Cardiff JSFC

Cardiff JSFC is an amateur football (soccer) club based in Cardiff, which is a suburb of the city of Lake Macquarie. The club competes in the Junior grades of the Interdistric competition, a competition of Northern NSW Football and plays its home games at Evans Park. The club is a part of the Macquarie Football Zone. The Tigers have won one championship, defeating the Lambton Jaffas 1 - 0 in the 2009 Grand Final.

The club was formed in 1969 and the clubhouse was built with funds originally raised by the community.

Notable Seasons

2006

During the 2006 season, Cardiff managed to concede only 12 goals, however, due to problems up front between strikers Aaron Wright and Liam Watson, they failed to score in several games. This lead to a series of 0-0 draws and 1-0 defeats which left the Tigers in third place.

In the Minor Semi-final the Tigers came up against rivals Aberdare. Cardiff struck fisrt, with Aaron Wright scoring a free kick on the stroke of half time. However, Aberdare scored just 10 minutes into the second half. With the game heading for extra time, fullback and captain Hayden Richards took possession of the ball in his own half, ran it through the middle of the park and scored the winning goal with just four minutes left on the clock. Coming up against Morriset in the Preliminary Final, the Tigers were knocked out of the competition. The scores were locked at 0-0 and with the game deep in extra time, the referee awarded a direct free kick on the edge of the 18-yard box for a High Foot Infringement(which should bring an indirect free kick) in the final minute of the second half of extra time. Morriset scored this free kick with a curling shot which went in just under the right apex.

2008

The 2008 season brought AbOUT the Tigers' longest winning and unbeaten streak, with a run of 5 wins in at the start of the season, followed by a draw and another win. However, a form slump and poor refereeing displays(in the Maitland vs Cardiff game there were 3 occasions where the linesman signalled for offside, only for the referee to award a goal) saw the Cardiff slip from 2nd place on goal difference to 3rd place.

Playing against Maitland in the semi-final, the game looked to be set for extra time. However, with two minutes left to go, Cardiff goalkeeper Matthew Holloway was forced to dive backwards and punch a shot away from the goals. This shot was on the line when punched away, and the referee and linesman were forced to adjudge whether or not the ball completely passed the line. After a lengthy discussion, the goal was awarded and Cardiff were knocked out.

2009

2009 saw the most dramatic turnaround for the Tigers. Having won just three of the first seven games, and also drawn one, the Tigers were lingering in equal last place. The second half of the season was a completely different story for Cardiff however, with the team registering five wins from seven games. This huge effort was enough to pull the Tigers up from last place to 3rd place by the end of the season (there was a wash-out in round 7, meaning this game was played at the end of the season). Going into the minor semi-final, the Tigers stepped up their training regiem with intense focus on fitness and defensive play. This payed off well in the end, as the team was forced to endure a full game, plus extra time and penalties, all in 36 degree(CELSIUS) heat. With the scores locked at 0-0 at the end of regular time, extra time ensued. Cardiff midfielder James Nickels had the chance to win the game in the final minute of extra time, but his shot struck the left post and went out. This meant the game went into penalties. Each of the Cardiff players scored their penalties, with their goalkeeper Matthew Holloway saving Medowie's third shot-thus sending the Tigers to the preliminary final. The Preliminary final was a rematch of the 2006 final, with the team facing Morisset. Having gone 2 goals down in the first ten minutes of the game, all looked lost for the Tigers. However, with just five minutes remaining in the first half, captain Chris Emery connected with a free kick with a side-foot volley which curled around the Morisset wall and into the top left corner. At the second half kick-off, Cardiff striker Luke Blundell was passed the ball. He proceeded to run up the left touchline, before [...] into the box and scoring his 4th goal of the season. Cardiff striker Patrick Baker had a chance to win the game in regular time, but he failed to connect with the cross and the game headed into extra time. With three minutes to go before penalties, Morisset managed to score their 3rd goal of the game. With all hope appearing to be lost for Cardiff, in the final minute of extra time, Chris Emery managed to take possession and play a through ball in for Patrick Baker. Baker dribbled the ball into box and slotted it passed the keeper to equalise just before the final whistle. In the penalty shootout, Morisset sent their first kick over the cross bar, and Matthew Holloway saved the second shot, with the Tigers' first four kickers all scoring. This meant that the Tigers were through to their first Grand Final. Coming up against Lambton in the Grand Final, the Tigers endured an all-out assault for the first 50 minutes of the game, with their strikers barely getting a shot in. However, when a Lambton defender tripped Cardiff Winger Steve Marriot, the Tigers were awarded a free kick. Captain Chris Emery stepped up to take the free-kick and sent the ball curling into the box. The kick found the head of Luke Blundell, who headed the ball over the Lambton goalkeeper to take a 1-0 lead with only 20 minutes to full time. With the game, and the Championship, seemingly sown up, a Lambton midfielder managed to come free in the box with four minutes left in the game. The midfielder's shot was punched high by Matthew Holloway; however the shot stopper was out of range to PReVENT the ball from crossing the line when it came back down. Lambton's supporters rose to their feet in anticipation of the goal, only to have their hope crushed when Cardiff defender Donovan Stevens came steaming in from the left and sent the ball flying over the cross bar for a corner kick. The corner was easily defended, and the Tigers secured their first Major Premiership.

