Merthyr Tydfil Football Club was a Welsh
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 at the
Penydarren Park
Penydarren Park is a sports stadium in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, that is the present home ground of Merthyr Town Historically used for varying sports, it has been the home to two professional football teams, Merthyr Town and Merthyr Tydfil F.C.
The ...
ground in
Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...
. In 2010 the club was liquidated and reformed under the name
Merthyr Town
Merthyr Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Tref Merthyr) is a Welsh semi-professional association football, football club based in Merthyr Tydfil, currently playing in the , in the seventh tier of the English football league system.
The ...
, which was accepted into Division One of the
Western League.
History
![Merthyr v Ipswich football match (10870171575)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Merthyr_v_Ipswich_football_match_%2810870171575%29.jpg)
The club was formed in 1945, and joined the
Welsh League
The Welsh League was the first club rugby league competition in Wales.Lush (1998), pg. 19 Its inaugural season was in 1908/09 when four additional teams were formed to join Ebbw Vale RLFC and Merthyr Tydfil RLFC, which allowed a league tournamen ...
. In their first season, they finished as runners-up, and joined the Southern League. The club were immensely successful in their first few seasons, winning the championship in 1947–48, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52 and 1953–54. In the 1947–48 championship-winning season, Merthyr only dropped one point at home (against
Colchester United) and only lost four games all season. However, despite their success, the club failed to be elected to
the English Football League. The 1950–51 season ended with Merthyr winning the Southern League, the
Welsh Cup
The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most ...
, the Southern League Cup and the Welsh Challenge Cup.
After bouncing between the various Southern League divisions during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, the club finally won their sixth championship in 1988–89, making them joint Southern League title record-holders together with
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
. This time, winning the championship meant promotion to the
Football Conference, the fifth level of English football. The club finished ninth in their first two seasons, and then fourth. However, they then went into decline, and were relegated back to the Southern League in 1995, where they remained until reforming in 2010. They should have been relegated a season earlier, but were reprieved when
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 ...
champions
Marine
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine debris
* Marine habitats
* Marine life
* Marine pollution
Military
* ...
failed to meet the stadium criteria for the league.
The club's best
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 ...
performance was reaching the second round, which they managed in 1946–47 (losing 3–1 to
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
), 1954–55 (losing 7–1 to
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
Th ...
), 1973–74 (losing 3–0 to
Hendon
Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...
), 1979–80 (losing 3–1 in a replay with
Chesham United
Chesham United Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England. Nicknamed "the Generals", they are currently members of the and play at the Meadow.
History
The club was established in 1917 by a merger o ...
) and 1990–91 (losing 5–1 to
Woking
Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...
). The only time the club managed to defeat a Football League club in the FA Cup was in the first round of the 1946–47 cup, when they beat
Bristol Rovers 3–1.
The club were considerably more successful in the Welsh Cup, which they won on three occasions: 1949 (beating
Swansea Town 2–0), 1951 (beating
Cardiff City
Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
3–2 in a replay) and 1987 (beating
Newport County 1–0 in a replay). In addition, the club finished as runners-up in 1947 and 1952.
After winning the final in 1987, the club were allowed to enter the
European Cup Winners' Cup, at a time when English clubs were banned from European competition. In the first round, they were drawn against the Italian club
Atalanta
Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology.
There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily known ...
. The club managed a win in the first leg at home, beating the Italians 2–1. However, the return leg was lost 2–0, and the club was eliminated from the competition.
Historically, the club's biggest rivals are
Gloucester City. The two clubs played over 120 times in their history, making it one of the most played Anglo-Welsh derbies in football. In the late 1990s and early 2000s
Newport County were local rivals but the teams have not met in the same league for many years.
Honours
League
*
Southern League/
Southern Football League Premier Division
The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English foot ...
**Champions:
1947–48,
1949–50,
1950–51,
1951–52,
1953–54,
1988–89
**Runners-up:
1952–53,
1997–98
*
Southern League Division One
**Runners-up:
1970–71
*
Southern League Division One North
**Runners-up:
1978–79
*
Southern League Division One Midland
**Champions:
1987–88
*
Southern League Western Division
**Champions:
2002–03
** Champions 2014–15 Southern Football League Division 1 South & West
*
Welsh Football League
The Welsh Football League (also known as the Nathaniel Car Sales Welsh Football League for sponsorship reasons) was a club football league in Wales. For its final season in 2019–20 season it operated at levels 3 and 4 of the Welsh football leagu ...
Division One
The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
**Runners-up: 1945–46
Cup
*
Welsh Cup
The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most ...
**Winners: 1949, 1951, 1987
**Finalists: 1947, 1952
*
Welsh Football League Cup
The Welsh Football League Challenge Cup (known for a time as the Nathaniel Car Sales League Cup for sponsorship reasons, and not to be confused with the national Welsh League Cup) was a knock-out competition for all members of the divisions tha ...
**Winners: 1951, 1962, 1981
**Finalists: 1983
Club records
*Record Attendance: 21,000 vs.
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
, FA Cup second round, 1946
*Highest league position: 4th in Football Conference, 1991–92
*Most goals scored in a league season: 187 in the Welsh League, 1945–46
*Fewest goals conceded in a league season: 32 in the Southern League Western Division, 2002–03
References
External links
Club website*
{{Football in Wales
Welsh football clubs in English leagues
Association football clubs established in 1945
Southern Football League clubs
Defunct football clubs in Wales
Association football clubs disestablished in 2010
1945 establishments in Wales
2010 disestablishments in Wales
Sport in Merthyr Tydfil
Welsh Cup winners
National League (English football) clubs