THE EARLY DAYS

Turramurra 0, West Pymble 0, 12 noon 11th May 1957 at Bannockburn Oval. This was Kissing Point Soccer Club’s first game.

Kissing Point Soccer Club was formed in 1957 by Trevor Morgan and is a foundation member of the Ku-ring-gai District Soccer Association along with Wahroonga, West Pymble, Lindfield and North Turramurra. Kissing Point played in the first season as Turramurra but changed to Kissing Point in season 1958. The club grew steadily during the sixties. Originally the club played in grey and pink and were known as the galahs. These colours were chosen as they were the same as the primary school at Turramurra. The club is part of the Kissing Point Sports Club Inc and in 1967 a rugby section was formed. The coach was an ex Eastern Suburbs rugby coach. He put the rugby section into the same colours as Eastern Suburbs rugby (the tricolours of red white and blue). The idea caught on with the soccer section and the red white and blue striped uniform came into existence in 1967. The club continued to flourish at a junior level. An All Age team began in 1968.

 

THE 1970’S

The club operated pretty much for the benefit of juniors until the mid seventies. Rod Woods was the leading administrator.

In that time many Kissing Point players were selected for representative football. One such player was Murray Barnes who played for Australia from 1975 to 1981. Murray played 49 internationals with 30 as captain. Murray lead Australia in Australia’s unsuccessful bid for the 1982 World Cup and has donated a 1974 World Cup shirt to the club (Australia qualified for the Soccer World Cup in 1974 – our only success).In the mid seventies a group of players came through juniors, representatives and became a top under 18 team. They were so good they reached the final of the KDSA cup as an under 18 team in 1977. This achievement has never been equalled. Unfortunately Wahroonga were not going to see these boys win this but the team entered All Age Division 1 in 1978 and we have been there since. Present Over 35 players Dick Kendrick and Andrew Wheatley were part of that side.

 

THE 1980’S

The 1980’s were a golden era for our club with strength in seniors and juniors. John Orlovich, a Life Member, dominated the administration and did an excellent job. He was followed by another enthusiastic administrator in Dianne Brown who also became a Life Member.

In 1980 our club won its first Premier League title when it defeated Hornsby RSL in a thriller at Mimosa. Irv Gillies coached the side. We also formed a strong 2nd Division squad that year and this squad stayed together for about 15 years. We did not succeed in winning the Premier League again till 1986 when we won the KDSA Premiership double. In that year we made the final of the Champion of Champions but were rolled by Epping YMCA 1-0 and finished the match with 8 men.The 1980’s also saw the rise of a Ron Dupen coached team who took all before them up to under 18. The team made 2 Champion of Champion finals. Unfortunately a dispute lead to the team decamping for Bannockburn where they won a Premier League title. Several prodigal sons of this team are now back playing Over 35s.

 

THE 1990’S

The late 80’s and early 1990’s saw a Phil Tucker coached side rise to prominance and take out the clubs only Champion of Champion’s title in 1991 in the under 21’s. These players filtered through to Premier League the next season and strengthened our squad to such an extent that we took out the Premiership in 1992 and made it all the way to the Champion of Champion’s final before falling at the final hurdle against Manly Seasiders.

Stewart Robertson coached that side and won another another Premiership in 1993 before Andrew Wheatley coached the winners in 1994 followed by the late Peter Berecz’s team in 1996. Several players played in all 4 of the winning teams in the 1990’s. They were Graham and Steven Brown, Greg Ford, Trevor Jesse and Chris Fisher.The club then experienced great success in Over 35 although we always remained strong in the Premier League. The team that took the title in 1980 had reached Over 35 stage and inspirational leader Stewart Robertson (who played for Marconi in the first National Soccer League) guided this team to 5 consecutive titles. The highlight was the Champion of Champion’s decider against Sylvania Heights in 1997. An enthralling 0-0 opened the way to a penalty shootout that was decided on the 5th shot. Unfortunately Sylvania Heights prevailed. The 1990’s saw an explosion in Over 35 soccer with players of little soccer background lining up. Keith Brady was the driving force behind the formation of the extra teams and after initial injury problems the players fitness improved.The 1990’s also saw the introduction of women’s soccer and Charlie Stewart and Geoff Kerr got it going in the girls while Andrew Bell worked with womens soccer. KPSC became the dominant womens club on the North Shore although there was no KDSA Womens Competition – we played in the Gadesville Hornsby Competition. Most representative teams were littered with Kissing Point players. One such player was Rhian Davies who left us in 1996 to play at a higher level. Rhian went on to play for Australia. The KDSA Womens Competition got going in 1998 and Geoff Kerr was elected Womens Convenor.

 

THE 2000’S

The 2000’s saw our club win the Premier League in 2001 under coach Victor Jago. Several of the players were people like Mitchell Raiss, Matthew Bertram and Trevor Jesse who played in the early 1990’s.

