Harlow Town Football Club is an English football club based in Harlow,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

. The club is a former member of the and plays at The Harlow Arena. The club is best known for its exploits in the

1979–80 FA Cup The 1979–80 FA Cup was the 99th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition, The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup. The final saw second division West Ham United beat holders Arsenal 1–0. As of 2022, this was the las ...

, in which it reached the fourth round, eliminating two Football League sides

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

and

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

before losing to

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

Vicarage Road Vicarage Road is a stadium in Watford, England, and is the home stadium of championship club Watford. An all-seater stadium, its current capacity is 22,200. History It has been the home of Watford since 1922, when the club moved from Cas ...

History

The club was originally formed in 1879, playing its first match on 18 October 1879 against

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. The population was 15, ...

. In those early days the club, just known as Harlow, played friendly matches against local opposition until the formation of East Herts League in 1896. In 1898, the club merged with Netteswell and Burnt Mill and were briefly renamed Harlow and Burnt Mill F.C., but the merger was reversed in 1902. Harlow Town Football Club

The club moved into the Spartan League in 1932 and were granted Senior Status in 1937, competing in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

and Essex Senior Cups for the first time. At this time Harlow had one of the smallest populations for clubs competing at this level, a far cry from today where the population is around 86,000. Over the years Harlow, which became a New Town in the early 1950s, expanded beyond recognition, and the football club grew with the town. 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 The Delphian League was an English amateur football league covering Greater London and the surrounding area. The league was formed in 1951 with 14 clubs and was effectively a level below the Corinthian League.Athenian League The Athenian League was an English amateur football league for clubs in and around London. The league was originally to be called the Corinthian League,Athenian Football League minutes 1912-1921 (National Football Museum, Preston). but this nam ...

and the club were placed in Division Two. After finishing third in 1963–64, they were promoted to Division One. 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 An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, who were staying nearby in preparation for that summer's

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

. Uruguay defeated Harlow 6–1. In 1968,

S.L. Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904 as ''Sport Lisboa'', Be ...

reached the European Cup final against Manchester United at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

, and prepared for the final at the Sportcentre; their team included the 1966 World Cup Golden Boot winner

Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of ...

. 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 Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook. The town has been a significan ...

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

before winning the replay at the Sportcentre 1–0 in front of 5,000 spectators. The club were then drawn away to

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

leaders

. After a 1–1 draw at

Filbert Street Filbert Street was a football stadium in Leicester, England, which served as the home of Leicester City F.C. from 1891 until 2002. Although officially titled the City Business Stadium in the early 1990s, it remained known almost exclusively by ...

, 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

, losing 4–3. In the 1981–82 season, 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 Aveley is a town and former civil parish in the unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex, England, and forms one of the traditional Church of England parishes. Aveley is 16 miles (26.2 km) east of Charing Cross. In the 2021 United Kingdom c ...

. 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. In January 2010, new owners took control of the club, with former manager Tommy Cunningham returning to the club alongside business partner John Barnett. The 2010–11 season 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 season 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 Thurrock () is a unitary authority area with borough status and unparished area in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The ...

in the semi-finals after extra-time. The 2015–16 season 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. In the 2016–17 season, Harlow achieved a new club record highest league finish of tenth in the Isthmian Premier Division, their first campaign at that level since 2009. The 2017–18 season was a fierce relegation battle in the Isthmian Premier division, with Harlow Town eventually finishing one place above the relegation zone. The Club once again fought against relegation throughout the 2018–19 season, however the challenge proved too great and Harlow Town finished bottom of the league table, seven points from safety. With the Hawks heading back to Step 4, they were allocated to the Isthmian League South Central division. Despite starting the season strongly and leading the league table at once stage, a run of poor results leading up to Christmas saw Harlow Town fall off the pace. As a result, Danny Chapman resigned as manager in January 2020, after nine years in the role, to be replaced by Mark Holloway. The start to the 2020 season was one of turmoil, with the COVID-19 pandemic causing disruption to the campaign preparations. Dave Collis replaced Mark Holloway as Manager in October, and Collis himself was relieved of his managerial duties in December after a run of nine consecutive defeats, to be replaced by former Manager Danny Chapman who stepped back into the role after some time away from the game.

Club officials

Managerial history

Ten-year history

Stadium

In their long history, Harlow Town have had three 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 1960–61 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, including the

giant-killings of

and

in the 1979–1980 season. Harlow's final full season at the Sportcentre came in 2005–06, with their last scheduled game against Spalding United in the 2006 East Anglian Cup final, but due to delays at the new ground, the final game at the Sportcentre was on 2 September 2006 in an FA Cup Preliminary Round match against Saffron Walden Town, 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 **Division One Champions 1978–79 **Division One North Play-Off Winners 2006–07, 2015-16 **Division Two North Champions 1988–89 *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 Southall () is a large suburban county of West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns. It is situated west of Charing Cross and had a population of 69,857 as of 2011. It is generally divided ...

, 1 February 1975 *Highest Attendance (Sportcentre): 9,723 vs

, 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

External links

Official club website
{{coord, 51, 46, 15.740, N, 0, 4, 4.159, E, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Association football clubs established in 1879 Athenian League Delphian League Football clubs in Essex Football clubs in England Harlow Isthmian League Southern Football League clubs 1879 establishments in England