At the clubs' annual awards, the Tigers were awarded Cardiff JSFC Team of The Year.

2010

During the 2010 pre-season, the Tigers' head coach was changed to Bob Botham, as former coach Russel Marriott stepped down to become the fitness/conditioning coach

Just before the pre-season trial games, midfielder Brodie Featherston had a major spat with the head coach and was forced out of the team due to his negative attitude and poor training ethic, leaving the team with only 15 players.

Colours and badge

As of March 2010, the jersey for the 2010 season has not been decided upon.

Rivalries

• South Cardiff Gunners FC: Cardiff JSFC's biggest rivals are the Gunners, firstly due to the close geographical proximity. However, after several seasons of competing with each other, including several grand finals throughout all age groups, the two clubs have built up bitter rivalries with each other. Many players have been poached from one club to the other, which only intensified the rivalry.

• Aberdare FC: This rivalry was built during the 2006 season, when the two clubs played each other in 3 regular season fixtures, resulting in two wins for Cardiff and a draw(due to failed lights during a night fixture). The clubs met in the minor semi-final, with Cardiff progressing to the next round with a hard-fought 2-1 win. The next season Cardiff maintained its dominance over the Hunter Valley based club, with two more victories. During the 2008 season the two clubs were in different divisions, however in 2009 the clubs yet again met in the league. Cardiff continued their unbeaten streak against Aberdare with a 2-2 draw and a 5-1 victory. Aberdare has never won a game in this rivalry and are as such very bitter towards the Tigers.

Former notable players

Australia

• Braiden Spencer
• Hayden Richards
• Aaron Wright
• Beau Taylor

Captains

• Aaron Wright 2002 – 2004
• Hayden Richards 2005 – 2008
• Chris Emery 2009 – Present

Managers

• Spiro (2002–2005)
• Mic Spencer (2006)
• Murray Fennings (2007–2008)
• Russel Marriott (2009)
• Bob Botham (2010-)

Staff

Administration

• Glen Arnott: Football Operations Manager
• Blake Cleary: Events & Membership Manager
• Cathy Osborne: Commercial Manager
• Phil Jackson: Chief Financial Officer
• Julie McCabe: Media and Communications
• Suz Wilson: Administration Manager/Ticketing

Football department

• Glen Arnott: Football Operations Manager
• Chris Holloway: Assistant Coach
• Steve Molnar: Goalkeeping Coach
• Russel Marriott: Strength and Conditioning Coach
• Peter Darcy: Gear Steward

Honours

• Annual Cardiff JSFC Team Of The Year: 2009
• Junior Interdistrict Competition:
  • Macquarie Club Of The Year: 2009
  • Champions: 2009
  • Semi-Finalists: 2005, 2008
  • Preliminary Finalists: 2006
  • Fair Play Award: 2007
• Individual Awards:
  • Golden Boot: 2005 (Brodie Featherston)

Records

(All records as of Grand Final 2009)

Club

• Record victory:
  • Cardiff JSFC 16 def. Valentine 0, May 14, 2005 (Round 4)

• Record defeat:
  • Cooks Hill 8 def. Cardiff JSFC 0, May 26, 2007 (Round 6)

• Highest scoring game (16)
  • Cardiff JSFC 16 def. Valentine 0, May 14, 2005 (Round 4)

• Streaks (Including Finals)
  • Winning Streak: 5 Round 4 (May 17, 2008) - Round 8 (July 21, 2008)
  • Losing Streak: 6 Round 3 (May 5, 2007) - Round 8 (July 16, 2007)
  • Games without losing: 7 Round 4 (May 17, 2008) - Round 11 (September 26, 2008)(Round 10 was rescheduled due to rain)
  • Games without winning: 6 Round 3 (May 5, 2007) - Round 8 (July 16, 2007)

Player

• Most appearances:: (143) Chris Emery
• Most goals in a game: (9) Brodie Fetherston – Cardiff JSFC v. Valentine, May 14, 2005 (Round 4)
• Most Goals in a Regular Season: (45) Brodie Fetherston (The team was seriously miss-graded during the 2005 season and as a result enjoyed a number of quite big victories)
• Most Yellow Cards in a season: (2) Beau Taylor (2008)
• Most Red Cards in a Season: (1) Beau Taylor (2008)

Top goal scorers