2002 was a memorable season as Victor again coached a winning side that came 2nd in the Premiership, was runner up in the State Cup final and won the KDSA Cup.2001 also saw Rhian Davies’ selection for Australia in womens soccer and Rhian has since cemented her place in the team to such an extent that she played all matches for Australia in the Womens World Cup in America in 2003. Rhian has also been chosen for the Olympic elimination matches and if Australia qualify for Athens Rhian may be the Kissing Point’s first Olympian.The 2002 season saw a most successful under 14 team take a KDSA Division one Premiership for the first time since 1991.In 2001 our U21 team not only won the division 1 championship but went on to win the Under 21 Champion of Champions competition!The 2003 season saw us field 44 teams. We fielded 32 teams in juniors and 12 adult teams. 4 of those sides were womens teams. In 2005 the number of teams grew to 49 and saw successes in both mens and womans. The most notable achievements were the Premier team’s victory in the State Cup and the Woman’s All Age div 1 team winning the competition and going through to the Champion of Champions competition in Lismore.In 2007 we entered an U21 team in the Robertson (State) Cup and the team were rarely challenged on their way through to the final and victory!In 2008 the number of teams grew to 60 (800 players) and saw the introduction of Over 45′s soccer to the KDSA.

OVER 45’s

2008 also saw the introduction of the O/45 competition. the comp starting enthusiastically with 14 teams, all in Div 1. After the first round (14 games) the team were regraded Div 1 & 2. KPFC fielded a 20 strong squad and were placed runners Up in Div 2 for the year. KPFC were unique in recording the most draws in the entire comp pointing to a very competitive start to the competition and a promising start for the future of the KPFC O/45’s.

WOMEN’S LEAGUE

Kissing Point started womens soccer in 1994. It became apparent that many young girls were finding that as they got older mixed teams with boys were not satisfactory as the boys greater strength became a factor from under 12 onwards. Kissing Point assembled several of these girls and started putting out inquiries with other clubs in the KDSA. Young ladies from Northbridge, Lane Cove, Berowra, Lindfield and St Ives areas responded and Geoff Kerr and Charlie Stewart prevailed on Mark Stanley to become our first coach. The first year saw us initially enter an Under 14 team in the Gladesville – Hornsby competition. Rhian Davies was one such young lady. Rhian went on to represent Australia.

Interest in playing soccer from older girls grew and it wasn’t long before there were enough players to enter an All Age side in the Gladesville competition. The team was entered in the Gladesville – Hornsby competition and won the Division 5 competition.In 1995 another team was added and we came second in Division 3 as well as having a team play in a lower division. The team was bolstered by the availability of Elizabeth Stedman who had represented NSW in previous years.In 1998 the club entered a team in the reformed KDSA competition. This competition had lapsed since 1984 and was reintroduced by Geoff Kerr who took a position on the KDSA as Womens Convenor. The club still maintained 2 teams in Gladesville – Hornsby but this all changed in 1999 when we agreed to enter all teams in the KDSA.Kissing Point womens teams then thrived for several years. We were able to field 2 under 16 girls teams as well as under 14 teams. The senior girls expanded to four teams and an under 19 team bridged the gap between under 16 and All Age. Coaches were in plentiful supply.2005 proved to be an exciting season with our WAA1 team winning the division 1 competition and proceeding to the Champion of Champions competition in Lismore.

OVER 30/35’s
2005 saw the introduction of the first Woman’s Over 30s competition by the KDSA. Six teams representing five clubs participated in the inaugural competition. It was not until 2006 that Kissing Point entered a team into the competition that now had 14 teams representing 10 clubs. Colin Stephens coached the inaugural Kissing Point team which finished the competition as runners up! The final match of the season saw Kissing Point defeat the premiership winners 3-0 in an exciting final match.

In 2008 the Woman’s Over 30s registered three teams growing to 50% of the size of the men’s Over 35s in just three years! Pete Malicki coached the W30 div 1 team which finished the season undefeated winning both the premiership and grand final.In 2009 the competition was changed from Women’s Over 30’s to Women’s Over 35’s. Kisso achieved an unbelievable trifecta by winning the div 1 and div 2 competitions with div 3 equal first on points only to come 2nd on goal difference by 1 goal! Adding to this success – all three teams one their respective Grand Finals! The div 1 side remained undefeated for a 2nd year running.In 2010 there were two women’s teams and three women’s over 35’s teams. Our women’s div 6 team finished the season undefeated to win their competition. The women’s over 35 div 1 side also finished the season undefeated for the third year in a row and took their 3rd div 1 premiership.In 2011 the club continued to support three women’s over 35 teams. The women’s div 1 side lost their first match in four years going down 0-1 on the last match of the season but once again comfortably won the premiership. After winning their fourth division 1 title the team went all the way to the Champion of Champions grand final going down 0-1 in the 85th minute to Nepean District.

PREMIER LEAGUE

Kissing Point Soccer Club has had a team in the Ku-ring-gai District Soccer Association Premier League Division 1 since 1978. In that time we have been successful on 7 occasions in winning the competition – the last victory was in Year 2001. Prior to that we were successful in 1980, 1986, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1996. Indeed we have not been out of the top four in most seasons.

