North Leigh F.C.

North Leigh Football Club is a football club based in North Leigh, Oxfordshire, England. They are currently members of the Southern League Division One Central and play at the Eynsham Hall Park Sports Ground.

North Leigh
Full nameNorth Leigh Football Club
Nickname(s)Millers
Founded1908
GroundEynsham Park, North Leigh
Capacity2,000 (175 seated)[1][2]
ChairmanEdward Martin
ManagerCraig Dore & Darren James
LeagueSouthern League Division One Central
2019–20Southern League Division One Central (season abandoned)

History

The club was established in 1908 and became members of the Witney & District League. They won the Division Two title, the Ted Young Senior Challenge Cup and the Watts Junior Challenge Cup in 1947–48, before winning the Fred Ford Memorial Cup the following season.[3] In 1950–51 the club were champions of the Premier Division. They won the league again in 1952–53 and went on to win it in each of the next four seasons, also winning the Ted Young Senior Challenge Cup in 1951–52, 1953–54, 1954–55 and 1956–57 and the Oxfordshire Junior Shield in 1956–57.[3] The club then moved up to the Oxfordshire Senior League. However, they later returned to the Witney & District League and were Division Two champions in 1968–69.[3]

Another successful spell in the 1980s saw North Leigh win the Witney & District League Premier Division title and the Oxfordshire Junior Shield in 1983–84, before winning the Premier Division five times in a row between 1985–86 and 1989–90.[3] They then moved up to Division One of the Hellenic League in 1990.[4] In 1992–93 the club were Division One runners-up, earning promotion to the Premier Division. They won the Premier Division title in 2001–02 and 2002–03, but were unable to take promotion as their ground did not meet Southern League requirements.[5] However, after finishing as runners-up in the league 2006–07, the club won the Premier Division, the Hellenic League Shield and the Oxfordshire Senior Cup in 2007–08 and were promoted to Division One South & West of the Southern League.[4]

North Leigh won the Oxfordshire Senior Cup again in 2011–12 and 2016–17. They were transferred to Division One East of the Southern League at the end of the 2017–18 season.

Ground

The club play at Eynsham Park, set in the grounds of Eynsham Hall. The ground includes a 175-seat stand named for George Hazell and a covered standing area behind one goal.[2] The record attendance of 426 was set during the 2004–05 season for an FA Cup third qualifying round match against Newport County.[1]

Current squad

As of 15 December 2020 [6]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Pos. Nation Player
GK  ENG Freddie Lapworth
GK  ENG Adam North
DF  BLZ Mike Atkinson
DF  ENG Ben Brown
DF  ENG Luke Carnell
DF  ENG Andy Gunn
DF  ENG Scott Isherwood
DF  ENG Adam Learoyd
DF  ENG Cameron McNeil
DF  TAN Eddie Odhiambo (player-coach)
MF  ENG Michael Alexis
MF  ENG Ben Barrett
MF  ENG Jamal Branker
Pos. Nation Player
MF  ENG Harry Grant
MF  NIR Aaron Heap
MF  ENG Callum McNish (captain)
MF  ENG George Nash
MF  ENG Lance Williams
MF  ENG Morgan Williams
MF  ENG Aaron Woodley
FW  ENG Ryan Crooks
FW  ENG Elliott Heritage
FW  ENG John Mills
FW  ENG Elliott Osborne-Ricketts
FW  ENG George Seacole

The Southern Football League does not use a squad numbering system.

Management and coaching staff

Current staff

As of 20 August 2020 [6]
Position Name
Joint Managers Craig Dore
Darren James
Player-Coach Eddie Odhiambo

Honours

  • Hellenic League
    • Premier Division champions 2001–02, 2002–03, 2007–08
    • League Shield winners 2007–08
  • Witney & District League
    • Premier Division champions 1950–51, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90
    • Division Two champions 1947–48, 1968–69
    • Ted Young Senior Challenge Cup winners 1947–48, 1951–52, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1981–82, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89[3]
    • Fred Ford Memorial Cup winners 1948–49, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1954–55, 1955–56, 1956–57[3]
    • George Dingle Memorial Cup winners 1972–73, 1986–87, 1987–88[3]
    • Watts Junior Challenge Cup winners 1947–48
  • Oxfordshire Senior Cup
    • Winners 2007–08, 2011–12, 2016–17
  • Oxfordshire Charity Cup
    • Winners 1984–85, 1988–89[3]
  • Oxfordshire Junior Shield
    • Winners 1956–57 (shared), 1983–84[3]

Records

  • Best FA Cup performance: Fourth qualifying round, 2016–17[4]
  • Best FA Trophy performance: First round, 2016–17[4]
  • Best FA Vase performance: Fourth round, 2003–04[4]
  • Record attendance: 426 vs Newport County, FA Cup third qualifying round, 16 October 2004[1]
  • Most appearances: P. King[1]
  • Most goals: P. Cole[1]

See also

  • North Leigh F.C. players
  • North Leigh F.C. managers

References

  1. Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2016) Non-League Club Directory 2017, Tony Williams Publications, p298 ISBN 978-1869833695
  2. Eynsham Park North Leigh F.C.
  3. History Witney & District League
  4. North Leigh at the Football Club History Database
  5. History North Leigh F.C.
  6. "North Leigh". www.northleighfc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2020.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.