Basingstoke Town F.C.
Encyclopedia : B : BA : BAS : Basingstoke Town F.C.
Basingstoke Town Football Club are an English association football team, currently playing in the Conference South. Their ground, the Camrose, is named after their late benefactor, Lord Camrose.
History
While Basingstoke didn't originally qualify for their place in the newly formed division for 2004/05, they were awarded Hendon's place when the Middlesex team declined it as the next highest placed team in the Isthmian League Premier Division that season.
This kind of luck is typical of the up-and-down history of the club, first formed in 1896 from Aldworth United and Basingstoke Albion. After tasting title success in the Hampshire League North Division in 1911/12 and 1919/20, "Town" had to wait over 30 years for its next honours, finishing as either champions or runners-up every season between 1965/66 and 1970/71, winning the league and Hampshire Senior Cup double in 1970/71, without a league defeat, and joining the Southern League South the following season.
It took 14 years for the team to record their next League championship, in the 1984/85 season. In 1987/88 Basingstoke joined the Isthmian League Premier Division, and spent the next 17 years flitting between this and Division One, winning the Hampshire Senior Cup twice in this period.
In the inaugural season of the Nationwide Conference South, the 'Stoke began very well, occupying a place in the play-off spots until Christmas that year. However, a run of 6 consecutive defeats in the league meant Town had to play catch-up, and although they recovered some ground toward the end of the season, it wasn't enough and Town finished 6th, 1 place and a single point outside the play-offs.
Cup Runs
In 1989 Town reached the 2nd round of the FA cup for the first time, having beaten Southern League Bromsgrove Rovers 3-0 in the first round. They played host to Division 4 side Torquay United at the Camrose, and a crowd of over 4,000 saw Town beaten 3-2.
The late 1990s saw Town go on 2 amazing FA cup runs. In the 1997/98 season, the 'Stoke fought their way through qualifying to face Wycombe Wanderers in the first round. After a 2-2 away draw in which the league side came from behind, a capacity crowd at the Camrose saw Dean Beale save the decisive penalty in the shoot-out after the two sides had finished at 2 apiece. In the second round, Town travelled to Northampton Town, coming from behind to earn a replay at the Camrose, which was shown live on Sky Sports. Again the Blues held the league side to a draw after extra time, but there was no repeat of the previous round's joy, with Town crashing out on penalties.
The following season, Basingstoke reached the first round proper at the expense of Conference side Dover Athletic, and faced Bournemouth at home. Town lost that match 1-0, and have not since got through the qualifiers.
Honours
- Hampshire League North Division:
- Hampshire League Division 1:
- Southern League South Division:
- Hampshire Senior Cup:
- Best league position: 3rd in Isthmian League, Premier Division (then level 6), 2000/01
- Best FA Cup performance: 2nd round replay, 1997/98
- Best FA Trophy performance: 3rd round, 2003/04
- Record Goalscorer - Paul Coombs 164 (1991-99)
- Biggest win - 10-0 vs. Chichester City, F.A. Cup 1st Qualifying Round, 1976
- Biggest defeat - 8-0 vs. Aylesbury United, Southern League, 1979
- Biggest home attendance - 5,085 vs. Wycombe Wanderers, F.A. Cup 1st Round, November 1997
- Biggest home league attendance - 2,810 vs. Aldershot Town, December 1998
External links
- [Official site]
- [Unofficial site]
- [Basingstoke Town] at the Football Club History Database
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.