Hednesford Town F.C.

From Vero - Wikipedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox football club

Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the Template:English football updater and play at Keys Park. They won the FA Trophy in 2004.

History

The club was established in 1880 as a merger of the Red & Whites and Hill Top.<ref name=H>Club History Hednesford Town F.C.</ref> Based at the Anglesey Hotel, they were sometimes known as Hednesford Anglesey.<ref name=TT>The Tins Hednesford Town F.C.</ref> The club were founder members of the Birmingham & District League in 1889 and finished sixth in their first season. Despite finishing third in 1890–91, they left the league at the end of the season,<ref name=NLM1>Birmingham & District League 1889–1930 Non-League Mattes</ref> and played only friendly matches before joining the Walsall & District Junior League in 1894.<ref name=LA>Archive leagues Hednesford Town Statistics Site</ref> The club were runners-up in the league in their first two seasons, before the league was renamed the Walsall & District League in 1897.

Hednesford were league runners-up again in 1899–1900 and 1901–02. After finishing third in 1907–08, they joined the Birmingham Combination, which they won in 1909–10.<ref>Birmingham Combination 1892–1915 Non-League Matters</ref> After World War II the club rejoined the Birmingham & District League.<ref name=NLM1/> They reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time in 1919–20, losing 2–0 at Castleford Town.<ref name=FCHD2/> The club finished bottom of the league in 1924–25, 1925–26 and 1931–32.<ref name=NLM1/><ref name=NLM2>Birmingham & District League 1930–1962 Non-League Matters</ref> They withdrew from the league during the 1937–38 season and folded before reforming as Hednesford.<ref name=FCHD2>Template:Fchd</ref> The new club rejoined the Birmingham & District League for the 1938–39 season; however, with the league reduced to 10 clubs, two round robin leagues were played – the King's Cup, in which the club finished bottom of the table, and the League Cup, in which they finished second-from-bottom.<ref name=NLM2/>

After World War II Hednesford joined the Birmingham Combination.<ref name=NLM3>Birmingham Combination 1919–1954 Non-League Matters</ref> They won the league in 1950–51 and were runners-up in 1952–53,<ref name=NLM3/> after which they rejoined the Birmingham & District League.<ref name=NLM2/> The league was split into two divisions for the 1954–55 season, with Hednesford playing in the Northern Division.<ref name=NLM2/> A thirteenth-place finish saw them placed in Division Two the following season.<ref name=NLM2/> They remained in Division Two until the league was reduced to a single division in 1960.<ref name=NLM2/> In 1962 the league was renamed the West Midlands (Regional) League. Hednesford became members of the Premier Division when the league gained a second division in 1965.<ref name=NLM4>West Midlands (Regional) League 1962–1978 Non-League Matters</ref> The club returned to its original name in 1971,<ref name=NLM4/> and in 1972 they joined the Midland League. However, after finishing bottom of the table in 1973–77, the club left the league,<ref>Midland Counties League 1958–1982 Non-League Matters</ref> returning to the Premier Division of the West Midlands (Regional) League.<ref name=NLM4/> They were league champions in 1977–78,<ref name=NLM4/> and after finishing as runners-up in 1983–84, the club moved up to the Midland Division of the Southern League.<ref name=FCHD2/>

In 1991–92 Hednesford were Midland Division runners-up, earning promotion to the Premier Division; they also reached the final of the Welsh Cup, losing 1–0 to Cardiff City. They won the Premier Division in 1994–95 and were promoted to the Football Conference. In their first season in the Conference the club finished third. The 1996–97 season saw the club reach the first round of the FA Cup for the first time since 1919–20. After beating Southport 2–1 in the first round, they defeated Second Division clubs Blackpool in the second round and York City in the third round, winning both games 1–0. In the fourth round they were drawn at home to Premier League Middlesbrough. However, the match was played at Boro's Riverside Stadium. In what was a close game Hednesford lost the tie 3–2.

The following season saw Hednesford entered directly into the first round of the FA Cup, where they defeated Hull City 2–0, before losing 1–0 to Darlington in the second round. The club reached the second round again in 1998–99, beating Barnet 1–0 in the first round before losing 3–1 at Cardiff City. A gradual decline in league performances saw them finish bottom of the table in 2000–01, resulting in relegation back to the Southern League's Premier Division.<ref name=FCHD2/> In 2003–04 the club reached the final of the FA Trophy, winning the competition with a 3–2 win over Canvey Island at Villa Park. In 2004–05 they finished fourth in the Premier Division, qualifying for the promotion play-offs; after beating Merthyr Tydfil 5–3 on penalties in the semi-finals after a 1–1 draw, they beat Chippenham Town 1–0 in the final to earn promotion to the Conference North.<ref>2004–05 Southern League Football Club History Database</ref>

