Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played with a spherical ball between two teams of eleven players. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies, making it the world's most popular sport. The game is played on a rectangular field called a pitch with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by moving the ball beyond the goal line into the opposing goal.
Sunshine is a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, lying 11 to 13 km west of the CBD, located within the City of Brimbank local government area. Sunshine recorded a population of 9,768 at the 2016 census.
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Its name refers to an urban agglomeration of 9,992.5 km2 (3,858.1 sq mi), comprising a metropolitan area with 31 municipalities, and is also the common name for its city centre. The city occupies much of the coastline of Port Phillip bay and spreads into the hinterlands towards the Dandenong and Macedon ranges, Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley. It has a population of approximately 4.9 million, and its inhabitants are referred to as "Melburnians".
Having been one of eight Victorian clubs to have participated in Australia's National Soccer League, the club's best achievement was reaching the playoffs as finalists in the 1986 season. Winners of the Australian Cup in 1964, Sunshine George Cross were named champions of the 1977 Victorian State League and were also runners up on 9 occasions.[1] Producing 5 Weinstein Medalists and three Bill Fleming Medalists throughout its history. The club was once proudly home to John Markovski, Craig Foster, Kevin Muscat, Emmanuel Muscat and Andrew Nabbout.
The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its demise in 2004, when it was succeeded by the A-League competition run by Football Federation Australia, the successor to the Australian Soccer Association.
John Markovski is an Australian football coach and former player.
Kevin Vincent Muscat is a former Australian international soccer player and current manager who has been head coach of Melbourne Victory since 2013. As a player, Muscat earned a reputation for his "hard man" physical style of play.
Sunshine George Cross wear red and white stripes for their home colours, the colours on the Maltese flag.
History
George Cross Football Club
Maltese migrants Danny Gatt, Bill Sandham and Angelo Puli instigated the formation of a Maltese backed football team after the Second World War. The club was officially launched on 12 March 1947, and was called George Cross Football Club. The club first entered a team in 1948, when they joined the Third Division. The club's first home ground was Royal Park. They played their first match on Saturday May 8, 1948, beating Woodlands 2–0. They finished the season in second place.
The next year, the young club took out the championship and was promoted to Second Division. In 1954, the club won the Second Division and were promoted to the highest level, the First Division, despite being just seven years young. In 1958, the First Division was named the State League for the first time, with George Cross achieving their goal of surviving in the league. 1959 was a great year for the club, finishing runners up in the league, but taking out the Sun Cup, the State League Cup and the Dockerty Cup. The trophies were celebrated in front of our 1,000 people, with the number of supporters of the club rapidly growing. 1961 saw the club introduce Juniors for the first time. In 1962, the club won its second Dockerty Cup. In 1964, the club won the Australia Cup, beating A.PI.A from N.S.W. 3–2 in front of over 15,000 at Olympic Park. The following year George Cross won the Ampol Cup beating Hakoah 3–0 in front of 10,000 fans in South Melbourne.
In 1967 George Cross moved to a new home ground in Selwyn Park in Sunshine. The club stayed at Selwyn Park for just two seasons, moving back to Olympic Park, struggling to find a permanent home ground solution. During the 1960s, grounds like the Showgrounds, Heidelberg’s Olympic Village, Shintler Reserve, Olympic Park’s number one and number two grounds, Elsternwick Park, Maribyrnong, Selwyn Park, St. Kilda Cricket Ground and Optus Oval were just few grounds the George Cross Football Club has used as home grounds.
In 1968, long serving President Lou Debono retired, ending a 14-year spell as president. He was affectionately known as the father of George Cross.
Between in 1958 and 1976, the club finished runners up in the State League competition eight times– earnings themselves the title of perennial runners up. That all changed in 1978, though. In 1977, Mooroolbark, J.U.S.T., Heidelberg and Hellas joined the NSL. This made the club more determined than ever before to win the State League, which they did. They finished 7 points above Slavia in the 1978 season. In 1979 and 1980, financial trouble began to hit and the club managed just 7th and 8th-placed finishes in the league. Hiring Olympic Park was a burden on the club, with gate takings not being enough to cover rent. In 1980, the club made the decision to move back to Selwyn Park. A longer term solution was finally found in 1980, when the Sunshine Council gave a long term lease on Chaplin Reserve to George Cross.
