski re-joined Bankstown when the NSL was disbanded. Bankstown City started the season strongly, and finished the season in first place on the ladder despite losing Petrovski, and Chad Gibson to the A-League midway through the season. Peter Tsekenis took on the role of Player/Coach, and Bankstown City were for the second time in a decade back-to-back Champions, defeating Bonnyrigg White Eagles 3–1 in the Grand Final in front of 8000 fans at Parramatta Stadium. [12]

The 2007 season the first grade finished in second position on the ladder. In the finals, Bankstown City were defeated by Blacktown City in the grand final 3–1. While the youth finished in 3rd spot of the club championship, their highest achievement since coming into the competition.

Bankstown City defeated Sydney Olympic in the Final of the Waratah Cup for the second time in 2008 and prevailing 3–1 winners. [13] [14]

They were relegated to the NSW Super League (Tier 2) in 2011. In 2013 they competed in a revamped National Premier Leagues NSW 2 competition and suffered a further relegation to the NPL NSW 3 Men's competition in 2017.

In 2022, National Premier Leagues NSW 3 competition rename as NSW League Two and as end of season 2022, Bankstown City finish tops 8 and earning promotion back in NSW League One in 2023, [15] due to a restructuring of Football NSW competitions. [16]

Supporters

Bankstown City FC generally draws support from Macedonian Australians, especially from the south-western suburbs of Sydney such as Bankstown and Yagoona

"The Lions Pride", is the name given to the actively vocal supporters group of the soccer club.

Rivalries

Sydney Olympic FC

"Tensions always high between these two staunch rivals". [17] This is due to the rivalry steming from the Macedonia naming dispute, but also from the fact that the two clubs are some of Sydney's largest and most successful and have often contested each other for silverware such as the 1994 Waratah Cup final where Bankstown came out on top.

Rockdale Ilinden FC

Bankstown City and Rockdale Ilinden are the two biggest Macedonian Clubs New South Wales but Bankstown were the dominant force in this matchup until the late 2010s with Bankstown suffering relegation and Rockdale rising to the top of Football NSW and becoming premiers. This rivalry is a friendly rivalry with fans often following both clubs and hoping they both succeed.

Various other important rivalries over the years included matches against Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC, Sydney United 58 FC, Canterbury Bankstown FC, and Bankstown United.

Current squad

First team squad

As of 30 June 2024

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

No.Pos.NationPlayer
1 GK Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Stevan Savicic
3 DF Flag of Japan.svg  JPN Shun Maeta
4 DF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Nikola Djordjevic
5 MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Thomas Stefanovski
6 FW Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Chris Payne
7 DF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Jeffrey Issa
9 FW Flag of North Macedonia.svg  MKD Jonathan Grozdanovski
10 MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Devante Clut
11 FW Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Rhett De Silva
12 DF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Daniel Bakrdanikoski
No.Pos.NationPlayer
13 MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS James Mckenzie
14 MF Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Jamie Masson
15 DF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Brandon Talevski
16 MF Flag of Mauritius.svg  MRI Jacob Hewett
18 MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Dimitri Kostopoulos
19 DF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Luke Okuda
20 GK Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Jackson Jarnet
40 FW Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Mabior Garang
47 MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Toby Dance
MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Andrea Agamemnonos

U20's

Players to have been featured in a first-team matchday squad for Bankstown City in a competitive match

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

No.Pos.NationPlayer
30 GK Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Noah Elomar
32 DF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Zak Kayal
33 MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Sebastian Gorgievski
39 FW Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Andrej Poljcic
No.Pos.NationPlayer
41 FW Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Vlado Suput
45 MF Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Daniel Kovacs
51 GK Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Anthony Mylonas
59 FW Flag of Australia (converted).svg  AUS Nathan Cakovski

