Road-Sea Southampton F.C.
| Full name | Road-Sea Southampton Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1970 | ||
| Dissolved | 1987 | ||
| Ground | Road-Sea Park, Marchwood | ||
|
| |||
R.S. Southampton were a semi-professional football club, based at Marchwood - a village near Totton in Hampshire.
Commonly referred to locally as Road-Sea, they were best known for directly moving from Southampton Sunday parks football into the semi-professional Southern League.
History
The club was originally known as Echo Social and played in the City of Southampton Sunday League with great success. In 1973, they were re-named Road-Sea for sponsorship reasons - after the freight shipping company owned by player-manager Peter Price.[1] In 1976–77 they reached the semi-final of the national FA Sunday Cup.[2]
With considerable financial backing, the club purchased some land at Marchwood, and soon developed the site into an impressive facility. This resulted in an ambitious application to join the semi-professional Southern League being surprisingly accepted in 1982, despite having no previous history of playing Saturday football.[3]
The club then became known as RS Southampton and soon silenced their critics as they pushed for promotion from the Southern Division. After finishing a creditable 3rd in their debut season behind Fisher Athletic and Folkestone, they were champions in 1983–84.[4] They also enjoyed a fine run in the FA Vase, reaching Round 5 before being eliminated 1–2 away at Leyton Wingate.
Road-Sea continued to thrive in the highly competitive Premier Division as they then finished 5th in 1984–85. The following season was much tougher and they finished mid-table.[5]
In 1986 Road-Sea became founder members of the newly created Wessex League.[6] They just missed out on the inaugural title, finishing runners-up to Bashley, but it was a memorable campaign in the local cup competitions. They reached the final of the Hampshire Senior Cup for the first time, which they lost 0-2 against Portsmouth Reserves at Fratton Park - but won both the League and Russell Cotes Cups.
However, in June 1987 their short but successful history was suddenly ended when Price retired and disbanded the club.[7]
Honours
- Southern League
- Southern Division Champions 1983–84
- Wessex League [3]
- Hampshire Football Association [8]
- Senior Cup Finalists 1986-87
- Russell Cotes Cup Winners 1983-84 and 1986-87
- Other
- South West Counties Transformer Vase Winners 1983-84
Playing records
League
| Season | Division | Position | Significant events |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982/83 | Southern League Southern Division | 3/18 | |
| 1983/84 | Southern League Southern Division | 1/20 | Champions, Promoted |
| 1984/85 | Southern League Premier Division | 5/20 | |
| 1985/86 | Southern League Premier Division | 16/20 | Left competition |
| 1986/87 | Wessex League | 2/17 | Runners-up - left competition |
FA Cup
| Season | Round | Opponents | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982/83 | Did not enter | ||
| 1983/84 | Preliminary Round | H v Oxford City | W 4–1 |
| 1st Qualifying Round | H v Waterlooville | D 0-0 | |
| Replay | A v Waterlooville | L 1–2 | |
| 1984/85 | 1st Qualifying Round | A v Melksham Town | W 3–0 |
| 2nd Qualifying Round | A v Chippenham Town | D 2-2 | |
| Replay | H v Chippenham Town | L 1–2 | |
| 1985/86 | 1st Qualifying Round | A v Redditch United | D 1-1 |
| Replay | H v Redditch United | W 3–2 | |
| 2nd Qualifying Round | H v Clandown | W 2–1 | |
| 3rd Qualifying Round | A v Ton Pentre | D 1-1 | |
| Replay | H v Ton Pentre | L 1–2 | |
| 1986/87 | 1st Qualifying Round | A v Littlehampton Town | W 7–1 |
| 2nd Qualifying Round | A v Devizes Town | W 2–0 | |
| 3rd Qualifying Round | H v Fareham Town | L 0–3 |
FA Trophy
| Season | Round | Opponents | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984/85 | 1st Qualifying Round | A v Taunton Town | L 0–2 |
| 1985/86 | 1st Qualifying Round | A v Andover | W 3–0 |
| 2nd Qualifying Round | H v Bridgend Town | D 1-1 | |
| Replay | A v Bridgend Town | L 0–3 |
FA Vase
| Season | Round | Opponents | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982/83 | Did not enter | ||
| 1983/84 | Preliminary Round | A v Pagham | W 3–1 |
| Round 1 | A v Chobham | W 5–0 | |
| Round 2 | H v Maidenhead United | W 4–2 | |
| Round 3 | H v Exmouth Town | W 3–0 | |
| Round 4 | H v Exmouth Town | W 3–0 | |
| Round 5 | A v Leyton Wingate | L 1–2 | |
| 1986/87 | Preliminary Round | A v Warminster Town | W 5–0 |
| Round 1 | A v Lymington Town | D 1-1 | |
| Replay | H v Lymington Town | D 1-1 | |
| Replay | H v Lymington Town | L 0–2 |
Ground
Road-Sea Southampton played at the self-titled Road-Sea Park, Long Lane in Marchwood, near Totton.[9]
Following their demise, the ground was renamed 'Staplewood' and later sold to Southampton F.C., who initially used it for reserves and youth team games.[10] The venue has since been redeveloped in to a large training complex with world class facilities. [11]
Notable players
- See Road-Sea Southampton players.
Local rivalries
Road-Sea had a number of local rivals during various stages of their unusual career, ranging from Sunday park sides to the likes of the regions semi-professional Southern League clubs. Their closet neighbours were AFC Totton who they met during their solitary season as members of the Wessex League.[12]
References
- ^ A Century of Southampton Local Soccer 1908-2008 by John Moody
- ^ Hampshire Football Association Centenary History 1887-1987 by Norman Gannaway
- ^ a b "Football Club History Database - R S Southampton". www.fchd.info. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
- ^ "Road Sea Southampton Fixtures - Margate Football Club History". www.margatefootballclubhistory.com. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
- ^ The official centenary history of the Southern League. Paper Plane Publishing Ltd
- ^ "History". www.wessexleague.co.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
- ^ "Back in the old routine". Daily Echo. 7 February 2006. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
- ^ Hampshire Football Association Handbook 2004/05
- ^ The Cemetery End by Vince Taylor (Groundtastic Productions)
- ^ https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/24055456.southampton-use-staplewood-remind-playing-stars-club-history/
- ^ https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/our-locations
- ^ https://www.fchd.info/lghist/wessex1987.htm