Hednesford finished bottom of the Conference North in 2005–06, resulting in an immediate relegation, this time to the Premier Division of the Northern Premier League. In 2009 they were transferred to the Southern League's Premier Division, and a fourth-place finish in 2009–10 saw them qualify for the play-offs again, this time losing 2–0 to Chippenham in the semi-finals.<ref name=FCHD2/> They were Premier Division runners-up the following season; another play-off campaign saw them beat Leamington 3–1 in the semi-finals before losing 3–2 on penalties to Salisbury City in the final after the game had ended 2–2. The club were transferred back to the Northern Premier League in 2011 and finished fifth in 2011–12 before losing 5–0 to Bradford Park Avenue in the play-off semi-finals.

A fourth successive play-off campaign was secured when Hednesford were Premier Division runners-up in 2012–13. After beating AFC Fylde 3–1 on penalties in the semi-finals following a 3–3 draw, they defeated F.C. United of Manchester 2–1 in the final, earning promotion to the Conference North.<ref name=FCHD2/> Their first season back in the Conference North ended with a fourth-place finish and a play-off semi-final defeat to Altrincham, losing 4–3 on aggregate.<ref name=FCHD2/> In 2015–16 they finished second-from-bottom of the renamed National League North and were relegated to the Northern Premier League's Premier Division.<ref name=FCHD2/> The 2022–23 season saw them relegated to Division One West of the Northern Premier League.<ref> Template:Cite web</ref> In 2024–25 they were runners-up in Division One West. After beating Vauxhall Motors 3–1 in the play-off semi-finals, the club defeated Congleton Town 2–0 in the final to earn promotion to the Premier Division.

Ground

Template:Main

The club originally played at a ground behind the Anglesey Hotel, which became known as 'the Tins' due to the metal sheeting that was erected around the ground.<ref name=TT/> In 1904 they moved to the Cross Keys ground after a local councillor agreed to pay off the club's £40 debt if they moved away from the Tins.<ref name=CK>Cross Keys Template:Webarchive Hednesford Town F.C.</ref> The first match at the new stadium drew a crowd of 900 to see Hednesford beat Stafford 3–1.<ref name=CK/> A large wooden stand was erected on one side of the pitch and banking on the other. The banking was replaced by a pitch-length stand in the 1950s and floodlights were installed in 1953, with over 7,000 attending the inauguration match in which local rivals Wolves defeated West Brom 4–2.<ref name=CK/>

By the 1990s the capacity of Cross Keys had been reduced to around 4,000.<ref name=CK/> The final match at the ground saw Hednesford beat Leek Town to secure the Southern League title and promotion to the Football Conference in front of 2,776 spectators.<ref name=CK/> The club then moved to Keys Park, which was built at a cost of £1.3m.<ref name=KP>Keys Park Hednesford Town F.C.</ref> The ground initially had a capacity of 3,500, but was expanded during the 1997–98 season and now has a capacity of 6,039, of which 1,011 is seated and 5,335 covered.<ref name=KP/><ref name=NLCD2017/> The record attendance at Keys Park was set when 4,701 spectators attended the Northern Premier League Division One West play-off final match against Congleton Town on 3 May 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Current squad

Template:Updated<ref name="Hednesford Town">Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Football squad start Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Fs mid Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad player Template:Football squad end

Management and coaching staff

Template:Updated<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Template:Fb cs staffTemplate:Fb cs staffTemplate:Fb cs staffTemplate:Fb cs staffTemplate:Fb cs staffTemplate:Fb cs staffTemplate:Fb cs staffTemplate:Fb cs staff
Position Name

Honours

  • FA Trophy
    • Winners 2003–04
  • Southern League
    • Premier Division champions 1994–95
    • League Cup winners 2010–11<ref name=Hon/>
    • Championship Trophy winners 1994–95<ref name=Hon/>
  • West Midlands (Regional) League
    • Champions 1940–41, 1977–78
    • League Cup winners 1962–63, 1983–84<ref name=Hon/>
  • Birmingham Combination
    • Champions 1909–10, 1950–51
  • Birmingham Senior Cup
    • Winners 1935–36, 2008–09, 2012–13<ref name=Hon/>
  • Staffordshire Senior Cup
    • Winners 1897–98, 1969–70, 1973–74, 2012–13<ref name=Hon/>

Records

See also

References

Template:Reflist

Template:Northern Premier League Template:Authority control

Retrieved from "https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=Hednesford_Town_F.C.&oldid=352716"