In 1983, George Cross amalgamated with Sunshine City to become Sunshine George Cross.
National Soccer League Years
In 1984, the club made an application to join the newly expanded National Soccer League and was accepted. The club finished bottom, but as no other Victorian club wished to join the league, they retained their place. In 1985, the club finished 6th. In 1986, the team finished in 4th place, just 1 point behind 1st. The club was almost relegated in '87, but a heroic effort saw them climb to just 2 points above Heidelberg to retain their NSL status. During this decade, players like John Markovski, Chris Taylor, Andrew Marth, Paul Trimboli and Kevin Muscat donned the George Cross crest. During the 80's, George Cross were known as they Great Survivors due to their numerous close brushes with relegation.
In the 1989–90 NSL season, the first summer season, the Georgies played their first home game at their new ground in Skinner Reserve against the Ferenc Puskas led South Melbourne Hellas team. The Georgies won 2–0 in front of over 6,000. A 15 year old Kevin Muscat debuted in this season. In the 1990–91 season, the Georgies finished second last and had to reapply for a position in the NSL. This was denied.
Return to Victorian Football
The Georgies returned to the VPL for the 1992 season. Most of the squad left, and the club did quite well to finish in 6th position. In 1993, John Markovski returned as a guest player, scoring 18 goals as the club reached the preliminary final. In 1994, the Victorian Soccer Federation renamed the club Sunshine Georgies. In 1997, Sunshine George Cross bought Chaplin Reserve from the State Government. Club officials made it official by signing the deal at the club's 50th Anniversary Dinner Ball held at the Lakeside Banquet & Convention Centre on Saturday June 28, 1997. Saso Markovski scored a club record 25 goals that season. In 1998, the club tightened the budget and cut many senior players, replacing them with much younger ones. The club struggled and were relegated to the First Division. This was the first time George Cross had been relegated from the Premier League since 1958.
At the end of the 2000 season the club made the decision to go amateur. The club entered the 2001 season with what was practically the under 16 team from the previous season. Most of the supporters stopped attending matches, with only a handful, loyal supporters standing by the club. The club was at its lowest point in a long time and there were great fears the club would go bust. The team went all season without a win and were relegated. In 2002, a new committee took over with the goal of getting the Georgies out of this mess, consolidation and eventually back up into the First Division and above. The first win of 2002 came in round 13 when the Georgies won 2–1 at Croxton Park to end a run of 40 games without a win. The club managed to survive in the Second Division in 2002, and went about strengthening for 2003. The club went neck and neck with Pascoe Vale SC, just edging them to the 2003 Second Division championship. The team also won the State League Cup that year. It was the club's first cup win in 25 years. In 2004, the club shot up to the top of the First Division ladder, going neck and neck with Heidelberg United FC all season, who ended up winning the race by two points. The second-place finish meant promotion for the Georgies who, against all odds, returned to the Victorian Premier League.
Heidelberg United Football Club is an association football club based in the northern Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia. The team currently competes in the National Premier League Victoria. Heidelberg are one of six state league teams to have eliminated an A-League team in the FFA Cup, along with Blacktown City FC, Redlands United FC, Green Gully SC, APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC and Adelaide City FC.
The return to the VPL was always going to be tough, with the Georgies in a relegation dogfight from the offset. In the final round of the season, a point achieved from a 0–0 draw with Melbourne Knights FC was enough to ensure VPL football for another year. George Cross survived again in the 2006 season, but only on a technicality, as Essendon Royals were relegated for fielding an ineligible player. In 2007, the Football Federation of Victoria announced that four sides would be relegated from the VPL as the number of teams was being reduced. George Cross finished 3rd bottom and were relegated. In 2008, an Andy O'Dell lead George Cross took out the State League 1 championship, edging Dandenong Thunder by three points. In 2009, the club finished in 8th place. In 2010, players began to leave halfway through the season and Andy O'Dell quit his position as head manager. Sunshine George Cross slipped from 5th to last place, following 9 successive defeats. It was close with the relegation issue was not being settled until the final day when the Georgies lost 4–0 to South Melbourne and Bentleigh Greens upset the league leaders Richmond to avoid the drop. The club played their home matches at Knights Stadium that year, which incurred high costs on the club. The club's previous name of Sunshine George Cross FC was restored after a long time being known as Sunshine Georgies.[2]
Melbourne Knights FC is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in the suburb of Sunshine North, Melbourne, Victoria. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria. It is one of the most successful soccer clubs in Australia, being a two-time championship and four-time premiership winner in the now defunct National Soccer League (NSL).
