THERE is more to the Sydenham Park Soccer Club than five promotions, a relegation and a provisional league cup.
The Reds have evolved from a junior club in an under-developed area in 1987 to a fully fledged state league club 25 years later in a jam-packed second generation community.
Reds secretary Sash Pazeski has been a member of the club since 1995, first as a player, then captain and now part of the committee that has a five-year plan to be promoted to the premier league by 2016.
Pazeski knows a thing or two about the highs and lows of the club’s history.
Click on the image below for a gallery on Sydenham Park’s latest game against Sunbury United.
“It started as a junior club out of Kings Park Primary School,” he said.
“It was a junior club for six years and the first senior team was established in 1994 in provisional league 3.
“The whole area was new back then and the only clubs in the area at the time were Green Gully, St Albans Saints and Melbourne Knights. You really had nothing in the north-west area.”
The Reds did not take long to earn their first promotion. In 1996, the club became the first provisional league team on record to score 100 goals in a season.
Gun striker Robert Nedelkov had a stunning season with 38 goals.
Pazeski had the honour of scoring the team’s coveted 100th goal.
“I felt really proud because we were the first team to break the ton as far as I’m aware,” he said.
In 1998, 2002 and 2008, the Reds got promoted, but as the runner-up team.
This landed the club at its highest peak in the FFV ranks, in lofty state league 2.
The Reds’ time in the FFV’s third tier was short-lived when they were relegated after the 2010 season.
Under new coach Sash Becvinovski, the Reds are striving to return to SL2 this season.
They’re sitting on top in what has been a dream opening 15 rounds of their 25th anniversary season.
The Reds will celebrate the milestone with a gala ball at Sheldon Receptions in Sunshine on August 25.
More details, go to sydenhamparksc.com