1970’s

The squad entered the then Division 1 in 1978 as a bunch of 18 year olds coached by a young man Irvin Gillies. Irv was only in his mid twenties but he succeeded in building a great squad with John Townend as the manager. The team contained many players of natural talent who for various reasons did not want to proceed to semi professional soccer. This choice was either a lifestyle or studies decision. Craig McGeachie, Dick Kendrick, Robert Paton and Shane Thompson were such players whilst players such as Andrew Wheatley and Frank Bertinetti decided that representative soccer was not for them. The squad progressed well over the next couple of years and in 1980 the club had a Rolls Royce squad. The side was unbeaten but was matched all the way by a determined Hornsby RSL and the season finished in a showdown at Mimosa. Kissing Point’s Andrew Wheatley beat the appropriately named RSL keeper Spider McCann with 10 minutes to go. Kissing Point had won its first KDSA 1stDivision Premiership and more were in store.The side continued to be a force over the next few years but 2nd and 3rd spots somehow or other could not be improved upon. This all changed in 1986 when the nucleus of the 1980 team had settled down into more stable lifestyles. The 1986 season saw Kissing Point narrowly take the competition from Hornsby Heights and West Pymble. We also won the KDSA Cup. The side was coached by a returning Irv Gillies and went on to make the final of the Champion of Champions. We met Epping YMCA at Parklea but unfortunately we suffered a 1-0 defeat in an ordinary match. The wonder of this game was how it was only 0-1 as Dick Kendrick, Stewart Robertson and Greg Ford all got red cards. The next few years were always competitive except for 1989 when a rain affected season saw us almost relegated.

1990’s
This was surely Kissing Point’s golden era as a group of youngsters coached by Phil Tucker supplemented the remnants of the 1986 team. Phil’s boys led by the Brown brothers Steven and Graham and his own lads Jeremy and Nathan were the fresh air we needed to make an impact.

Add to the mix Scott and Jason Taylor and Chris Fisher and we surely were the Brady Bunch. We had a dynamic side. In 1992 this was irresistible and we took out the Division 1 competition. with Stewart Robertson doing the coaching. We again made a Champion of Champions final but a water logged Parklea was too much for us as Manly Seasiders accounted for us 1-0.1993 saw an effortless competition win under Stewart Robertson again. Stewart had coached 2 teams to Championships but this was to be his last year as Over 35’s was beckoning him. Andrew Wheatley took over in 1994 and Kissing Point made it a hat trick of Championships as Steven Brown scored an inspiring captain’s goal in the last round at Auluba against Chatswood Rangers.A quiet year in 1995 was followed by a most exciting competition in 1996.The team was coached by the late Peter Berecz. This competition came down to a last match decider against Chatswood Rangers at Auluba. Greg Fisher slotted the winner with around 3 minutes on the clock and a 3-2 victory was ours. The remainder of the 1990’s were respectable without being outstanding. A feature of the 1990’s was the number of high quality first/reserve players who kept team morale high whilst not always being selected in the firsts. Nick Chai, Blair McDonald and Peter Stewart come to mind. All were great club men.

2000’s
The 2001 year was a real boomer for the club. A young player coach Victor Jago took over and quickly got the squad into top condition. The side played a five across the middle pattern and proved to be too fit for most teams. Skilled players like Mat Boylan, Victor Jago, Sam Dawson and Courtney Randall got support from tough guys such as Chris Fisher, Mitchell Raiss, Jonah Wigley and Paul Rowe. This all unfolded in front of a superb keeper in Nigel Raiss. We felt we may have been able to win the Champion of Champions but in a gut wrenching penalty shoot out eventual winners Pittwater RSL disposed of our hopes.

The 2002 season proved to be just as exciting when we challenged in three competitions. We always stayed in touch with a resurgent Asquith in the competition whilst we went on a run in the State Cup. We had been there or thereabouts for some years in this competition and in 2002 made the final against Bankstown Sports. Unfortunately early chances were missed and we were defeated 4-1. Asquith edged us out by a point in the Premier League but we picked up the KDSA Cup (Knockout Cup). This ended a 16 drought as the club last won this trophy in 1987.The club has competed on an annual basis in the KDSA Cup (knockout cup) and has won the Cup in 1983, 1986, 1987 and 2002. In 2003 the club finished 6th in first grade and 4th in reserve grade.

State Competitions
Kissing Point has also competed strongly in out of district competitions and were runners up in the New South Wales Amateur Soccer Association’s Champion of Champions Tournament in 1986 and 1992. The club also finished as runner up to Bankstown Sports in the 2002 State Cup.

This followed on several years of good performances when the club reached the quarter or semi finals of this cup. In 2005 Kissing Point became the first Ku-Ring-Gai District team to win the prestigious State Cup!

2006 saw the introduction of the Stewart-Close Cup. The cup was dedicated to 50 years of competition between Kissing Point and West Pymble with the cup being named after Charlie Stewart (KPSC) and Rick Close (WPSC). Kissing Point won the up in its inaugural year and retained it in 2007.