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Timeline
Season 14 saw a low in the club’s history as despite maintaining their Division 2 status and notching 2 wins in their opening 2 games, Shrks fall flat in their challenge as despite having opportunities to pull themselves up the table, results were hard to come by as they conceded a record 40 goals; the worst in the division. The team were provided a lifeline in their final game where only a single point was needed to ensure that they qualified for the playoff game with the 3rd best team in Division 3 but despite having a higher possession rate, their rueful defending put paid to that hope as they finished in 7th place. The season saw the retirement of Kelvin Tan, one of the pioneer of the team who played no less than 240 games for the club.
Season 11 proved to be the defining moment for the Sharks as they finally capture the elusive championship with the narrowest margin possible; a single point away from ANZA Young Lions. A fortuitous draw in the first game of the season against ANZA Lions was probably the difference between finishing second and first. Third placed Simei United came third with just a single point from finishing second. The year saw the emergence of Harold Ho who went on trial on the last two games of 2009. He finished the year with an empathic 24 goals, 19 assists in 27 games while Isaac Mong heralded his return back in the Sharks fold after a very indifferent season in his alma mater’s team. The latter proved that he was still good enough for the team with a return of 19 goals in 21 games. Division 2 beckoned for the Sharks where every game is like a Cup Final. Though it was the first time in the club’s history that they did not get promoted finishing 5th, senior player Ng Heng Li proved that he still have what it takes despite the emergence of younger players as he finished joint top-scorer of the division with 12 goals. Sharks Champions Cup run ended in the quarter-final against FC Protege with a heart-breaking 1-2 loss in the extra-time.
Central Park FC started Season 10 in Division 5, winning in style 3-1 against Benedetto and they brought that form in the FA Cup with a slender 1-0 win against Killer Whales. The sternest test was their second league game against new boys SSC Tigers which they salvaged a 3-3 draw despite going 1-3 down though they could have completed a sensational comback. The team’s inability to kill off teams in the season and a double-header losses to 4th place Barclays Capital meant that they could only finish behind Playouts United and SSC Tigers. A loss in the second round against Fighting Cocks meant that the Sharks ended the season empty handed. Season 11 saw Playouts Reunited pulling out of the league while SSC Tigers were handed a promotion to Divison 3. Confidence in the camp were sky high as the team look to capture the elusive top spot but on came a band of ex-nationals in the form of Prestige Marine who finished 3 points clear of Central Park at the end of the season despite managing to steal a point from their two games with the champions. A shocking loss to VVNTU despite leading 3-1 to eventually lose 3-4 was the lowpoint of the season. Sharks miserable cup form continues in the EFL Champions Cup and EFL Cup where losses against SSC, SBVS, Outsiders in the EFL Champions Cup and MDIS in the EFL Cup. The losses and coupled with the manager’s absence in crucial games brought up question from the team though an internal committee meeting decided that the focus will be on the league from thereafter.
Central Park FC and Central Park International started Season 8 with only 1 thing on their mind, to capture a much eluded champions trophy after both teams missed out by finishing second in their respective division in Season 7. Central Park started the season with a 4-2 win over their old rivals Raptors FC while the International team only started their first game in February with a slender 2-0 victory over DHL. The team competed in the inaugural EOEFL Cup during the course of the season but narrowly lost in the semi-final when they bow out on away goals. The game will be remembered on how the team came back staring at a 4-0 scoreline in the return tie to win the game 5-4. In the ESPZEN FA Cup, a selection team took the field with a thumping 8-1 victory over British Exiles in the first round, signalling the club intent on the competition. The challenge however fizzled out as they bowed out in the quarter-finals against FC 204 in a close encounter, going down 2-3. As the team bowed out of the Cup challenges, their focus was on the league and the team didn’t disappoint on that front as Central Park FC captured the long awaited championship trophy by finishing top in Division 7 while the International team finished a close second to champions AIG, only losing out on goal difference. The way Season 8 ended, things looked to be on the ascent for both teams. Thus when the management decided to pull the plug on the International team after just 5 games, alarm bells started ringing. The manager came out citing, ‘The decision was based on the competitiveness of having 2 teams and the way the attendance were declining.’ Central Park FC however welcomed decision as they look to finish the season strongly. Nonetheless, the team had to settle to play bridesmaid again when they failed to beat Madcats United in their last 2 games of the seasons. Trailing 2-1, they fought back to go into the lead 3-2 with goals from Isaac and Heng Li and Azmeen. But some sorrowful defending allowed the opposition to steal a point, which was probably the story of the season as the Sharks failed to yet again hold on to a lead. The year saw the return of old boy Andrew Cox but he failed to make his mark this time round in Sharks colors. The year-end gong fell to Isaac Mong who finished the year with 37 goals to his name, the highest ever player to reach that mark for the club while Ng Heng Li finished as the top player in the assist record for the 4th year running.
