Brantford Galaxy

Full name Brantford Galaxy Soccer Club
Nickname(s) Galaxy
Founded February 2010
Stadium Steve Brown Sports Complex, Lions Park
Brantford, Ontario
Ground Capacity 2,000+
President Boško Borjan
Head coach Tomo Dančetović
League Canadian Soccer League
2015 Regular season: 11th
Playoffs: DNQ
Website Club home page

Brantford Galaxy Soccer Club is a Canadian soccer club based in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, The club competes in the Canadian Soccer League, a league not sanctioned by a FIFA-recognized body. The Galaxy were formed in 2010 as an expansion franchise. In their first season Brantford recorded a milestone by becoming the first expansion franchise in CSL history to claim a CSL Championship in their debut season. After their championship season the club faced several problems ranging from change of ownership, to philosophical differences within team management, and to a lack of commitment from feeder clubs resulting in the team missing the postseason in two straight years.

The ownership in 2013 decided to take a year of absence in order to regroup. In late 2014, former head coach Tomo Dančetović spearheaded the relaunching of the club by acquiring the name and franchise rights from the old ownership, and the Galaxy returned to the league to participate in the 2015 season.

History

Brantford Galaxy SC was announced as an expansion side in the Canadian Soccer League's 2010 season on February 24, 2010.[1][2][3][4] Bosko Borjan, Gerry Crnic along with European investors were primarily responsible for returning professional soccer to the city since the 1930s/1940s where several Brantford clubs competed in the Canadian National Soccer League. Lions Park located at Steve Brown Sports Complex was announced as the Galaxy's home venue after receiving CSL approval.[5][6][7]Lazo Džepina was appointed the club's first head coach and assembled a roster with a majority of imports from Europe with several local talent.[8][9] The notable acquisitions for the 2010 season were Miodrag Anđelković, Ranko Golijanin, Patrick Gerhardt, Patryk Misik, Haris Fazlagić, Nenad Begović, Dražen Gović, Zoran Roglić, Drazen Vukovic, and Marco Giusti was named the club captain.[10][11]

Brantford made their debut on May 16, 2010 in a well-attended crowd against Portugal FC which resulted in a 3-3 draw with goals coming from Golijanin, Andelkovic, and Vukovic.[12][13][14] Brantford clinched a postseason berth by finishing seventh in the overall standings and recording the third best offensive record. In the first round of the playoffs their opponents were the Serbian White Eagles, and advanced to the semi-finals by defeating the White Eagles by a score of 1-0 with the lone goal from Zvonko Bakula.[15][16] In the second round the Galaxy faced Portugal FC and won the match by a score of 5-3 with Golijanin recording a hat trick, and the rest coming from Andelkovic, and Kyle Grootenboer.[17][18] In the CSL Championship final at the Centennial Park Stadium in Toronto, the club faced Hamilton Croatia, and with goals coming from Fazlagic, and Golijanin the Galaxy claimed their first championship by a score of 3-0.[19][20][21][22] At the conclusion of the season Jesse Castillo received the CSL Reserve Division Goalkeeper of the Year award.[23][24]

In preparations for the 2011 season Brantford's feeder club the Brantford Inter-City Soccer club announced that it will change its name to the Brantford Galaxy Youth Soccer Club in an effort further align it with the CSL club.[25][26] After the departure of several key players head coach Džepina brought in imports from the former Yugoslavian countries, and appointed Golijanin as the team captain. His notable signings included Chilean international Cristián Gómez, Rade Novković, Dalibor Mitrović, Saša Vidović, Vladimir Markotić, and Ferid Idrizovic.[27][28] On July 9, 2011, after a string of poor performances Džepina was sacked as head coach to be replaced by assistant coach Tomo Dančetović.[29] Dančetović managed to achieve better results, but unfortunately the Galaxy failed to clinch the final postseason berth by finishing ninth in the overall standings.[30]

