Western Suburbs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Western Suburbs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Western Suburbs Football Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Wests | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | 1906, as Hospital AFC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Endeavour Park/ Porirua Park Wellington |
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| Capacity | N/A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman | N/A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager |  Stu Jacobs |
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| League | Central League Premier League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central League 2005-06 | Central League, 2nd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Western Suburbs (Wests) is the premier soccer club in Wellington, New Zealand and current holders of the Chatham Cup. The 2005 season was particularly successful for the club with the First Team claiming the Central League championship and the Reserve side gaining promotion to the Capital Premier League.
Wests defeated Aucklander's Eastern Suburbs in the 2006 Chatham Cup final 3-0 on penalties after the game ended scoreless.
HISTORY
The club was established in 1906 as Hospital AFC, as a recreational outlet for staff at Porirua Mental Hospital.
Over a 50 year period, Hospital AFC became a feared name in local and national soccer. At a local level, it won the Venus Shield - the symbol of local soccer supremacy – 7 times, the Charity Cup 4 times, the Victory Cup 2 times, and the Power Cup 2 times. At a national level, it reached the Chatham Cup semi-finals in 1926, losing to North Shore in Auckland after extra time. It won the Cup in 1935, beating Christchurch’s Western 2-0.
Eight players were selected to represent New Zealand – George Hughes, Bill Skinner, Joe Kissock, Joe Todd, Ernie Jeffery, Willie Woods, Roy Coxon and George Dick. Bill Hicks, the founder of the club, was chairman of the WFA from 1928 to 1938, as well as secretary of the NZFA.
The name of the club changed to Western Suburbs in 1956, reflecting the growth of Porirua and Tawa, from which the club drew its playing strength.
WESTS - Back then
The club struggled for success in the late fifties and early sixties. However, at junior level, the club became a formidable force, with over 35 junior teams each season. The late sixties and early seventies proved to be a brilliant period for the club. It won the Central League First Division title in 1968 and 1969, in the league’s inaugural seasons, under the guidance of Hungarian coach Imre Kiss.
Due to the 1969 success, the club qualified for the first season of the National League in 1970. While the club struggled in National League, eventually being relegated at the end of the 1971 season, it performed well in the Chatham Cup, losing the 1970 final after a replay, to Blockhouse Bay, and winning in 1971, 3-2 against Wellington City. During this period, two players were selected to represent New Zealand – Dave Wallace and Allan Jeffery. Dave Wallace became the first New Zealand born player to captain New Zealand and Allan Jeffery followed in his father Ernie’s footsteps in representing New Zealand.
With relegation from National League, the name of the club changed to Porirua United, reflecting Porirua’s new city status.
PORIRUA UNITED - A new name
As time was to prove, the move to change name was a mistaken one as it alienated large parts of the club’s catchment area, and resulted in the formation of rival clubs.
As Porirua United, the club enjoyed initial success, winning the Central League title in 1974 and going close in 1975 and 1978. After this, the club’s fortunes gradually declined as those of rival local clubs strengthened. By 1982, Tawa and Viard had joined Porirua United in the Central League First Division. At the end of the 1983 season Porirua United and Viard amalgamated to become Porirua Viard United.
PORIRUA VIARD UNITED - another name, more titles
Viard had enjoyed and impressive period of success in both men’s and women’s soccer. On the men’s side Father Eidhof and Tom Thomas were guiding hands, driving the club to one title after another. On the women’s front, Viard competed fiercely with Miramar for soccer supremacy, winning the Kelly Cup in 1981 and 1984.
Porirua Viard United proved to be a competitive force in both men’s and women’s soccer. One of the club’s players, Heremaia Ngata, secured a professional contract with Hull City in 1988. Five women players were selected to represent New Zealand – Tina Salu, Julie Inglis, Rebecca Roche, Pauline Sullivan, and Kim Nye. The women’s team were joint National Champions in 1987, drawing the grand final with Auckland’s Eden. At the end of the 1992 season, Porirua Viard United amalgamated with Mana United, forming Western Suburbs. Mana United, over its 20 year history, had established a reputation as the best junior soccer nursery in Wellington.
WESTS - same name, new attitude
The rebirth of Western Suburbs saw a return to the heady days of the late sixties and early seventies. Over the last 10 years, the club won two Central League First Division titles, participated in the North Island League in 1999, finishing 8th. Wests also won the inaugural Capital Federation Championship in 2000.
The 2001 season was an up-and-down season under Ken Cresswell. After a poor start the team managed to get back on track and at one stage, had a chance of winning the title. Seeing we had lost nearly half of the 2000 Championship winning team, most people wrote Wests off as contenders and surprised many with a respectable 3rd place finish. The highlight of the season was probably beating Olympic both home and away. Seeing they had taken a number of our players from the following season, combined with the media writing us off as title contenders, this was a personal victory for all the players.
2002 brought a new coach, a new attitude and a few new faces to Wests. Ex-Wests captain, Martin Disley, took over as coach from Ken Cresswell, who had gone to Wellington United in the off-season. Under Disley, with the help of Assistant Coaches Andrew Eales and Brendan McIntyre, Wests regained a reputation for playing attractive and attacking football. This was best displayed in the latter stages of the season where Wests scored 27 goals in their final 5 games of the season, conceding just 7. With just 2 games remaining, Wests took the lead from Lower Hutt and needed a win against Petone in the final game of the season to secure their 4th League title in 6 years. Following their 2002 League Title, Wests went on to dispose of Havelock in the Regional Playoff 11-0 on aggregate. The National League Promotion Playoff was a mixed bag for Wests, picking up a win, a draw and a loss against Waitakere, Glenfield and Caversham respectively.
[edit] External links
| Central Premier League | ||
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Western Suburbs | Olympic | Gisborne City Marist | Lower Hutt City | Miramar Rangers | Wellington United | Napier City Rovers | Palmerston North Marist | Havelock North Wanderers | Red Sox Manawatu | Stop Out | edit |
