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Ely City F.C.

Coordinates: 52°24′36.94″N 0°14′49.05″E / 52.4102611°N 0.2469583°E / 52.4102611; 0.2469583
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Ely City
Full nameEly City Football Club
Nickname(s)The Robins
Founded1885
GroundUnwin Sports Ground, Ely
Capacity1,500 (150 seated)[1]
ChairmanRobert Button
ManagerBrady Stone
LeagueEastern Counties League
Division One
2014–15Eastern Counties League
Premier Division, 20th (relegated)

Ely City F.C. is an English football club based in Ely, Cambridgeshire. The club are currently members of the Eastern Counties League Division One and play at the Unwin Sports Ground.

History

Ely City was established in 1885 by members of Ely St.Etheldreda Football and Cricket Club, and are the oldest senior football club in Cambridgeshire.[2]

The club won both Cambridgeshire Senior Cups in 1948. In 1951 they left the Cambridgeshire League to join the Peterborough & District League. In 1956–57 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup after winning five qualifying rounds.[3] They were drawn at home to Torquay United, but lost 6–2 in front of a crowd of 4,223.

In 1958 the club moved to the Central Alliance, and two years later were elected to the Eastern Counties League. In 1967 former Northern Irish international Hugh Barr was appointed player-manager, leading the club to runners-up position in the league in 1968–69. They won the Cambridgeshire Invitation Cup in 1970 and the Eastern Counties League Cup in 1980, beating Lowestoft Town 4–2 on aggregate.

In 1986 the club left the Paradise Ground and moved to the Unwin Sports Ground, named after Doug Unwin, who was involved with the club from 1924 until his death in 1990, his father also having been associated with the club for 60 years. Three years later the club was relegated to Division One of the Eastern Counties League. They returned to the Premier Division as Division One champions in 1996–97, and the following season finished runners-up. However, they were relegated again at the end of the 1998–99 season.

They made an immediate return to the Premier Division as runners-up, also winning the Division One Cup. In 2002 they won the Cambridgeshire Invitation Cup, beating Histon 1–0 at the Abbey Stadium in Cambridge. At the end of the 2002–03 season they were relegated again after finishing bottom of the league.

In 2007–08 the club won the Division One Cup and finished runners-up in Division One, returning to the Premier Division again. In 2011–12 the club finished as runners-up in the Premier Division and won the Cambridgeshire Invitation Cup for a third time. They retained the Invitation Cup in 2012–13 with a 3–0 win over Cambridge City in the final.

The club were relegated back to Division One in at the end of the 2014–15 season after finishing bottom of the division.[4]

Honours

  • Cambridgeshire Senior Cup
    • Winners 1948
  • Eastern Counties League
    • League Cup winners 1980
    • Division One champions 1996–97
    • Division One Cup winners 2000, 2005, 2008
  • Cambridgeshire Invitation Cup
    • Winners 1970, 2002, 2012, 2013

Records

  • Best FA Cup performance: First round, 1956–57
  • Best FA Vase performance: Third round, 1997–98
  • Best FA Trophy performance: Second qualifying round, 1973–74
  • Attendance: 260 vs Soham Town Rangers, Eastern Counties League Division One, 12 April 1993[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) Non-League Club Directory 2013, p646 ISBN 978-1-869833-77-0
  2. ^ History Ely City
  3. ^ Ely City at the Football Club History Database
  4. ^ "Thurlow Nunn League Season Review 2014/15". Eastern Counties League. 16 May 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.

52°24′36.94″N 0°14′49.05″E / 52.4102611°N 0.2469583°E / 52.4102611; 0.2469583

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