The following season Brantford saw a change in the ownership with Borjan and Crnic becoming sole owners after losing their European backers resulting in a smaller budget, and further reliance on community support.[31] The organization hired the services of Ron Davidson a CSL Coach of the Year with Hamilton Croatia in 2010.[32][33] Davidson reduced the amount of European imports by signing several local and Greater Toronto Area players. The notable additions to the roster were Dave Simpson, Preston Corporal, Logan Alexander, Jeremy Shepherd, Melford James Jr, and Damion Scott.[34] Midway through the season Davidson managed a 8-3 record and a fourth place position, but despite his impressive run he was sacked from his position due to ideological differences with the club's administration.[35] In protest to the dismissal the Galaxy lost eight players who were in solidarity with Davidson.[36][37] Tomo Dančetović was once more appointed to the position on an interim basis with Golijanin returning to serve as assistant coach. Disaster struck Brantford as they lost seven of their remaining matches and tied one and failed for the second straight season in securing a postseason berth by finishing thirteenth in the standings.[38][39]

On April 1, 2013, Brantford announced a year of absence in order to regroup.[40][41] On December 30, 2014, with Brantford's franchise rights about to expire Tomo Dančetović assisted with volunteers Andrew Pilkington and Jim Turnbull acquired the name and franchise rights from the old ownership and reinstated the club for the 2015 season.[42][43][44][45][46][47] Dančetović brought in several imports from Europe and domestic players which included Luka Bešenić, Haris Redžepi, Stefan Vukovic, Zdenko Jurčević, Dejan Ristić, and Boris Miličić.[48]On October 4, 2015, the Galaxy faced Milton SC the final match of the season. The game was significant because the victor would secure the final postseason berth, unfortunately for Brantford they suffered a 4-3 defeat.[49] At the CSL awards banquet Brantford's reserve team won several awards like Nikola Miokovic winning the CSL Golden Boot, Arsenije Japalak the MVP, Namanjar Sudar the Defender of the Year, and Zach Kingma with the Rookie of the Year award.[50]

Current Senior Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
0 GK Jeff Martins
2 DF Richard Martins
3 MF Saša Vidović
4 DF Craig Deboer
5 MF Steven Lovell
6 DF Nenad Nikolić
7 MF Nicolas Ferreira
8 DF Stuart Heath
9 FW Aleksa Marković
10 MF Haris Fazlagić
12 GK Luka Besenić
15 MF Steve Knezevic
17 MF Stefan Dancetovic
19 DF Bojan Samardžija
No. Position Player
21 FW Zdenko Jurčević
22 DF Kyle Grootenboer
- DF Djordje Stankov
- DF Josh Elgeti
- DF Stephane Gersay
- DF Boris Miličić
- MF Rade Parenta
- MF Armin Mahović
- MF Dejan Ristić
- MF Peter Kirkelos
- MF Stefan Vukovic
- MF Milan Beader
- FW Nick Charles
- FW Haris Redžepi

Head coaches

Years Name Nation
2010–2011 Džepina , LazoLazo Džepina  Croatia
2011 Tomo Dančetović  Serbia
2012 Ron Davidson  Canada
2012- Tomo Dančetović  Serbia

Honours

Year-by-year

Year Division League Regular Season Playoffs
2010[51] 1 CSL Seventh Champions
2011[52] 1 CSL Ninth Did not qualify
2012[53] 1 CSL Thirteenth Did not qualify
2015[54] 1 CSL Eleventh Did not qualify

