East Kew United Olympiakos Soccer Club was formed in 1985. It began it’s existence as Hawthorn United and later changed it’s name, to East Kew.
We began our very first season in the Victorian Amateur League Division 3 where we finished 8th. Our home ground was Hays Paddock in East Kew and we then wore a strip of Blue shirts, Blue shorts and white socks . The Clubs founding president was a Mr Bill Hatsistavros and the Clubs inaugural coach was Mr Koulouka.
In season 2 in 1986 the ambitious club moved up a division and played in Division 2 where it finished a credible 5th. 4 points off the eventual champions, but even in 5th it amassed 69 goals for 20 rounds 2 less than the highest scoring team that year.
In 1987, in it’s third year of existence, We moved up a division again into division 1 and this season saw Hawthorn United crowned champions of the division. In that same season of 1987 the club also experienced cup success in being Amateur League Cup winners and capturing a rare triple, winning the Amateur League Reserve Cup.
1988 seemed to be a little more difficult and the team finished mid table in 6th 9 points adrift from the eventual champions and remember the 2 point for a win system was still in place. 1988 wasn’t a total a let down from the previous seasons triumphs as the team became the first team to win back to back Amateur League Cups. (The Amateur League Cup competition was discontinued after the 1990 season)
1989 the team was back to its best and was able to smack in a healthy number of goals, 61 in fact and only conceded 28. It unfortunately finished 2nd only losing 1 game for the entire season and finishing 2 points off top. Its home still being at Hays Paddock.
1990 was a season of missed opportunities 4 draws and 4 losses in its 20 games proved to end any title aspirations and the team finished in 4th position way off the pace. Also at seasons end Hawthorn United withdrew from the Amateur League Division 1. At the time of Hawthorns withdrawal the club secretary was none other than a P. Mamasis.
In 1991 the team was entered into the Provisional League Division four playing under the new name of East Kew. As to the reason why Hawthorn United changed its name to East Kew is still a matter of debate but for all the data available they only ever played at Hays Paddock and for most of its existence wore the stripes of Olympiakos.
A move up to the Provisional Leagues from the Amateurs is a big step but the club being ambitious from its very beginnings was not to be deterred. So the 1991 season saw East Kew finish 9th in a 13 team league with 6 wins 7 draws and 11 losses.
1992 was very similar to the previous season finishing 8th with a 6 win 7 draw 9 loss ratio. This season the club was still playing its home games out of Hays Paddock and continued wearing the red and white stripes but this season donned black shorts with white socks. Club secretary was N Triandopoulos and club liaison officer was a Mr Ernie Cerda.
1993 saw the club move 842 meters to its new and current home of Willsmere Park. It continued in wearing the same strip as the 92 season but struggled throughout the year. It finished in second last only managing 4 wins and collecting 9 points.
1994 saw an improvement in the team only recording 9 losses for the 20 rounds and finishing in 8th in a 12 team league. The club secretary was Mr Nicholas Triandopoulos and club liaison officer was Dennis Angouras.
1994 goal scorers , Dennis Angouras, Anthony Di Lorenzo, George Katsakis, Spiros Neofitou, Arthur Hatsionnou, Michael Mamasis, George Rioniotis, Morris Mihailidis, John Christopoulos, George Triandopoulos and Apostolis Augerinos.
1995 the team was now playing in the restructured Provisional League Division Three South-East. Once again it was to be another tough campaign, in the 22 rounds East Kew was able to win 6 games but finished in second last.
1995 goal scorers, Dennis Angouras, Theo Poulentzas, Jim Kalambokis, George Kalkos, Chris Avramopoulos, Theo Papanicolaou, Morris Mihailidis, Prodromos (Michael) Mamasis, Nick Trimmatis.
1996 the team recorded its worst finish only managing 3 wins for the season and scoring a total of 22 goals for its 22 games. The club secretary was Mr Nick Trimmatis and club liaison officer was Chris Avramopoulos.
1996 goal scorers, Paul Koukounaras, Robby Belicovski, Theo Racovalis, John Horidis, Con Haltogiannidis, Steven Zolutus and Prodromos Mamasis.
