Birstall United F.C.
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| Full name | Birstall United Football Club | |
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| Founded | 1961 | |
| Ground | Meadow Lane, Birstall, Leicestershire | |
| Chairman | Gary Fox | |
| Manager | Mitch Davies | |
| League | Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division | |
| 2013–14 | Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division, 4th | |
| Website | http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/birstallunitedfc | |
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Birstall United Football Club is an English football club based in Birstall, near Leicester, in Leicestershire. The club are currently members of the Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division.
History
The club joined Division Two of the Leicestershire Senior League in 1976.[1]
Birstall United Football Club were formed in 1961. Initially playing Sunday league football in the Leicester and District League where they enjoyed great success, taking three League championships and also the Leicestershire FA Sunday Intermediate Cup. After their Sunday success the club switched to Saturday football, joining the Leicester Mutual League. Again it is success all the way with Divisions 5, 4 and 3 being won in successive seasons while the Leicestershire FA Sunday Senior cup was also won while the club operated on both days of the weekend.
1972–73 proved a memorable campaign with the club winning the Leicester Mutual League Division One for the first time, a year later United repeated the feat and added the Leicester FA Junior Cup South by beating Oadby ‘67 by four goals to nil in the final. Birstall enjoyed a third Mutual League Championship in 1976 when the time came to make the logical progression up the ladder to the Leicestershire Senior league, Birstall being accepted into Division two for the 1976–77 season.
Birstall enjoyed two thrilling battles with Hillcroft for supremacy in their initial senior league campaign, finishing top of the league by a single point with Hillcroft second and adding the Tebbutt Brown Cup with a 3–0 win in the replayed final after the two clubs had drawn the initial match 1–1. Thus 1977 saw Birstall in the top flight of the Senior League where they have remained to this day.
So far Birstall have not won the Senior League Championship, nevertheless, have usually been amongst the leading clubs. Their best season being 1981–82 when they finished as runner-up to Anstey Nomads, but did have some consolation by beating Nomads 1–0 in the Tebbutt Brown Cup Final.
Twelve months later and another final for Birstall, this time it was the Leicestershire FA Senior cup when the lost to Hinckley Athletic by two clear goals. The 1984/85 campaign saw the Tebbutt Brown Cup won for the third time with Anstey Nomads again being beaten in the final this time the score line was 3–2.
Two seasons later and the final of the Leicestershire FA Cup was reached only for Birstall to go down 1–4 to the now defunct Leicester United. A fourth Tebbutt Brown cup final came Birstall’s way in the 1988–89 season but this time the silverware went to Stapenhill who won the match 4–0, Birstall lost 2–1 after extra time in the Senior Cup Final to Friar Lane. 1994 saw Birstall win the first Beacon Bitter floodlight cup.
Birstall finally won the Senior Cup beating Oadby Town 1–0 in 1996. In 1998 at the beginning of the season the club won the Battle of Britton Charity Cup beating Oadby Town 1–0 in the final. At the end of the season Birstall beat Ibstock Welfare in a penalty shoot out to regain the Senior Cup.
Honours
- Leicestershire Senior League
- Division Two champions 1976–77
Records
- FA Vase
- Fourth Round 1997–98
References
- ^ Birstall United at the Football Club History Database