Harlow Town F.C.

Harlow Town
Full name Harlow Town FC
Nickname(s) The Hawks
Founded 1879
Ground The Harlow Arena, Harlow
Capacity 3,500 (500 seated)
Manager Danny Chapman
League Isthmian League Premier Division
2017–18 Isthmian League Premier Division, 21st of 24

Harlow Town Football Club are an English football club based in Harlow, Essex. The club are members of the Premier Division of the Isthmian League, and play at The Harlow Arena.

The club is best known for its exploits in the 1979–80 FA Cup, in which it reached the fourth round, eliminating two Football League sides Southend United and Leicester City before losing to Watford at Vicarage Road.

History

The club's first match was played on 18 October 1879 against Saffron Walden. In 1898 the club merged with Netteswell and Burnt Mill and were renamed Harlow and Burnt Mill F.C. and rejoined the East Herts League. The merger was reversed in 1902.

Soccer field with low, pitched-roof building in background
The Sportcentre, Harlow Town's home from 1960–2006

In 1954 the club joined the Premier Division of the London League. In 1960 they won the League Cup, and moved to the newly-built Sportcentre on Hammarskjold Road. In 1961 they switched to the Delphian League. In 1963 it merged into the Athenian League and the club were placed in Division Two. After finishing third in 1963–64, they were promoted to Division One.[1] Due to Harlow's facilities at the Sportcentre, the club attracted well-known teams to the area during this period. In July 1966 Harlow Town arranged a friendly match against Uruguay, who were staying nearby in preparation for that summer's FIFA World Cuo. Uruguay defeated Harlow 6–1. In 1968, S.L. Benfica reached the European Cup final against Manchester United at Wembley Stadium, and prepared for the final at the Sportcentre; their team included the 1966 World Cup Golden Boot winner Eusébio.

In 1971–72 the club won Division One, and were promoted to the Premier Division of the Athenian League. In 1973 the club switched to Division Two of the Isthmian League, renamed Division One in 1977. In 1978–79 they won Division One and were promoted to the Premier Division.

The 1979–80 season saw the club make its best-ever run in the FA Cup. They entered at the preliminary round, beating Lowestoft Town, Hornchurch, Bury Town, Harwich & Parkeston and Margate to reach the first round proper for the first time, where they defeated Leytonstone/Ilford 2–1. In the second round they drew 1–1 away at Football League side Southend United before winning the replay at the Sportcentre 1–0 in front of 5,000 spectators. The club were then drawn away to Second Division leaders Leicester City. After a 1–1 draw at Filbert Street, Harlow famously won the replay at the Sportcentre 1–0, watched by a club-record attendance of 9,723. In the fourth round Harlow were drawn away to Watford, losing 4–3.[1]

In 1981–82 the club were relegated, but returned to the Premier Division after a single season in Division One. However, two consecutive relegations in 1984–85 and 1985–86 saw the club drop into Division Two North. In 1988–89 they won the division and returned to Division One.

The club's plans to leave the Sportcentre for a new stadium on Roydon Road collapsed during the 1991–92 season, and the Isthmian League closed the Sportcentre after it no longer met league requirements. The team fulfilled the remainder of their home games at local venues including Sawbridgeworth, Bishop's Stortford, Ware and Aveley. The club dropped out of football for the 1992–93 season.

Upon being voted back into the Isthmian League for the 1993–94 season after upgrading the Sportcentre, the club were forced to drop into Division Three. In 1997–98 they were promoted to Division Two, and the following season were promoted to Division One. In 2004 the club were transferred to Division One East of the Southern League, but returned to the Isthmian League in 2006.

In October 2006 the club moved to its new ground at Barrow's Farm. After finishing as runners-up in Division One North in 2006–07 they won the promotion play-offs and were promoted to the Premier Division after defeating A.F.C. Sudbury in the final. However, they were relegated back to Division One North at the end of the 2008–09 season.[1]

In January 2010 new owners took control of the club, with former manager Tommy Cunningham returning to the club alongside business partner John Barnett. 2010-11 saw Kevin Warren become the Hawks manager, but a run of defeats led to Danny Chapman replacing him at the helm. Chapman then turned the tide and took the club to the Division One North play-offs after finishing fourth, but failed to reach the final after being defeated by Wingate & Finchley.

