1895–96 Eastville Rovers F.C. season

The 1895–96 season was the thirteenth to be played by the team now known as Bristol Rovers, and their twelfth playing under the name Eastville Rovers. The first team played their fourth campaign in division one of the Western League (known in previous seasons as the Bristol & District League), while the reserves competed in the second division of the same competition for the third time. The season was notable for Rovers having entered the FA Cup for the first time in their history, and for the first team playing their 100th competitive match.

Eastville Rovers F.C.
1895–96 season
CaptainLewis John
GroundRidgeway Road, Ridgeway, Bristol
Western LeagueJoint runners-up
FA CupPreliminary round
Gloucestershire Senior CupRunners-up
Top goalscorerHoward Gallier (15)

The senior squad finished the season as joint runners-up of the Western League first division after tying for second place in the table with Staple Hill and a playoff match to separate them ended in a draw, while the reserves ended their campaign in fifth place in division two. The first team were also runners-up in the Gloucestershire Senior Cup, losing out in the final to long-time rivals Warmley, but the campaign was marred by the death of an opposing player in their semi-final with Bedminster following a clash of heads.

The club's début in the FA Cup came in the preliminary round and ended in a 2–0 defeat, again to Warmley.

Season review

The 1895–96 season began with the news that Lewis John had been appointed as the new club captain,[1] replacing H. McBain who had been skipper the previous year.[2]

Rovers started the season strongly, winning eight of their first nine games, although one of those victories was later expunged from the record after Cardiff were expelled from the league. Their form trailed off slightly after that, but they ended the season well enough to finish joint second place in the table. The Western League had decided that goal average would no longer be used to split teams tied on points and that a test match would be held to decide the finishing order.[3] A match was duly arranged between Rovers and Staple Hill to determine who would be runners-up, but the game ended in a 2–2 draw, leading to the teams being named joint runners-up.[4]

League tables

Western League Division One

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1 Warmley (C) 20 16 3 1 65 13 5.000 35 League champions
2 Eastville Rovers 20 14 1 5 57 22 2.591 29 Joint runners-up
3 Staple Hill 20 13 3 4 48 19 2.526 29
4 Trowbridge Town 20 13 1 6 50 31 1.613 27
5 St George 20 10 4 6 47 38 1.237 24
6 Clifton[lower-alpha 1] 20 8 3 9 44 50 0.880 17
7 Gloucester 20 6 4 10 29 42 0.690 16
8 Bedminster 20 6 2 12 36 41 0.878 14
9 Swindon Wanderers 20 4 4 12 57 63 0.905 12
10 Mangotsfield 20 3 3 14 17 54 0.315 9
11 St Paul's 20 2 2 16 12 60 0.200 6
12 Cardiff (D) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Record expunged
Source:
(C) Champion; (D) Disqualified.
Notes:
  1. Clifton had two points deducted for breaching league rules

Western League Division Two

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1 Barton Hill (C) 18 15 2 1 45 16 2.813 32
2 Fishponds 18 11 4 3 33 14 2.357 26
3 St George Reserves 18 11 3 4 52 22 2.364 25
4 Eastville Wanderers 18 10 2 6 34 23 1.478 22
5 Eastville Rovers Reserves 18 8 4 6 43 31 1.387 20
6 Cumberland 18 7 3 8 47 35 1.343 17
7 Staple Hill Reserves 18 7 2 9 34 58 0.586 16
8 Bedminster Reserves 18 6 1 11 35 38 0.921 13
9 Warmley Reserves 18 4 1 13 23 29 0.793 9
10 Clifton Reserves 18 0 0 18 10 84 0.119 0
11 Frenchay (X) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Record expunged
Source:
(C) Champion; (X) Resigned from the league.

