- Waikato FC
Football club infobox
clubname = Waikato FC
fullname = Waikato Football Club
nickname = n/a
founded =2004
ground =Resthills Park , Hamilton
capacity = Unknown
chairman = n/a
manager =Kevin Fallon
league = NZFC
season = 2005-06
position = NZFC, 7th | pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=
leftarm1=000000|body1=000000|rightarm1=000000|shorts1=000000|socks1=000000
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=FFFFFF|socks2=FFFFFFWaikato Football Club is a football (soccer) club based in Hamilton,
New Zealand . The club was founded in 2004 and currently play in theNew Zealand Football Championship .They play most of their home games atResthills Park , Hamilton, which they share withWaikato Rugby League . However, in a bid to increase the fan base of the team they have elected to play two home gamesof the upcoming season inNgaruawahia . Previously, Waikato FC have played home games inRotorua andMount Maunganui , both in theBay of Plenty region.The First Season
urprise Top-Three Finish
Waikato's first season in existence was a moderately successful one. Playing in the inaugural season of the New Zealand Football Championship, they managed to finish in third place, after a poor start to the campaign.
Waikato's first ever competitive game was away at
YoungHeart Manawatu , which they won convincingly 4-0 sending them straight to the top of table. Unfortunately they only won one of their next nine games, a run which saw them slide down to seventh in the eight-team league. In a dramatic change of fortunes, Waikato went on to win their next five games, including an away win over eventual champions Auckland City. They only lost two more games during the season and defied pre-season predictions by claiming third place and a spot in the playoffs' "Elimination Final" againstWaitakere United . Waikato were crushed 4-1 by Waitakare at Trusts Stadium,Auckland , ending their hopes of Championship victory but claiming overall third place was deemed a good achievement for a team that many expected to finish last.Awards
Craig Flowerday won Waikato's Player' Player of the Year award, and goalkeeper Mark Fulcher won Supporters' Player of the Year. David Samson won the Young Player of the Year Award.Striker Colin Gardyne won Sky Sports' Goal of the Season award, and was also Waikato FC's joint-top goalscorer along with Brett Derry.
Current Season Standings
Current squad
"As of June 17, 2008
Nationality given from place of birth
Transfers
"In"
*Che Bunce -Navua F.C.
*Dale Beattie -Glenafton Athletic
*Matt Friel -Monmouth University
*Michael Gwyther -North Shore United
*Nick Robson - Auckland City Academy"Out"
*Jeff Sole - released
*Damien Fonoti - released
*Godwin Bebeu -Rangers Honiara
*Nathan Holten -Melville United
*Jakub Sinkora -Auckland City FC
*Scott Campbell -New Hampshire Fisher Cats
*Junyha Kanaka -Napier City Rovers
*Tim Kautai - released
*Chris Wood - released
*Dale Williams - Wales
*Tiberiu Marinescu -Arsenal Resita
*Boomer Kotchin -Manhattan College The 2005/2006 Season
Despite finishing second bottom of the table, the team showed signs of promise, losing several fixtures by a single goal. Indeed, injuries to key personnel did little to dent the squad's resolve. The move to playing games outside Hamilton, perhaps was not financially successful, as the gate numbers were not as large as expected, but
Rotorua became a fortress with wins over both Hawke's Bay Utd and eventual champions Auckland City.References
External links
* [http://www.waikatofc.co.nz/ Official club website]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