References

  1. ↑ http://canadiansoccerleague.ca/news_archive.php?news_id=249509[]
  2. ↑ Smiley, Brian. "Professional team in town". Brantford Expositor. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  3. ↑ News, Brant. "Pro soccer coming to Brantford". www.brantnews.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  4. ↑ "February 24, 2010 CSL launches teams in Hamilton, Brantford and Milton (from CSL news release)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  5. ↑ "BICS U-21 side to bolster Galaxy". Brant News. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
  6. ↑ News, Brant. "CSL okays Lions Park for league play". www.brantnews.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  7. ↑ News, Brant. "Upgrades for Galaxy approved". www.brantnews.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  8. ↑ Smiley, Brian. "Lazo is in charge". Brantford Expositor. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  9. ↑ News, Brant. "Galaxy imports ready to go". www.brantnews.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  10. ↑ News, Brant. "Giusti named Galaxy captain". www.brantnews.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  11. ↑ "Canadian Soccer League". 2011-02-28. Archived from the original on 2011-02-28. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  12. ↑ "May 16, 2010 CSL details of Sunday's games (from CSL website)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  13. ↑ News, Brant. "Galaxy opener ends in tie". www.brantnews.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  14. ↑ Smiley, Brian. "Galaxy opener is a night of firsts". Brantford Expositor. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  15. ↑ Glover, Robin. "October 17, 2010 CSL--Serbian White Eagles vs Brantford Galaxy (by Rocket Robin)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  16. ↑ "October 17, 2010 CSL--details of Sunday games (from CSL website)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  17. ↑ Glover, Robin. "October 22, 2010 CSL--Portugal FC vs Brantford Galaxy (by Rocket Robin)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  18. ↑ "October 22, 2010 CSL--Portugal FC vs Brantford Galaxy (from CSL website)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  19. ↑ "BRANTFORD GALAXY CSL CHAMPS......Fazlagic hits two in decisive win at well-attended game in Toronto". 2010-10-31. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
  20. ↑ Glover, Robin. "October 31, 2010 CSL--Hamilton Croatia vs Brantford Galaxy (by Rocket Robin)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  21. ↑ "Galaxy shines in CSL title victory". The Hamilton Spectator. 2010-11-01. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  22. ↑ O'Leary, Ed. "Galaxy title out of this world". Brantford Expositor. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  23. ↑ Glover, Robin. "October 31, 2010 CSL Finals--Award Winners (by Rocket Robin)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  24. ↑ "October 31, 2010 CSL Final--Hamilton Croatia vs Brantford Galaxy (from CSL website)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  25. ↑ Kennedy, Tom (13 January 2011). "BICS votes in new name". Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  26. ↑ Smiley, Brian. "Galaxy putting together pieces for new season". Brantford Expositor. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  27. ↑ "Brantford Galaxy SC --- Brantford, Ontario". 2011-09-25. Archived from the original on 2011-09-25. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  28. ↑ Smiley, Brian. "Galaxy: Ready for kickoff!". Brantford Expositor. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  29. ↑ Smiley, Brian. "Galaxy show coach red card". Brantford Expositor. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  30. ↑ News, Brant. "Galaxy wrap up season". www.brantnews.com. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  31. ↑ Allen, Sean. "Fresh start for Galaxy in 2012". www.brantnews.com. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  32. ↑ Allen, Sean. "Brantford Galaxy unveil new coach, new philosophy". www.brantnews.com. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  33. ↑ "May 2, 2012 CSL Announcements at Press Conference held in Toronto. (from CSL website)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  34. ↑ "Canadian Soccer League". 2012-06-06. Archived from the original on 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  35. ↑ Allen, Sean. "Despite success, Galaxy replace head coach". www.brantnews.com. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  36. ↑ Smart, Darryl G. "Former Galaxy coach 'shocked' and 'confused'". Brantford Expositor. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  37. ↑ Glover, Robin. "August 5, 2012 CSL--Brampton City United vs Brantford Galaxy (by Rocket Robin)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  38. ↑ Smart, Darryl G. "Galaxy ends season with a loss". Brantford Expositor. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  39. ↑ Allen, Sean. "Galaxy end tumultuous season". www.brantnews.com. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  40. ↑ Smart, Darryl G. "Brantford Galaxy leaves CSL to 'regroup'". Brantford Expositor. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  41. ↑ Allen, Sean. "Galaxy to go on hiatus". www.brantnews.com. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  42. ↑ nurun.com. "Brantford Galaxy return to CSL for 2015 season". Brantford Expositor. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  43. ↑ Marion, Michael-Allan. "Galaxy set for return". Brantford Expositor. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  44. ↑ Smiley, Brian. "Galaxy taking shape". Brantford Expositor. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  45. ↑ Allen, Sean. "Building a future for soccer in Brant". www.brantnews.com. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  46. ↑ Allen, Sean. "Galaxy return from hiatus". www.brantnews.com. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  47. ↑ Peeling, Mike. "New Galaxy owners aim to build another semi-pro team, open academy". www.brantnews.com. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  48. ↑ "Brantford Galaxy SC | Canadian Soccer League". 2015-10-06. Archived from the original on 2015-10-06. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  49. ↑ Shypula, Brian. "Galaxy miss playoffs with loss". www.brantnews.com. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  50. ↑ "2015 Second Division Awards | Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  51. ↑ "October 13th, 2010--Canadian Soccer League First Division Week 23". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
  52. ↑ "October 10, 2011 CSL--Week 23 Standings (from CSL web site)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
  53. ↑ "October 11, 2012 CSL--Week 23 Standings [end of Regular season] (from CSL web site)". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
  54. ↑ "First Division Standings 2015 | Canadian Soccer League". canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-14.

External links

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