Match results

Division One

14 September 1895 1 Mangotsfield 0–4 Eastville Rovers Mangotsfield
Report Attendance: "Small"
28 September 1895 2 Eastville Rovers 7–3 Trowbridge Town Ridgeway
  • Gallier  (x2)
  • Thompson  (x2)
  • Brown  (x2)
  • Hockin
Report
  • Everett  (x2)
  • Unknown
Attendance: "Very large"
Referee: Mr G. Gay
26 October 1895 3 Bedminster 1–3 Eastville Rovers Ashton Gate
Popham  2' Report
  • Horsey
  • Thompson
  • Leese
Stadium: Greenway Bush Ground
Attendance: "Small"
Referee: Mr G. Gay
9 November 1895 4 Swindon Wanderers 1–2 Eastville Rovers Swindon
  • Potter
  • H. Howard
Report
  • Unknown scorer
  • Leese  90'
Attendance: 500
Referee: Mr Bloor (Bristol St George)
16 November 1895 5 Eastville Rovers 1–2 Gloucester Ridgeway
Laurie Report
  • Scantlebury
  • Fielding
Referee: Mr S. Major (Swindon)
23 November 1895 6 Eastville Rovers 3–2 Clifton Ridgeway
  • Leese  (x2)
  • Osborne
Report
  • Stout  (x2)
30 November 1895 7 Eastville Rovers 5–0 St Paul's Ridgeway
Report
7 December 1895 Void[lower-greek 1] Cardiff 2–3 Eastville Rovers Cardiff
  • Farthing
  • Stubbs
Report
  • Ross  (x2)
  • Osborne
14 December 1895 8 Eastville Rovers 2–1 Staple Hill Ridgeway
  • Brown
  • Leese  55'
Report Rogers Attendance: 1000
21 December 1895 9 Eastville Rovers 1–2 Warmley Ridgeway
Brown Report
  • Wilshire
  • Unknown scorer
Attendance: 3000
Referee: Mr J. Bloor
28 December 1895 10 Clifton 1–1 Eastville Rovers Kingswood
Stout Report Unknown scorer  60' Stadium: Chequers Ground
Referee: Mr J. Bloor
11 January 1896 11 Eastville Rovers 2–1 St George Ridgeway
  • Ross
  • Brown
Report Britton Attendance: 1500
Referee: Mr Williams (Staple Hill)
1 February 1896 12 Gloucester 2–3 Eastville Rovers Gloucester
F. Fielding  (x2) Report
  • Thompson
  • Osborne
  • Brown  90'
Stadium: The Avenue Road Ground
Referee: Mr Smith (Swindon)
8 February 1896 13 Eastville Rovers 1–2 Bedminster Ridgeway
Gallier  (pen.) Report
  • Harris
  • Unknown scorer
15 February 1896 14 St Paul's 0–5 Eastville Rovers Bower Ashton
Report
  • Gallier
  • Leese
  • Hone  (o.g.)
  • Unknown scorer
  • Unknown scorer
Attendance: 300
22 February 1896 15 Warmley 2–0 Eastville Rovers Warmley
  • Stone
  • P. Britton
Report Attendance: 3000
Referee: Mr F.H. Howard (Swindon)
7 March 1896 16 St George 2–1 Eastville Rovers St George
  • Coyne
  • G. Harris
Report Leese Attendance: "A big crowd"
21 March 1896 17 Staple Hill 0–1 Eastville Rovers Staple Hill
Report Gallier  10' Stadium: Staple Park
Attendance: 800
Referee: Mr Russell (Swindon)
4 April 1896 18 Trowbridge Town 0–1 Eastville Rovers Trowbridge
Report Brown Attendance: 1000
25 April 1896 20 Eastville Rovers 9–0 Swindon Wanderers Ridgeway
  • Rogers
  • Brown  (x4)
  • Leese  (x3)
  • Horsey
Report Attendance: > 1000
30 April 1896 Test match[lower-greek 2] Staple Hill 2–2 Eastville Rovers St George
18:30 GMT
  • Britton
  • Unknown scorer
Report
  • Unknown scorer
  • Unknown scorer
Referee: Mr A. Farrant

