Haverhill Rovers F.C.
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| Full name | Haverhill Rovers Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Rovers | ||
| Founded | 1886 | ||
| Ground | New Croft, Haverhill | ||
| Capacity | 3,000 (200 seated)[1] | ||
| Chairman | Alastair Shulver | ||
| Manager | Ben Cowling | ||
| League | Eastern Counties League Division One North | ||
| 2023–24 | Eastern Counties League Division One North, 10th of 21 | ||
| Website | http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/haverhillroversfc/ | ||
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Haverhill Rovers F.C. is an English football club based in Haverhill, Suffolk. The club are currently members of the Eastern Counties League Division One North and play at the New Croft. The club is affiliated to the Suffolk County FA.
History
Established in 1886, the club initially played at the Seven Acres ground, before moving to Hamlet Croft in 1913. They were members of the East Anglian League in the early 20th century, before joining the Essex & Suffolk Border League in 1924. After finishing bottom of the league in 1927–28, they left the league, but rejoined in 1935. They finished runners-up in 1946–47, and did the double in 1947–48, winning the league and the league cup, beating Brightlingsea United 1–0 in the final.
They finished runners-up again in 1950–51, and won the league for a second time in 1962–63, with a second double achieved the following season. In 1964 they joined the Eastern Counties League, and won the League Cup in their first season. In 1978–79 they won their first, and to date only Eastern Counties League title, with the final match against Chatteris Town being watched by 1,300 supporters, a club record at the time.
In 1986–87 the club reached the quarter-finals of the FA Vase, where they lost to Warrington Town in front of another record crowd of 1,578. In 1991 they won the East Anglian Cup, beating Eynesbury Rovers 2–1 in the final.
In 1995–96 the club were relegated to Division One.[2] The following season they won the Suffolk Senior Cup, beating Ipswich Wanderers 4–1 in the final. They won the Division One cup in 2001, 2004 and 2007, beating Needham Market 2–1, Kirkley 2–0 and Saffron Walden Town 3–1 respectively.
In 2006 the club reached the fourth and final qualifying round of the FA Cup for the first time. Although they lost 4–0 to Conference club Aldershot Town, a new record attendance of 1,730 was set. At the end of the 2006–07 season the club was promoted back to the Premier Division after a final-day win against March Town United.
In 2010 the club moved to a new £2 million ground at Chalkstone Way, Haverhill.
Honours
- Eastern Counties League
- Champions 1978–79
- League Cup winners 1965
- Division One Cup winners 2001, 2004, 2007
- Essex & Suffolk Border League
- Champions 1947–48, 1962–63, 1963–64
- League Cup winners 1948, 1964
- Suffolk Senior Cup
- Winners 1997
- East Anglian Cup
- Winners 1991
Records
- Record attendance: 1,730 vs Aldershot Town, FA Cup fourth qualifying round, 2006–07 (Hamlet Croft)
References
- ^ Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) Non-League Club Directory 2013, p646 ISBN 978-1-869833-77-0
- ^ Haverhill Rovers at the Football Club History Database