Management

Coaching staff

PositionStaff
Head coach Flag of Australia (converted).svg Sash Tirovski
Assistant head coaches Flag of Australia (converted).svg Carlo Musumeci
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Robert Di Meglio
Goalkeeper coach Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mario Farias
Under-20s head coach Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ratko Lovric

Seasons

SeasonLeague Waratah
Cup
Australia
Cup
OtherTop scorer
DivPWDLFAPtsPosFinalsPlayer(s)Goals
1988 NSW State League Second Division 2620426727442ndRU
1989 NSW State League Second Division 2621237217441st↑
1990 NSWSL 169252522206thRU
1991 NSWSL [lower-alpha 1] 2275+192930329th
1992 NSWSL [lower-alpha 1] 22110+473930376thScott Gilbert16
1993 NSWSL [lower-alpha 1] 26164+245325582ndW
1994 NSWSL [lower-alpha 1] 22162+31529551stWWScott Gilbert16
1995 NSWSL [lower-alpha 1] 2699+085545416th6RNikolce Joseski17
1996NSWSL1136252820205th5RNikolce Joseski21
NSWSL2136342524215th
1997NSWSL207673230275thEFRU
1998NSWSL2211474834377th
1999 NSWSL 2213184331405thPF
2000 NSWSL 269893938357th
2001NSWSL2214533914471st↑RU
2001–02 NSWPL 2210575148357th
2002–03 NSWPL 22651128452310thAleksander Asanovic7
2003–04 NSWPL 2212284033243rdW Matthew Borg 19
2004–05 NSWPL 2213633828451stW
2006 NSWPL 1810353528332ndPF
2007 NSWPL 188732920312ndRU 3R Tallan Martin11
2008 NSWPL 227692727277thWW [lower-alpha 2] Robert Mileski 5
2009 NSWPL 2211563931384thQF QF Hussein Salameh 11
2010 NSWPL 2275103741268th 4R Robert Mileski 11
2011 NSWPL 22631330472111th↓ 4R F. Graham - A. Hadid - H.Salameh -5
2012 NSW Super League 2215345329482ndSF QF W [lower-alpha 3] Gosue Sama21 [18]
2013 NPL NSW 2 22751030402610th 3R Sasho Petrovski [19] 10
2014 NPL NSW 2 2261063637287th 4R DNQBradley Boardman5
2015 NPL NSW 2 2210665620365thRU 6R DNQChris Gomez12
2016 NPL NSW 2 2214395341453rdEF 5R DNQChris Gomez12
2017 NPL NSW 2 26512032811614th↓ 4R DNQHuseyin Jasli13
2018 NPL NSW 3 2614486341465thEF 4R DNQAnte Tomic22
2019 NPL NSW 3 2617368247543rdSF 4R DNQNikola Todoroski32
2020 NPL NSW 3 118033024242ndRUNot HeldNot HeldAnte Tomic8
2021 NPL NSW 3 16952392832season cancelled 5R DNQNikola Todoroski10
2022 NSW League Two 2212194438376th↑ 5R DNQNikola Todoroski16
2023 NSW League One 30981340423510thNot held 3R DNQJonathan Grozdanovski9
2024 NSW League One 291757533556Not held 4R DNQW [lower-alpha 3] Chris Payne

Notable players

Honours

League

Cups

Bankstown City Women

2013 was a milestone year for the club with the introduction of Women's teams. The senior team were competitive from the start and secured promotion from the third tier Women's State League to the National Premier League 2 in 2015.

In 2017, Bankstown City were crowned Champions of the NPL2 Women's, defeating Sydney Olympic in the Grand Final and earning promotion to the NPL1 Women's for the first time in 2018.

The 2018 NPL 1 Women's season saw Bankstown in a relegation battle against Sutherland for the duration of the season, with the Club winning their last match, and finishing 10th out of 12 teams.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Draws went to penalty shoot-outs during the 1991–1995 seasons (2 points for win, 1 point for loss).
  2. Johnny Warren Cup
  3. 1 2 Maso Cup

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References

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