Division Two

21 September 1895 1 Bedminster Reserves 3–8 Eastville Rovers Reserves Bedminster
Report Stadium: St John's Lane
12 October 1895 2 Eastville Rovers Reserves 1–2 Barton Hill Unknown
Report
9 November 1895 3 Eastville Rovers Reserves 1–1 Fishponds Ridgeway
Report
16 November 1895 Void[lower-greek 3] Eastville Rovers Reserves 5–1 Cumberland Unknown
Report
14 December 1895 4 Staple Hill Reserves 2–3 Eastville Rovers Reserves Staple Hill
Report
21 December 1895 5 Warmley Reserves 5–1 Eastville Rovers Reserves Warmley
Report
28 December 1895 6 Eastville Rovers Reserves 10–1 Clifton Reserves Unknown
Report
11 January 1896 7 St George Reserves 3–2 Eastville Rovers Reserves St George
Report
18 January 1896 8 Eastville Rovers Reserves 3–0 Clifton Reserves Unknown
Report
1 February 1896 9 Eastville Rovers Reserves 0–2 Barton Hill Unknown
Report
22 February 1896 10 Eastville Rovers Reserves 2–1 Warmley Reserves Ridgeway
Report
7 March 1896 12 Eastville Rovers Reserves 2–0 St George Reserves Ridgeway
Report Referee: Mr George Gay
14 March 1896 13 Fishponds 4–0 Eastville Rovers Reserves Fishponds
Report Referee: A. Williams
21 March 1896 14 Eastville Rovers Reserves 3–1 Staple Hill Reserves Ridgeway
Report Referee: F.G. Matthews
28 March 1896 15 Eastville Wanderers 1–1 Eastville Rovers Reserves Eastville
Report Stadium: Eastville Park
Referee: H.J. Batchelor
4 April 1896 16 Eastville Rovers Reserves 1–1 Eastville Wanderers Ridgeway
Report Referee: G. Gay
11 April 1896 17 Eastville Rovers Reserves 1–1 Cumberland Unknown
Report Referee: G. Silman

The results of the away match against Bedminster Reserves and the remaining game against Cumberland are not known.

FA Cup

5 October 1895 Preliminary round Eastville Rovers 0–2 Warmley Ridgeway
Report
  • Rooke
  • Stone
Attendance: "Large"
Referee: Arthur Roston Bourke (London)

The lineups for Eastville Rovers' first ever game in the FA Cup (referred to at the time as the English Cup) is shown below.[5][6]

Eastville Rovers
Lewis John (GK, C)
R. HorseyA.N. Oldcrock
RossA. FowlerH. McBain
C. LeeseW.T. ThompsonF. GallierG. BrownA. Laurie

F. WebleyS. StoneW. RookeH. Wilshire"Nip" Britton
F. BryantPhil Britton (C)L. Wilmot
G. BrittonF. Reeves
W. Demery (GK)
Warmley
GK = Goalkeeper, C = Captain

Gloucestershire Senior Challenge Cup

Rovers were runners-up in the Gloucestershire Senior Cup this season, losing out to Warmley in the final which was watched by around 6000 spectators – believed to have been a record attendance for the area at the time. They were narrowly beaten by a single goal to nil by the Warmleyites in a re-match of the 1889 final which Rovers had won by the same scoreline.[7]

Their semi-final victory was marred by the death of Bedminster outside-right Herbert Edward "Teddy" Smith. He was involved in a clash of heads with Rovers' fullback Lovett during the first half when both were attempting to head the ball, Smith receiving a heavy blow to the side of his head. Both men continued playing after initially falling to the ground. When the game resumed for the second half Smith was late re-joining his teammates and play went on without him. When he eventually made it back onto the field he was reported as appearing pale and confused and unable to participate in any meaningful way. A few minutes later he was forced to leave the match after vomiting and was taken to his parents' house in Southville where he lost consciousness in the evening and died early the following morning.[8]

25 January 1896 Preliminary round Eastville Rovers 4–0 Bristol South End Ridgeway
  • Osborne  (x2)
  • Brown
  • Leese
Report Attendance: 2000
Referee: Mr Magor (Swindon)
29 February 1896 First round St George 1–1 Eastville Rovers St George
Harris  47' Report Ross Attendance: 4000
Referee: Mr N. Whittaker
14 March 1896 First round replay Eastville Rovers 4–0 St George Ridgeway
  • Osborne  (x2)
  • Thompson  (x2)
Report Attendance: 4000
Referee: Mr N. Whittaker
28 March 1896 Semi-final Bedminster 0–1 Eastville Rovers Bedminster
Smith Report Brown Attendance: 4000
Referee: Mr Brodie (Wolverhampton)
6 April 1896 Final Warmley 1–0 Eastville Rovers St George
Bowler Report Stadium: St George Athletic Ground
Attendance: 6000
Referee: Mr N. Whittaker

