Gloucestershire Senior Cup

Gloucestershire County FA Senior Cup
Region Gloucestershire
Number of teams 12 (2017/18)
Current champions Bristol City reserves
Most successful club(s) Cheltenham Town/ reserves (31 titles)
Website Gloucestershire County FA Official Website

The Senior Challenge Cup is the current county cup in the county of Gloucestershire. It is administered by the Gloucestershire County Football Association (GCFA).[1] According to the current rules of the competition, it is open to all clubs whose first affiliation is with the GCFA. The current holders are Bristol City reserves.

History

The Senior Cup and the Challenge Trophy are the only competitions competed across the whole county. Most other challenge cup competitions in the county are competed for by clubs according to their location in the county. County rules state that clubs that are south of Thornbury compete in the southern section and the rest of the county compete in the northern section.[2] None of the affiliated clubs that compete above the fifth tier in the English football league system enter their first teams in the Senior Challenge Cup.

The natural predecessor to the current competition was the Gloucestershire FA Northern Senior Professional Cup, which for it's early existence was an annual game held between Gloucester City and Cheltenham Town. Gradually, other local sides were introduced to the competition, but the final was still dominated by the founding two clubs, until Forest Green Rovers in the 1980s and the eventual joining of the Bristol-based clubs in the 1990s to form what we now recognize as the Gloucestershire Senior Cup.

In the early years the cup saw large crowd and great local interest. The largest crowd came at Longlevens where a crowd of 4,221 witnessed Gloucester City defeat Cheltenham Town on 26 April 1951. In recent years, popularity has dwindled with clubs being involved in more prestigious competitions and fielding weakened sides in the competition.

The final was traditionally held at one of the finalists stadiums, but in recent years the final has been played at a neutral in Almondsbury at Oakland Park, which is the headquarters of the Gloucestershire FA.

Finals

Performance by club

Note: 9 tournaments are missing

Club Wins Runners-up Year Winners Year Runner-up
Cheltenham Town/Reserves 34 19 1936, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1976, 1978, 1981, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2007 1950, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2006, 2008, 2011
Gloucester City 18 35 1950, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1991, 1993, 1996 1936, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1954, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1976, 1978, 1981, 1985, 1987, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2009, 2010, 2018
Bristol City Reserves/U23 10 3 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2017, 2018 2001, 2003, 2014
Forest Green Rovers 4 4 1985, 1986, 1987, 2016 1984, 1988, 1989, 1998
Yate Town 3 2 2005, 2006, 2011 1993, 1995
Mangotsfield United 3 2003, 2013, 2014
Cinderford Town 1 4 2001 1958, 1968, 2007, 2013
Cirencester Town 1 2 2015 2002, 2017
Stonehouse Town 1 1954
A.F.C Newport 1 1994
Bristol Rovers Reserves 3 2000, 2004, 2005
Bishop's Cleeve 2 2012, 2016
Shortwood United 1 2015

Trivia

The 1950 final saw an extraordinary event, The first game between Gloucester City and Cheltenham Town at Whaddon Road had ended in a 1-1 draw. A replay was held and crowd of 4,115 flocked to Gloucester City's Longlevens ground to witness the replayed final. After normal time the match had finished 1-1 again and it had been decided to play a period of extra time 30 minutes long. When this period didn't end the stalemate, a second and third period of 20 minutes extra time was played bringing the match length to a total of 160 minutes. It was with some relief when the winning goal was scored by Gloucester's Doug Hunt in the 159th minute, sparing the crowd of a further period of extra time who spilled onto the pitch in jubilation and the match was declared over by the official.

References

  1. ↑ Gloucestershire County FA Cups
  2. ↑ Gloucestershire County FA Handbook 2012-13. Gloucestershire County FA Ltd. p. 74. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
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