Queen's University Belfast A.F.C.
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| Queen's University Belfast | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Queen's University Belfast Association Football Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | 1908 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Newforge Lane, Belfast |
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| Chairman | Denis Clarke | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager | Neil Evans | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Irish League Division 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007-08 | 10th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Queen's University Belfast is a Northern Ireland football club playing in the Irish Second Division. The club, founded in 1908, is based in Belfast and plays their home matches at Newforge Lane, which is the home ground of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (P.S.N.I.).
The 2007/08 season saw Queen's finish in 10th position, a marked improvement on their recent performances in the Carnegie Second Division. Also during that season, ambitious plans were announced regarding the introduction of a soccer academy at Queen's University to mirror those already existing within the University's Rugby Union and Gaelic Athletic Associations. It is hoped that forming the academy will tempt current students plying their trade in the Premier Division and First Division of Northern Irish football to opt for their University side instead. Queen's have also expressed an interest in competing in the new Premier Intermediate League set to begin in August 2008 although it is believed their application maybe delayed a year in order to bring facilities and infrastructure up to the required standard.
The club last changed management after the 2005/06 season with former player and manager Neil Evans, who had previously led the first team between 1998 and 2001, taking over from former Ballyclare Comrades player, Innes Gray. Aaron Magill remained at the club in his role as Assistant Manager. The team play in white shirts and black shorts/socks. The away kit is all blue.
[edit] Other teams
There are four teams in all at the club, including the 2nds (QUB Penguins), the 3rds (QUB Mavericks) and the freshers' team (QUB Colts). All four play in the same colours.
James Birch manages and runs the 2nds team and runs the teams website. They play in Amateur League 2B after promotion from 2C in the 2005/2006 season. Team captain is Cathal Neeson. The 06-07 season has gone down in the records as one of the most successful seasons for the "Penguins" since their inauguration in 1965. The Team, punched above it's weight, beating many of the other teams in the amateur league including not one, but two successful cup runs.
The thirds' manager are Martin Ferguson.
The Mavericks and Colts teams had a scare early in the season when due to difficulties, Denis Clarke the clubs chairman, had plans to merge the two teams due to the absence of a freshers manager. After many long meetings of little outcome, former freshers player, Mark Caldwell stepped forward to save the day with hours left to the first Colts league game. He now runs and manages the freshers team and is officially the youngest manager of a senior team in the UK, at a fresh 19 years old.
There are 3 University Teams, made from students only. The 1st team plays in the College and University League Premier Division (North). They are managed by Kieran Harding Kieran Harding and take part in the Collingwood Cup, a cup which has been running since 1914. They currently hold the competition's Farquhar Cup.
The seconds team play in the Crowley Cup and the freshers play in the Harding Cup.
In the season 2007/2008 with George Hutton at the helm of the freshers they went onto win the prestigious harding plate with a 2-0 win over trinity. Along with Northern Ireland Colleges League final, winning 2-1 against SERC (South Eastern Regional College). Domestically finishing 5th in the Amatuer league. It was indeed a successful year for the Queens freshers side. With the queens seconds just avoiding relegation under Roger Thesis it would seem that the freshers took the taint off their poor season.
[edit] Players
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