Friendlies

7 September 1895 Eastville Rovers 3–3 St Paul's Ridgeway
Report
  • Pook
  • Stone  (o.g.)
  • Unknown
Attendance: 300
21 September 1895 Eastville Rovers 2–1 Warmley Ridgeway
  • Griffiths  10'
  • Thompson  85'
Report
  • Bryant
Attendance: 1500
Referee: Mr J. Bloor
12 October 1895 Eastville Rovers 4–0 Radstock Ridgeway
Report
2 November 1895 Eastville Rovers 2–4 Hereford Thistle Ridgeway
  • Leese
  • Thompson
Report
  • Sharpe  (x2)
  • Crump  (x2)
Attendance: Over 2000
Referee: Mr J. R. Riddell
26 December 1895 St George 2–1 Eastville Rovers St George
  • W. Harris
  • Luther
  • Unknown scorer
Report Laurie Stadium: St George Athletic Ground
Attendance: "A fair sprinkling"
Referee: Mr G. Gay
4 January 1896 Eastville Rovers 3–0 Bristol South End Ridgeway
Report Attendance: 2000
18 January 1896 Eastville Rovers 2–2 Wycombe Wanderers Ridgeway
Report
  • Unknown scorer
  • Unknown scorer
11 April 1896 Bedminster 2–1 Eastville Rovers Bedminster
  • Marsh
  • Burland
Report Gallier Attendance: "Poor"
20 April 1896 Bristol South End 1–0 Eastville Rovers Bedminster
Magyer Report Stadium: St John's Lane
Attendance: 2000
Referee: Mr J. Bloor

Notes

  1. The match against Cardiff was expunged from the league records when they were expelled from the league later in the season
  2. As Eastville Rovers and Staple Hill were tied on points at the end of the season, league rules stated that a playoff must be held to decide which time placed second and which third. The game ended in a draw, leading to them being declared joint runners-up.
  3. The reserve game against Cumberland was shortened and therefore did not count in the league standings

Statistics

Friendly matches are not included in this section.
Match record
CompetitionHomeAwayTotal
PWDLFA PWDLFA PWDLFA
Western League 107033613 10712219 2014155722
League playoffs 000000 101022 101022
FA Cup 100102 000000 100102
Gloucestershire Cup 220080 311122 5311102
Total 139044415 148332513 2717376928

Cumulative record

The total cumulative record of Eastville Rovers up to the end of the 1895–96 season is shown below. This is calculated by adding the numbers in the section above to the total games played up to the end of the previous season. Friendly matches are not included in this table, and games held at neutral venues are considered to have been played away from home.

Match record
CompetitionHomeAwayTotal
PWDLFA PWDLFA PWDLFA
Western League 381971210869 38163196172 76351031169141
League playoffs 000000 101022 101022
FA Cup 100102 000000 100102
Gloucestershire Cup 72231614 159152423 2211384037
Total 462191612485 54255248797 100461440211182

References

  1. "Association Football". Bristol Mercury. 31 August 1895. Retrieved 17 July 2019 via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. "Association Football: Local club prospects". Western Daily Press. 1 September 1894. Retrieved 19 February 2020 via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. "Athletics". Bristol Mercury. 16 September 1895. Retrieved 18 July 2019 via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. "Athletics". Bristol Mercury. 1 May 1896. Retrieved 26 February 2020 via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "Saturday's Football". Western Daily Press. 7 October 1895. Retrieved 23 July 2019 via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "Athletics". Bristol Mercury. 7 October 1895. Retrieved 23 July 2019 via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "Gloucestershire Senior Cup. Final Tie". Bristol Mercury. 7 April 1896. Retrieved 18 December 2019 via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. "Association Player Killed: Sad accident at Bedminster". Bristol Mercury. 30 March 1896. Retrieved 18 December 2019 via British Newspaper Archive.
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