In 2011, Sunshine George Cross finished in 7th position in the Victorian State League Division One. The following year, the club endured similar fortunes, finishing in 8th position. In 2013, the club's results improved and the Georgies just missed out on promotion, finishing in 3rd place, three points off Werribee City.
National Premier Leagues Victoria
In 2014, after a restructuring of football in Victoria, Sunshine George Cross FC had their application for a place in the new National Premier Leagues Victoria accepted and were placed into National Premier Leagues Victoria Division One, effectively the second division of football in Victoria, the same tier they were in previously. The club finished in 9th position out of 14 teams in their first year in the NPL1.[3]
The National Premier Leagues Victoria is an Australian professional association football league comprising teams from Victoria. As a subdivision of the National Premier Leagues, the league sits at Level 1 on the Victorian league system. The competition is administered by Football Federation Victoria, the governing body of the sport in the state. In 2014 the league was rebranded from the Victorian Premier League to reflect the league joining the National Premier Leagues.
In 2015, the NPL1 was split into East and West conferences after more sides were accepted into the NPL. George Cross was placed into NPL1 West. The club finished in 8th place in the 10 team West conference and 15th overall.[4]
Development of the Fraser Rise Sporting Complex
On 4 June 2015, Jamie Chetcuti, the president of Sunshine George Cross, announced that following the sale of Chaplin Reserve, the Club is "currently working with a municipality with the intent of developing a state of the art facility that George Cross juniors and senior’s players, staff and parents will call home".[5] In July 2016, it was confirmed that George Cross will play their final game at Chaplin Reserve on 25 Feb 2017.[6] Chaplin Reserve will be converted into townhouses, while Georgies will move out to a new facility in Taylors Hill, which will become a home base for both the club's senior and junior sides.[6]
Following a melee in a pre-season friendly in January 2016 against local rivals North Sunshine Eagles FC, George Cross were deducted 4 NPLV 2 West championship points and fined $1,000.[7] Georgies finished the season in 9th place. In 2017, George Cross had an improved season, finishing equal third in the 10-team NPL2 West.
Sunshine reached an agreement with Melbourne Knights FC to play out of Knights Stadium for 2018. After a 9-2 loss to Altona Magic SC and a 7-0 loss to St Albans Saints in the first four rounds of the 2018 season, long-serving head coach Tony Ciantar resigned and was replaced by Joe Kovacevic. Kovacevic resigned only a few weeks into his reign, with technical director Vaughan Coveny taking over until the end of the season. George Cross were relegated at the end of the 2018 season, finishing the season in bottom place.[8] As a result of the senior side's relegation, the club's juniors were also relegated from the NPL competitions.
For the 2019 season, coinciding with the move to Fraser Rise, the club changed its name to Caroline Springs George Cross FC. George Cross appointed Corey Smith as the new senior head coach.[9]
Sunshine George Cross FC has a sister club relationship with Maltese-founded and Western Melbourne based club Green Gully Cavaliers. It is believed that both clubs adopted their familiar stripes from the Maltese club Floriana.
Current squad
As of 12 June 2017Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
South Melbourne Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in suburb of Albert Park, in Melbourne, Victoria. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria, with matches played at Lakeside Stadium.
Soccer in the Australian state of Victoria is organised by Football Federation Victoria (FFV). FFV is a member of the national Football Federation Australia.
St Albans Saints Soccer Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in St Albans, Victoria. Established by local Croatian Australians, the club is a regular participant in the Australian-Croatian Soccer Tournament. The club is well known for having produced many great players over the years, including many that have gone on to play for its sister club the Melbourne Knights. Dinamo won promotion to the National Premier League (NPL) Victoria for the 2017 season but, after finishing second last, was relegated to the NPL 2.
