CLUB NEWS

12500 miles yet again - hello to Richard CROWE (brother of current squad player, Andrew)who writes.......

Congrats on a brilliant year - I have followed your results from London (from Andrew/Dad) and have been hugely impressed with all you have achieved. I can categorically say that you have comprehensively outstripped all previous 1st XI performances at least as far back as 1990 - other old boys may be able to verify back further.

In 1999 we reintroduced the concept of an FDMC team traveling to a national tournament. Our 1st XI was full of top players, achieving a position of 9th in the nationals - but this was not at premier level, it was only Div 1! In addition, I challenged the NPBHS 1st XI captain to a game - he denied us the chance given he was aware we were a major threat (in 1999 we had no scheduled games against NPBHS 1st XI). Justice finally prevailed this year when you thrashed them, I contacted all of those NPBHS players of 1999 to let them know! I also found out this morning that you did not win the Rose Bowl, but you have to reflect on what a brilliant effort it was to reach the final.

Well done guys, you have done FDMC football past and present proud, and have proven to all that Football within the College is as strong as it has ever been.

Richard Crowe
FDMC 1st XI '97 - '99

CLUB NEWS

More messages from afar...about 12500 miles to be exact!! Anyone out there who can beat that feel free:

Congratulations to all the FDMC first eleven football squad for all your achievements this year.
I have been following your results from 12,500 miles away in the UK and have had great pleasure to see the progress and success you have all achieved in such a short space of time. The Cup final on Saturday is the pinnacle of all your success, so the best of luck, give it all you have, and most of all play with a smile on your face and enjoy it.
Chris McGrath (Ian's Dad)

THANKS DAD!!

CLUB NEWS

Further well wishes from afar....

Hi Ian

I'm a (very) recent Old Boy of the College, a bit of a football fan; have played in a band with some of the guys who are in the team this year. Now living in Christchurch I have followed the progress with great pride and enthusiasm. Congratulations on the league form, and on a great result in Napier!

All the very best for this weekend in the final, it is a fantastic achievement to make the final in the first season back in senior footy, and a win would be outstanding.

Looking forward to reading the report on a great College victory!

Kind Regards

Isaac Trevis


Thanks for the comments, it is great to see more and more old boys tapping in to the site and gaining some satisfaction at the success of the current 1st X1.

Keep the comments coming, it is good to hear from all of you and the current team are very appreciative of your interest.

e mail me at ian.mcgrath@fdmc.school.nz

CLUB NEWS

A blast from the past......Brendon RAE ( a member of the FDMC 1st X1 in 1989) writes

My name is Brendon Rae, and I'm currently in Melbourne so will not be able to watch the match (Duff Rose Bowl Final).

If you grab a yearbook from the library you'll see we won the Youth League for the second year in a row that year. In our squad we had fellow Taranaki age-group reps Adam Chylek, John Clarke (went on to play professional football in the lower leagues in England for a while) and Sean Cunningham (older brother of Paul who just dipped out on making the Oly Whites squad). I see a couple of other team members still play in NP (i.e. Nikki Marinovich), while Jock Ross inspired the team he had worked with for several years.

The following year most of the squad went to play for the club based at Lynmouth Park, I'm not sure why. I bused back from Waikato University to play for them each weekend, but without regular training it was the beginning of the end for my career. Wayne KIBBY may be able to shed some light on the move - he was a key force within the school in pushing soccer and its really good to see how far the sport has progressed at FDMC.

Best of luck for the weekend, would be great if some video highlights were made available!

Brendon

Great to hear from you Brendon and we will be doing our best to get a win in the final on Saturday!!

Any other old boys from this era, please contact me on ian.mcgrath@fdmc.school.nz

1ST X1 CLUB NEWS

FDMC CENTRAL FINANCE 2008

TARANAKI MENS SENIOR PREMIER DIVISION

RUNNERS UP / CHALLENGE TROPHY WINNERS

LEAGUE STATS:

PLAYED - 18

WON - 11

DREW - 4

LOST - 3

GOALS SCORED - 57

GOALS AGAINST - 38

GOAL DIFFERENCE - +19

TOP GOAL SCORER - TOMAS MOSQUERA (24 LEAGUE GOALS) AND MORGAN HALL (16 LEAGUE GOALS)

CLUB NEWS

A DRAW OR A WIN AND FDMC WILL MAKE HISTORY!!

A 2-0 win for PNBHS against their old rivals NPBHS has left the Regional Round Robin National Qualification tournament nicely poised as all of the teams head into their final round of matches.

FDMC are in a strong position to qualify after gaining a win and a draw, which leaves them joint top with PNBHS - not even goal difference can separate the two teams. Local rivals NPBHS are sat in third position on three points and Wanganui High School have yet to get off the mark.

With PNBHS expected to win at home to Wanganui High School, a draw or a win for FDMC in their final game against NPBHS will ensure automatic qualification to the National Tournament for the first time ever.

With a wild card likely it would seem that three teams may get the opportunity to go to Napier in September but FDMC will be looking to make absolutely sure when they travel across town to play their nearest rivals next week.

The game kicks off at 2.30 pm on Wednesday 25th June 2008 at Webster Field. All FDMC supporters are welcome.

CLUB NEWS

CHALLENGE TROPHY WINNERS - FDMC Central Finance

Come and watch the team defend the Challenge Trophy against old rivals NPBHS on Saturday 12th April - K.O. 2.45 p.m. at FDMC Number 1 Field.