Falcons 2000 SC

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Falcons 2000
Full nameGippsland falcons.jpg
Nickname(s)Morwell
Founded1961,
2000 (re-founded)
GroundLatrobe City Stadium
Capacity12,000
ChairmanTony Salvatore
ManagerNick D'Alessandro
LeagueLatrobe Valley Soccer League

Falcons 2000 Soccer Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in the regional Victorian city of Morwell. Founded in 1961 by the local Italian community, the club has participated in the Victorian state league system at multiple levels, and in the defunct National Soccer League. After being re-established in 2000, the club currently participates in the Latrobe Valley Soccer League.

The club is one of the most successful in the Gippsland region, being the only club to have been crowned Victorian state premiers, on two occasions, and to have been the only rural club in Victoria to have participated at a national level. Since its inception, the club has played under multiple names, consisting of Gippsland Falcons SC, Eastern Pride, and being latterly known as the Morwell Falcons. The club bears its present name after its financial re-establishment in 2000.

History[]

  • Eastern Pride Logo

  • Gippsland Falcons Logo

The club was formed in 1961 by Italian migrants as the Italian Australian Social Club of Gippsland (IASCO), and initially played in the La Trobe soccer league.[1]

In 1964, the club changed its name to Morwell Falcons as a result of a sponsorship arrangement with the Ford Motor Company.[2] Morwell joined the wider ranks of the Victorian leagues in 1974, and quickly rose up the divisions reaching the Victorian State League in 1982, and winning the title in 1984. This allowed them to apply for the NSL's Southern Conference, but the club declined the offer.[1] It was that same year that Jim McLean was the named as the Victorian Premier League Player of the Year (known as the Rothmans Medal at the time).

In 1989, Morwell won its second Victorian championship, but this time failed to progress to the top flight after losing 5–2 on aggregate in a two-legged tie against South Australian champion West Adelaide.[1]

The club eventually joined the NSL's ranks in season 1992/93 as a replacement for Preston,[1] but their stay was quite unsuccessful, making the finals only once in season 1994/95 after finishing fourth. The club thereafter always found itself near the bottom of the table, and late in season 2000/01 the club folded.[3]

While the club officially disbanded in 2001, Falcons 2000[4] were created as an offshoot club, and currently compete in the Latrobe Valley Soccer League.[5]

Honours[]

Notable former players[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d Howe, Andrew. "History of Gippsland Falcons". OzFootball. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  2. ^ Hay, Roy (4 May 2009). "Pride of the Valley - The Rise And Fall Of Morwell Falcons" (PDF). Goal! Weekly. p. 11. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  3. ^ "NSL Clubs – Gippsland Falcons". OzFootball. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  4. ^ https://www.facebook.com/falcons2000/
  5. ^ Hassett, Sebastian (1 December 2011). "When the Falcons took flight, a region soared with them - but crash was coming". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
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