Green Gully Soccer Club is an Australian football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Green Gully is one of the largest clubs in Melbourne, having participated in the now defunct National Soccer League between 1984–1986. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria, with matches played at Green Gully Reserve in Kealba. Green Gully have won the Victorian state league title nine times, second only to South Melbourne FC with ten. It is one of six state league teams to eliminate an A-League team in the FFA Cup, alongside Blacktown City FC, Heidelberg United FC, Redlands United FC, Adelaide City FC and the Bentleigh Greens SC.
Altona Magic Soccer Club is a soccer team based in Altona North, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1968, Magic plays out of Paisley Park Soccer Complex. In 2019, Altona will make a return to the National Premier Leagues Victoria, following successive promotions in 2017 and 2018.
Oakleigh Cannons Football Club is a soccer club based in the south-east Melbourne suburb of Oakleigh, Victoria, Australia. The club, established by members of Oakleigh's Greek Australian community, currently competes in the NPL Victoria. The club is located at the Jack Edward’s Reserve, Edward Street, Oakleigh.
Preston Lions Football Club is a soccer club from Preston, a northern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The club was established in 1947 to play non-professional soccer matches against other teams in the local community until 1959, and 12 years later, they joined the Victorian Soccer Federation, the club's first season in an officially sanctioned competition. The Lions currently compete in the Victorian State League Division 1,which is the 4th Tier in the Australian soccer league system. The Club won the Victorian Premier League in seasons 1980,1994, 2002 and 2007.
North Geelong Warriors Football Club, formerly known as North Geelong Croatia, is an Australian semi-professional soccer club from the regional Victorian city of Geelong. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria 2, Australia's joint third division in the country's league system. The club was founded in 1967 by a large contingent of ethnic Croatians in the city of Geelong. The Warriors' home base is Elcho Park in the northern Geelong suburb of Lara.
Port Melbourne SC is an Australian soccer club based in Port Melbourne, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. The club was formed in 1968 by local Greek Australians, and was promoted over the years to the Victorian Premier League in 1994. It spent the years 1994–2003 in the Victorian Premier League, winning the minor premiership twice, but was unable to secure the title during its time in the VPL. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria. Port Melbourne’s home strip consists of a red and blue striped jersey.
Bentleigh Greens Soccer Club is an Australian semi professional soccer club based in Cheltenham, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. The club was formed in 1986, by the Greek Cypriot community and currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria. Bentleigh made nationwide headlines when it became the first club below the A-League to make the semi-final of the FFA Cup in 2014. The Greens hit another milestone a year later when they claimed their first major trophy, the NPL Victoria title. In 2016, Bentleigh Greens became Victorian top-flight league premiers for the first time.
Northcote City Football Club is a soccer club based on the border of Thornbury and Northcote, Victoria (Australia). Formed in 1960 by local Greek Australians, the club currently competes in the NPL Victoria 2
Hume City Football Club is a football club based in Broadmeadows a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established by the local Turkish Australian community, the club competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria. The club, known by the local Turkish Australian community as Anadoluspor, is the most successful Turkish Australian-backed football club in Australia.
Melbourne Knights FC has a long and illustrious history in Australian football. Since the club's humble beginnings in 1953 it would go on to become one of the most successful football clubs in Australia with the club's peak coming in the mid-1990s when they were crowned Australian champions, winning back-to-back National Soccer League titles.
Avondale FC is an Australian semi-professional association football club based in Avondale Heights a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria, having reached the top tier of Victorian football.
Moreland City Football Club is an Australian soccer club based in Coburg, Victoria, Melbourne. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria 2.
Whittlesea Ranges is a semi-professional soccer club based in the suburbs of Epping and Lalor, Victoria, Australia. All home games are played at Epping Stadium.
Nunawading City Football Club is an Australian semi-professional association football club based in Forest Hill, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1971, the club currently competes in the Victorian State League Division 1 South-East.
North Sunshine Eagles FC is a soccer club from St Albans, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is an Albanian Australian-backed club.
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