1997 the team achieved its highest finish in the provisional leagues. In this year it finished a credible 5th. The team had been built over the previous seasons and to be able to compete at the higher levels required depth in playing stocks and greater resources. This was to be the last season East Kew would compete in the Victorian Soccer Federation (FFV) and moved across to the Amateur Soccer Federation of Victoria (Vicsoccer).
Unfortunately at the time of writing no data on the round results are available for this year. The subsequent decade is also lacking any available data. The only empirical evidence is 2 runners up flags for the years 1998 and 1999.
The next available statistical information is in 2006.
2006 the team was formerly called East Kew Olympiakos. It played in the Vicsoccer League Division One East Morning. At this point in time this was the highest level for the morning divisions in the Vicsoccer Leagues. There was a Division 1 and Division 2 East and also a Division 1 and 2 West.
Throughout the 90s East Kew fielded a Seniors and Reserves teams both playing in the afternoons but with the move to the morning league in the late 90s early 2000s the author is unaware of reserves or second team prior to 2004.
2004 and 2005 East Kew had 1 morning team but alas no data is available as to the exact finish. The Authors memory is of a mid table finish in both seasons. The Club President was Paul Koukounaras (small Paul) and the coach was Michael Mamasis.
2006 East Kew finished 8th in 12 team league winning 7 games but having played 3 games less than most and against teams that finished lower on the table. The season was one of missed opportunities and losing games from winning positions.
2006 or 2007 George Markopoulos took over as club President and Michael Mamasis continued as coach.
2007 East Kew was able to field a very strong team on a weekly basis and had a squad of 20 plus players all eager to earn a spot and perform and the results reflected this. In a season of 14 rounds East Kew won 9 drew 1 and lost 4 and finished on 28 points 4 points away from the Champions but having recorded wins against all the teams above them only to drop points to lower placed teams.
2008 Vicsoccer restructured its Leagues and merged the East and West Leagues into 2 divisions and made a third Premier League league for the highest 5 teams from both East and West. East Kew also at this time with added numbers in the club fielded 2 teams. One in the highly competitive Premier League and the other in Division 2. George Markopoulos remained president as so to Michael Mamasis coach but Paul Koukounaras took charge of the Division 2 team.
Once again we are not able to provide exact details on the finish of the team for this season.
2009 was a very tough year for the club. Both teams struggled. In the Premier League the side suffered continual heavy losses which saw numbers dwindle and it was a struggle to field a side. As a result of this the Division 2 side also had its numbers affected and by seasons end it was a real battle to get 11 on the field every Sunday. The most distressing moments came when Michael Mamasis fell gravely ill midway through the season. For the previous decade he had single-handedly coached the club and had been part of the club spanning back to its formative Hawthorn years. No longer physically being able to coach he and the then President George Markopoulos appointed Jovan Stojanovic as caretaker coach for the remainder of the season. Things continued to unravel and for the first time East Kew was unable to field 2 teams on weekly basis and had to forfeit several Premier League games at the End of the 2009 season.
2009 registered players were. Chris Avramopoulos, Michael Christodolou, Arthur Dardoumbas, Steve DeMaio, George Doufas, Chris Jnr Doufas, Chris Retch Doufas, Chris Snr Doufas, Andrew Drakopoulos, Paul Franceschini, Sam Gosios, Louie Iosifidis, Ronnie Janedi, Arthur Saki Kyriakoudis, Michael Mamasis, George Markopoulos, George Mihailidis, Glen Mikoska, Con Papacosta, Alex Papadopoulos, Peter Papadopoulos, John Paraskevas, Spiro Paraskevas, Theo Paraskevas, Arthur Parisis, Chris Patinyot, George Psihountakis, Hector Psihountakis, Edmondo Rosini, Arman Smerjian, Steven Stefanidis, Alexander Stojanovic, Jovan Stojanovic, Chris Theodorou, Agis Vlahos, Alki Vlahos, Jarrad Wilson, Derek Yang and Allan Zhao.
2010 saw a stabilisation of the club. The club went back to a 1 team club and was now playing Vicsoccer Division One Morning East. With a stable playing list and good core of old and new players the team started to eke out some stirring results. By seasons end the team was battling to win a runners up flag on the last day of the season. A win would secure a well earned second place. Alas it wasn’t meant to be and a 1:0 loss to Iraqis 4 ever resulted in a finish of fifth.