At the start of the 2014-15 Harlow Town launched The Harlow Academy, a youth set-up which incorporated 21 youth teams playing at The Harlow Arena. After a tightly contested league campaign, Harlow missed out the league title and automatic promotion by one point, finishing behind Needham Market Another play-off campaign beckoned, but Harlow lost 4-3 to Thurrock in the semi-finals after extra-time.

2015-16 saw Harlow Town go on a club record streak of 12 consecutive wins between 19 December 2015 and 13 February 2016, propelling themselves into the play-offs, finishing the season in third place, setting up a third consecutive appearance in the play-offs. The Hawks hosted A.F.C. Hornchurch in the final at the Harlow Arena, where 1,655 spectators saw Harlow claim promotion to the Premier Division with a 3-1 win. 2016-17 saw Harlow achieve a new club record highest league finish of tenth in the Isthmian Premier Division, their first campaign at this level since 2009.

Club officials

Role Name
Chief ExecutiveTom Cunningham
ManagerDanny Chapman
Assistant ManagerSpencer Knight
First Team CoachMark Holloway
Goalkeeping CoachHarry Gozutok
Club SecretaryRay Dyer
PresidentRon Bruce

Managerial history

Years Manager
1879–1957Selection Committee[lower-alpha 1]
1957–1958Rick Barrett
1958–1959Dennis Bow
1959–1964Jack Kavanagh
1964–1966Ralph Wetton
1966–1967Ken Driver
1967–1969Bryan Atkinson
1969–1971Brian Somers
1971–1973Roy Thomas
1973–1974Jack Price
1974–1975Gordon Sedgley
1975–1976Len Gamblin
1976–1982Ian Wolstenholme
1982–1985Gwyn Walters
1985–1994Dave Edwards[lower-alpha 2]
1994–1995Len Glover
1995–1997Dave Greene
1997–1999Eddie McCluskey
1999–2002Ian Allinson
2002–2003John Kendall
2003–2006Tommy Cunningham
2006–2008Ryan Kirby
2008–2009Glen Alzapiedi
2009Anthony Anstead
2009–2010Marvin Samuel
2010–2011Kevin Warren
2011 – presentDanny Chapman
  1. ↑ Harlow Town did not have their first manager until 1957, as they had a Selection Committee for the first 77 years of their history.
  2. ↑ Edwards lost his job as manager in 1992 after the club went into administration, but was instantly re-instated in 1993 when the club returned to the Isthmian League.

Recent history

Season Division Position FA Cup FA Trophy Essex Senior Cup Alan Turvey Trophy
2006–07 Isthmian League Division One North 2nd (promoted) Preliminary round 1st qualifying round Quarter-finals Third round
2007–08 Isthmian League Premier Division 15th 2nd qualifying round 1st qualifying round Third round Second round
2008–09 20th (relegated) First round 1st qualifying round Third round Fourth round
2009–10 Isthmian League Division One North 22nd Preliminary round Preliminary round Fourth round Third round
2010–11 4th 2nd qualifying round First round Third round Second round
2011–12 7th Preliminary round 3rd qualifying round Quarter-finals Second round
2012–13 21st Preliminary round Preliminary round Third round Second round
2013–14 4th 2nd qualifying round Preliminary round Quarter-finals Quarter-finals
2014–15 2nd 1st qualifying round 1st qualifying round Fourth round Second round
2015–16 3rd (promoted) 4th qualifying round 2nd qualifying round Third round First round
2016–17 Isthmian League Premier Division 10th 2nd qualifying round Second round Fourth round First round
2017–18 21st 3rd qualifying round 3rd qualifying round Quarter-finals First round

Stadium

The Harlow Arena ground
Years Ground
1879–1960Green Man Playing Fields
1960–2006Harlow Sportcentre
2006–presentThe Harlow Arena

In their long history, Harlow Town have only ever had 3 home venues. From the club's formation right up until 1960, the club played their home games at the Green Man Playing Fields, with its first competitive game coming against Bishop's Stortford Nonconformist Grammar School. Harlow Town's last game at its original home was against East Ham United on 30 April 1960, with Harlow winning the game 2–1.