There were no fairytale maiden season for the club in the National Football League Divison 3 (NFL Div 3), managing only to collect 6 points from 1 win, 3 draws and registering their biggest loss against eventual champions Tiong Bahru FC in a 9-0 thumping at Tanglin on 25th May 2007. The result left the club rooted at the bottom of the division and were duly relegated. With the main core of the players playing in the league, the club continued its participation in ESPZEN Season 6 but only managed to finished fourth, missing out of a promotion playoff when they falter in their final two games, losing 0-2 and 1-3 to DHL and Interlink respectively. The club picked up the pieces in ESPZEN Season 7 with the birth of Central Park International (CPI) which features players who have played in the prior season in Division 6 and consist of local and expat group from the club roster while the team which did so badly in the NFL Div 3 starts afresh in Division 8, playing under the name Central Park FC (FC). The number of new faces coming in to both teams meant that expectations were pretty low but both teams defied the odds by managing to finish second in their respective division as they secured an automatic promotion to the next division. FC team managed another milestone after new recruit Isaac Mong finished the season as the division top scorer with 20 goals in 9 games to his name. 2006 The club continued their participation in the Clementeers League but were controversially thrown out of the competition after only 13 games. After which, ESPZEN became their staple for competitive games as they finished 3rd and earned the right to be promoted to Division 6 after beating FECA Football Club 4-0 in the play-off game. Nonetheless, the Sharks saved the best for last as they qualified and secured a place for the 2007 National Football League Division 3 after finishing second in the annual Islandwide League to tournament champions Elias Park Football Club. While the achievement was blighted by yet another controversy, the sanctions imposed by FAS by way of a club fine however couldn’t prevent the club from competing in the mainstream competition the following year despite protest from teams playing in the competition to throw the club out of the tournament after failing to show-up for one of their fixtures. 2005 Joined its first competitive league in Goal Arena Football League and played AK FC on 6 February at PUB RC Field, winning the game 6-1. Finished the season in 7th with 30 points. During the duration of the league, iFoundries (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd came on as the club first official corporate sponsor on 4 April. At the same time, the club’s application to play in the Islandwide League which permits entry to the National League (National Football League) were rejected citing it’s inadequate number of years being an Associate Member of the FAS as a criteria the club did not meet. Thus the club joined Clementeers League and played in first game against Cool Joes on 23 October. 2004 Club formed and recognised by the Registry of Societies on 7 July and 4 days later on 11 July, Central Park played its first official game against local side RCOB by notching a 9-1 win with Andrew Cox grabbing 4 goals. On 8 August, the club sent 2 teams to particpate in a 7-a-side tournament organised by the Singapore Tamil Youth Club where both teams were knocked out in the group stages. The team were knocked out yet again at the group stages in another tournament organised by Tanjong Pagar Community Club on 21 August. In November, the club applied for affiliation with FAS (Football Association of Singapore) and was accepted as it’s Associate Member. 2003 Played it’s first game as an unofficial team at Marina South on 18 May 2003. |