2011 was another year of solid growth. The club still resisting the temptation of fielding 2 teams and chose to strengthen the Division 1 squad. The team was very competitive for most parts of the year but lacked real consistency on a weekly basis and suffered a couple heavy losses against the top team. The team finished a well deserved 4th and yet hungry for success for the years to come.
In 2012 with strong interested over the summer we witnessed East Kew once again fielding 2 teams. One as in its previous seasons the Morning East division and the new second team in the morning West division. Although neither team reached any positions of note they were always competitive and had a strong commitment from it’s playing stocks. At seasons end there was an optimistic feeling around the club and confidence in the comings seasons as the core group in both teams were starting to develop.
2012 registered players were. Chris Avramopoulos, George Doufas, Chris Jnr Doufas, Chris Retch Doufas, Chris Snr Doufas, Paul Franceschini, George Markopoulos, John Morris, Con Papacosta, John Paraskevas, Spiro Paraskevas, Arthur Parisis Edmondo Rosini, Arman Smerjian, Alexander Stojanovic, Jovan Stojanovic, Agis Vlahos, Derek Yang, Allan Zhao, Adam Nicholson, Richie Wong, Steve Banks, Troy Nicholson, Nathan Christofell, Alec McCloskey, Regan Kerekere, Chris Snowy White, Adam Leach, James Zhang, Amr Essa, Mohamed Omar, Fred Huang and Bob Cao.
2013 was a more successful year again. The two squads had really bolstered over the summer. With an intensive pre season, one the club had not seen for many a year both sides were ready to battle. This new level of commitment was driven by the new Coach Harry Arhondis who alongside the now more experienced Jovan Stojanovic they planned to return East Kew higher up the respective Leagues.
The first few rounds of the season was somewhat of an anti climax as both teams squandered many opportunities and dropped valuable points. After 3 rounds the West team had only 3 points on the board. Even more surprisingly the East team had just 1 point. From this round on the East team went on an impressive run winning 13 consecutive games and scoring 57 and only conceding a measly 12. This enabled East Kew to enter the last round of the season knowing a win would secure is long awaited title. As has been the case a few times before throughout its history East Kew stumbled at its final hurdle. With the game being shortened to 70 minutes due to a bizarre refereeing interpretation The East team simply ran out of time to win the game and had to settle for 1:1.
The West team that season had a very competitive run but suffered from inconsistency throughout. It was able to achieve some memorable victories against the top teams but dropped points at crucial stages and was never really in a position to challenge for honours. It finished 4th and managed 9 wins for the season. It did finish the year strongly and this was to be basis for next seasons all conquering Veteran debutantes.
Season Award Name
2015 Club President Chris Doufas “Jnr”
2015 Premier Team Coach Harry Arhondis
2015 Premier Team Best and Fairest Brandon Bryant
2015 Over 35s Best and Fairest Chris Doufas “Jnr”
2014 Coach East Harry Arhondis
2014 Captain East Chris “Snowy” White
2014 Vice Captain East James Norman
2014 Coach West Harry Arhondis
2014 Captain West George Doufas
2014 Vice Captain West Arman Semerjian
2013 Leading Goal Scorer East John Morris
2013 Leading Goal Scorer West Frank Binyazar
2013 Best and Fairest East John Morris
2013 Best and Fairest West Frank Binyazar
2013 Coach East Jovan Stojanovic
2013 Captain East Chris “Snowy” White
2013 Vice Captains East Fred Huang & William Wu
2013 Coach West Harry Arhondis
2013 Captain West Arman Semerjian
2013 Vice Captains West John Paraskevas & George Markopoulos
2012 Leading Goal Scorer East John Morris
2012 Leading Goal Scorer West George Markopoulos
2012 Best and Fairest East John Morris
2012 Best and Fairest West George Markopoulos
2012 Coach East Jovan Stojanovic
2012 Captain East Agis Vlahos
2012 Coach West Harry Arhondis
2012 Captain West Edmondo Rosini
