Royton A.F.C.
| Full name | Royton Association Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1886 | |
| Dissolved | 1894 | |
| Ground | Middleton Road | |
| Secretary | W. Wood[1] | |
|
| ||
Royton A.F.C. was an association football club from Royton, Lancashire, active in the 19th century.
History
The first football club with the Royton name was a rugby union club which dissolved in 1885.[2] The earliest reference to the association club is from the 1886–87 season.[3]
Its first success of any note was reaching the Manchester & District Cup final in 1889–90, against Newton Heath at Hullard Hall.[4] The Royton following, which made up a majority of the 4,000 crowd, were optimistic of success, and after going behind early, Royton took a 2–1 lead through a goal by Slate and a scrimmage which forced the ball home. By half-time however the scores were level, and the Heathens scored two early second-half goals, running out 5–2 winners.[5]
The club was a founder member of the Lancashire Combination in 1891–92,[6] and finished third in the first season. It also entered the 1891–92 FA Cup qualifying rounds for its only tilt at the national competition, and beat fellow Combination side Halliwell 6–3 at home at the first stage, aided by Halliwell's full-back Flitcroft having to retire from the match early on due to an injury. However, Halliwell played the tie under protest, as it had measured the ground as being 15 yards too short and 8 yards too narrow,[7] and, together with Royton admitting that a linesman was a member of the Royton club, the Football Association awarded the tie to the visitors.[8]
In the 1892–93 Combination Royton dropped to 7th out of 11 clubs. However, ten games into the 1893–94 season, the club was bottom, with 1 win and 9 defeats, and having scored 10 goals while conceding 62.[9] This does not include the club's final match, on 2 December 1893, at home to Preston North End Reserves, which kicked off in semi-darkness at 4.10pm due to the visitors' late arrival, and was abandoned after 25 minutes, the North Enders already two goals to the good.[10] By the middle of January 1894, the club was noted as having "become defunct".[11]
Colours
The club played in black and white vertical stripes.[12]
Ground
The club's ground was off the Middleton Road.[13][14]
External links
References
- ^ "Club notices". Empire News & The Umpire: 7. 6 November 1887.
- ^ "En passant". Athletic News: 1. 9 June 1885.
- ^ "Manchester and District Cup competition". Manchester Courier: 3. 17 January 1887.
- ^ Shury, Alan; Landamore, Brian (2005). The Definitive Newton Heath F.C. SoccerData. p. 51. ISBN 1899468161.
- ^ "The Tramp" (5 May 1890). "Newton Heath walk through Royton". Athletic News: 4.
- ^ "Lancashire Football Combination". Burnley Express: 8. 13 June 1891.
- ^ "Notes on Saturday's football". Bolton Daily Chronicle: 4. 5 October 1891.
- ^ "The English Challenge Cup". Manchester Courier: 3. 9 October 1891.
- ^ "Lancashire Combination". Athletic News: 3. 26 February 1894.
- ^ "Royton v Preston North End Reserves". Preston Herald: 6. 6 December 1893.
- ^ "Notes on Saturday's football". Bolton Daily Chronicle: 2. 15 January 1894.
- ^ "Answers to correspondents". Athletic News: 4. 9 October 1893.
- ^ "Royton Football Club". Rochdale Observer: 7. 12 October 1895.
- ^ "Royton Agricultural Show". Preston Herald: 11. 29 August 1896.