For the start of the 1960–1961 season, Harlow had moved to a new home on Hammarskjold Road, to the newly built Harlow Sportcentre, the first Sports Centre in England. The Town's first competitive game in their new home was against Epping Town in the London League on 27 August 1960, with the game finishing in a 1–1 draw. The Sportcentre hosted some of Harlow's greatest moments, most notably the FA Cup giant-killings of Southend United and Leicester City in the 1979–1980 season. Harlow's final season at the Sportcentre came in 2005–06, with their last scheduled game their against Spalding United in the 2006 East Anglian Cup final, but due to delays at their new ground, their final game at the Sportcentre was on 2 September 2006 in an FA Cup Preliminary Round match against Saffron Walden Town, ironically the team Harlow faced in their first ever match.

Eventually, Harlow moved to their new home at Barrow's Farm in October 2006, with the opening match at the new ground on 18 October with Harlow defeating Ware 2-0. The official record attendance at the stadium is 2,149, against Macclesfield Town, then of League Two in the FA Cup First Round Proper on 8 November 2008; Macclesfield won the game 2-0. In the summer of 2013, following investment from the owners, a brand new 3G playing surface was laid to allow regular use of the pitch by the local community without impacting the turf. This coincided with the re-branding of the ground to The Harlow Arena, as a primary venue for Harlow and its residents.

Honours

  • Isthmian League
  • Athenian League
    • Division One Champions 1971–72
  • Essex Senior Cup
    • Winners 1978–79
  • East Anglian Cup
    • Winners 1989–90, 2001–02, 2005–06
  • London League Cup
    • Champions 1959–60
  • West Essex Border Charity Cup
    • Winners 1923–24
  • Spartan League
    • Division One Cup Winners 1952–53
  • East Herts League
    • Division One Champions 1911–12, 1922–23, 1928–29, 1929–30
    • Challenge Cup Winners 1929–30, 1930–31, 1931–32
  • Stansted & District League
    • Division One Champions 1923–24, 1924–25, 1927–28, 1928–29
  • Rolleston Cup
    • Winners 1924–25
  • Epping Hospital Shield
    • Winners 1938–39, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49

Records

  • Record Victory: 14–0 vs Bishop's Stortford, 11 April 1925
  • Record Defeat: 0–11 vs Ware, 6 March 1948
  • High-Scoring Draw: 5–5 vs Southall, 1 February 1975
  • Highest Attendance (Sportcentre): 9,723 vs Leicester City, 8 January 1980
  • Highest Attendance (Harlow Arena): 2,149 vs Macclesfield Town, 8 November 2008
  • Highest League finish: 10th in Isthmian Premier Division, 2016–17
  • Most Appearances: Norman Gladwin (639), 1951–70
  • Most Goals in a Season: Dick Marshall (64), 1928–29
  • Most Goals in a Season (Post-War): Alex Read (52), 2013–14
  • Consecutive League Wins: 12 (19 December 2015 – 13 February 2016)
  • Consecutive League Defeats: 11 (1 January 1977 – 5 March 1977)
  • Most Wins in a Season: 31 out of 42 (1978–79)
  • Most Draws in a Season: 16 out of 42 (1987–88, 2000–01, 2005–06)
  • Most Defeats in a Season: 29 out of 42 (2009–10)

References

  1. 1 2 3 Harlow Town at the Football Club History Database

Coordinates: 51°46′15.740″N 0°4′4.159″E / 51.77103889°N 0.06782194°E / 51.77103889; 0.06782194

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