Merstham F.C.

Merstham
Full name Merstham Football Club
Nickname(s) The Moatsiders
Founded 1892
Ground Moatside,
Merstham,
Surrey
Ground Capacity 2,000
Chairman Chris Chapman
Manager Hayden Bird
League Isthmian League Premier Division
2015–16 Isthmian League Premier Division, 10th
The Main stand and clubhouse
The Albury End
Ground panorama

Merstham Football Club is a football club based in Merstham, near Redhill, in Surrey, England. They play in the Premier Division of the Isthmian League after promotion in 2015. The club is affiliated to the Surrey County Football Association.[1]

History

Established in 1892, the club became a founder member of the Redhill and District League in 1897.[2] The club went on to win the Redhill and District League for the first time at the end of the 1926–27 season, also repeating the feat they repeated four more times.[1] After their last success in the Redhill and District League in the 1950–51 season the club applied to join the Surrey Intermediate league and in 1952 they were admitted to the Eastern section of the Surrey Intermediate League.[2]

In their first season in the Intermediate league they went on to win the title.[1] The club then joined the Surrey Senior League in 1964, and in their seventh season in the league became champions at the end of the 1970–71 season.[3] In the 1974–75 season the club played in their first national competition by competing in the FA Vase, losing to Horley Town in the first round.[3] In 1978 they joined the London Spartan League and finished in third place in their first two seasons. Their time in the London Spartan League also saw them make their debut in the FA Cup, losing to Hendon in the First Qualifying round.[3]

In 1984 they joined the Combined Counties Football League finishing runner-up in 1987–88 and again in 1989–90.[3] After the club finished as runners up twice of the Combined Counties League in a row for the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, the club went on to win the championship as well as completing the treble of the Surrey Senior Cup and the Combined Counties League Challenge Cup. This triple success was followed with promotion to the Isthmian League Division One South.[4]

In the 2015–16 season, Merstham were promoted to the Ryman Premier Division. After finishing 4th in the regular season, they met Faversham Town in the Play-off Semi Final, where they prevailed on penalties after a goalless draw in 120mins. In the final, they visited second-placed Folkestone. Merstham ran out 3–0 winners, winning a place in the Ryman Premier Division for the first time in their history.[3][5] The average attendance for the season stands at 201.[6]

In 2016–17 Merstham embarked on their best-ever FA Cup run, reaching the first round proper where they met League One opponents Oxford United F.C. The match represented a windfall for the club as they were drawn as the home team and the match was selected for "live" screening on BT Sport, netting them £67,000, more than the club's annual playing budget.[7] The Moatsiders eventually lost the game by 5 goals, although the game was more closely fought than the scoreline suggested.[8] The game also saw the attendance record, which previously stood at 1,587 v AFC Wimbledon on 9 November 2002, broken.[1] The Moatsiders welcomed 1,920 into the stadium, including 450 Oxford fans.[6]

Ground

Merstham play their home games at Moatside on Weldon Way in Merstham. Floodlights were erected in the 1990–91 season at the Weldon Way ground and were inaugurated in an official ‘Floodlight Opener’ against Crystal Palace.

Honours

League honours

Cup honours

Club records

Players

Current squad

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

No. Position Player
England GK Phil Wilson
England GK Josh Smith (on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion)
England DF Marc-Anthony Okoye
England DF Kershaney Samuels
England DF Kristian Campbell
England DF Rae Bailey-Allen
England MF Alex Addai
England MF Lanre Azeez
England MF Dan Bennett
France MF Tutu Henriques
England MF Arron Hopkinson
England MF Dan Hogan
No. Position Player
Spain MF Xavier Vidal
England MF Michael Abnett
England MF Tom Kavanagh (captain)
Bulgaria MF Ilia Djamov
England FW Omar Folkes
England FW Reece Hall
England FW Dan Hector
England FW Charlie Penny
England FW Antone Douglas
England FW Tashan Francis-Adeyinka
Saint Kitts and Nevis FW Calum Willock

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player

Former players

  1. Players that have played/managed in the football league or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league).
  2. Players with full international caps.

Former coaches

  1. Managers/Coaches that have played/managed in the football league or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league).
  2. Managers/Coaches with full international caps.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "History of Merstham FC". Mersthamfc.co.uk. 14 May 2008. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "News Story". Dulwichhamletfc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 MERSTHAM at the Football Club History Database
  4. Salmonboy (13 April 2009). "He's Got the Wrong Shirt: Merstham FC 0–0 Chipstead FC". Gotthewrongshirt.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  5. "Club of the Year award for Merstham FC – Sport". getsurrey. 19 September 2008. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 "Merstham 0–5 Oxford United: FA Cup minnows crash out". Mail Online. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  7. "Merstham Cup bonanza can put minnows on a roll". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  8. McVeigh, Niall (2016-11-05). "Merstham 0–5 Oxford United: FA Cup first round – as it happened". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  9. "Saturday Senior Cup Previous Winners". SurreyFA. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  10. "CCL Cup Draw Page". Ccleague.co.uk. 24 July 2008. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  11. "CCL Cup Draw Page". Ccleague.co.uk. 30 August 2007. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  12. "CCL Cup Draw Page". Ccleague.co.uk. 10 July 2006. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  13. "CCL Cup Draw Page". Ccleague.co.uk. 10 July 2006. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  14. 1 2 "History | Lingfield Youth Football Club". Lingfieldyouthfc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  15. "Saturday Lower Junior Cup Previous Winners". SurreyFA. Retrieved 28 April 2013.

Coordinates: 51°15′29.401″N 0°8′47.810″W / 51.25816694°N 0.14661389°W / 51.25816694; -0.14661389

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/16/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.