Matlock Town Football Club is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in Matlock, Derbyshire, England. Nicknamed 'the Gladiators', they are currently members of the and play at Causeway Lane.

History

The club was established in 1878 as Matlock Football Club.History boys – Matlock Town and their run to FA Cup Third Round in 1977
Matlock Town F.C. They began entering the FA Cup in 1885, but did not win a match in the competition until 1890. In that year the club were founder members of the Derbyshire Senior League and went on to win the title in the league's inaugural season.Derbyshire Senior League 1890–1938
Non-League Matters After winning the league again the following season, they joined the Midland Amateur Alliance in 1892. However, the league was disbanded at the end of the 1892–93 season and Matlock returned to the Derbyshire Senior League. They subsequently joined the Midland League in 1894; after finishing bottom of the league in their first season, the club lost all 28 league matches in 1895–96 and left the league, again returning to the Derbyshire Senior League. They finished bottom of the league in 1897–98. After World War I the club was renamed Matlock Town. They joined the

Central Alliance The Central Alliance was a football league in England, covering the East Midlands. History The league was established in 1911 with twelve clubs, most of which had previously been members of the Notts & Derbyshire League; Derby County Reserve ...

in 1924, but the league folded at the end of the 1924–25 season and the club rejoined the Derbyshire Senior League, in which they were runners-up in 1926–27. In 1933 they joined the new Central Combination, but left after two season. After World War II the club played in the Chesterfield & District League for the 1946–47 season,Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2016) ''Non-League Club Directory 2017'', Tony Williams Publications, p184 before the Central Alliance was re-established in 1947, with Matlock becoming members again.The Central Alliance 1947–1962
Non-League Matters When the league gained a second division in 1950, they became members of Division One. Despite finishing bottom of the division in 1951–52, the club were not relegated. In 1955–56 Matlock finished bottom of Division One again. The league was then reorganised, with the club placed in Division One North. They won the division in 1959–60, also reaching the first round of the FA Cup, losing 1–0 to

Crook Town Crook Town Association Football Club is a football club based in Crook, County Durham, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Sir Tom Cowie Millfield. The club won the FA Amateur Cup five times. History Crook Town Footba ...

in a replay. After retaining the league title the following season, the club moved up to the reformed Midland League, which they won at the first attempt. They were Midland League champions again in 1968–69, subsequently joining the

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

. They reached the first round of the FA Cup again in 1974–75, losing 4–1 at home to Blackburn. In the

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

the club reached the final at Wembley Stadium, in which they defeated Scarborough 4–0 to win the trophy; three Matlock players in the final were brothers, the only occasion on which three brothers have played for the same team in a Wembley final. The following season saw them automatically qualify for the first round, but they lost 4–1 at

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

. Matlock were drawn against Wigan in the first round of the FA Cup again in 1976–77, this time winning 2–0. They went on to beat eventual

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

champions

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

in an incredible 5–2 away from home, marking the first time the club had defeated Football League opposition. In the third round they lost 5–1 at

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

. The club won the Northern Premier League's Challenge Cup and the Peter Swales Shield in 1977–78. In 1979 they entered the

Anglo-Italian Cup The Anglo-Italian Cup ( it, Coppa Anglo-Italiana, also known as the Anglo-Italian Inter-League Clubs Competition and from 1976 to 1986 as the Alitalia Challenge Cup, Talbot Challenge Cup or Gigi Peronace Memorial) is a defunct European football c ...

, finishing second in the English section. The 1983–84 season saw them finish as runners-up in the Northern Premier League. When the league gained a second division in 1987 the club became members of the Premier Division. Another FA Cup first round appearance in 1989–90 ended in a 4–1 defeat at

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

. After finishing bottom of the division in 1995–96, they were relegated to Division One. In 2003–04 Matlock were Division One runners-up, earning promotion to the Premier Division. They won the league's Challenge Cup the following season. A fifth-place finish in the Premier Division in 2007–08 led to the club qualifying for the promotion playoffs, in which they lost 4–2 to

Witton Albion Witton may refer to one of several places in England: *Witton, historic name of an area of Northwich, Cheshire **Witton Albion F.C. *Witton Gilbert, County Durham *Witton-le-Wear, County Durham *Witton, an area of Blackburn, Lancashire * Witton, B ...

in the semi-finals.

Ground

The club originally played at Hall Leys, before moving to Causeway Lane, which is shared with the local

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

club, with temporary railing installed on one side of the pitch at the end of the cricket season.Matlock Town
Pyramid Passion A wooden stand was built on one side of the pitch in 1920 and was later named the Cyril Harrison Stand. Another wooden stand was built on the other side of the pitch in 1959, with seats installed in the late 1960s. Floodlights were erected in 1970 and a new terrace installed next to one of the stands prior to the FA Cup first round match against Blackburn in 1974, which attracted a then-record attendance of 5,123. More seats were installed in 1975 and that year saw a new record attendance of 5,123 set for an

semi-final match against Burton Albion. A covered terrace was built at the Town End of the ground in the 1980s.

Current squad

Honours

*FA Trophy **Winners 1974–75 *Northern Premier League **Challenge Cup winners 1977–78, 2004–05 **Shield winners 1978–79 *Midland League **Champions 1961–62, 1968–69 *Central Alliance **North Division champions 1959–60, 1960–61 *Derbyshire Senior League **Champions 1890–91, 1891–92 *

Derbyshire Senior Cup The Derbyshire County FA Senior Cup is a local county football cup for teams based in the county of Derbyshire. Founded in 1883-1884, the first competition was won by Staveley, who beat Derby Midland 2-1 in the final. 1885-1886 saw Heeley from Y ...

**Winners 1974–75, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1991–92, 2003–04, 2009–10, 2014–15, 2016–17 *Evans Halshaw Floodlit Cup **Winners 1988–89, 1990–91Club History
Matlock Town F.C.

Records

*Best FA Cup performance: Third round, 1976–77 *Best

performance: Winners, 1974–75 *Biggest win: 10–0 vs

Lancaster City Lancaster City Football Club is an English semi-professional non-League football club based in the northern city of Lancaster, Lancashire. They currently compete in and play at Giant Axe. They are full members of the Lancashire County Footb ...

, 1974 *Heaviest defeat: 8–0 vs

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...

, 1971 *Record attendance: 5,123 vs Burton Albion, FA Trophy semi-final, 1975 *Most appearances: Mick Fenoughty *Most goals: Peter Scott *Record transfer fee paid: £2,000 for Kenny Clark, 1996 *Record transfer fee received: £10,000 for Ian Helliwell from York City, 1987

References

External links

Official website
{{coord, 53, 08, 13.42, N, 1, 33, 06.37, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Football clubs in England Association football clubs established in 1878 1878 establishments in England Midland Football League (1889) Central Alliance Central Combination Northern Premier League clubs Football clubs in Derbyshire Matlock, Derbyshire