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Hednesford Town Football Club are an association football team based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They play at Keys Park.
[edit] HistoryThe club were formed in 1880 by the merger of two leading Hednesford clubs, the Red & Whites and Hill Top, and after many years in local competitions they joined the Southern League in 1984. They gained promotion to the Football Conference in 1995, when they won the Southern League Premier Division, but were relegated again in 2001. The Pitmen celebrated promotion with a move to a purpose built stadium called Keys Park having played all of their games prior on the field behind the Cross Keys pub. They had their best run in the Football Conference in 1995-96 season, when they finished third in a tight league, although this was before the days of play-offs in the Football Conference. The club reached the fourth round proper of the FA Cup in 1996-97, beating Blackpool and York City before losing 3-2 to Middlesbrough. They also reached the final of the Welsh Cup in 1992 (in those days selected English clubs were invited to enter), losing only 1-0 at Cardiff Arms Park. Hednesford have recorded many famous wins in friendlies and in the Staffordshire Senior Cup defeating, among others, Aston Villa (5-1), Walsall, Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers. The club also won the 2004 FA Trophy, beating Canvey Island 3-2. (Goals coming from Anthony Maguire, Les Hines and then assistant manager Chris Brindley) Manager Barry Powell was sacked after a poor league showing and was replaced by fans favourite Chris Brindley. In his first season in management, Brindley took Hednesford to the playoffs and after beating Merthyr Tydfil on penalties in the semi, and Chippenham Town in the final 1-0, Hednesford were promoted to the Conference North. The 2005/06 season saw Hednesford sack manager Chris Brindley and sink to the lowest reaches of the Conference North - they were relegated on the last day of the league after playing out a 0-0 draw at Vauxhall Motors. They were subsequently placed in the Northern Premier League, their first foray into Northern League football. Their first season in the league saw them finish seventh, despite being second for the majority of the season. The following season saw the Pitmen start well, but a run of inconsistent form saw them finish outside the play-off places again, finishing eighth. There was a strong possibility of Hednesford moving back to the Southern League Premier Division for the 2008-09 season, but Halifax Town's financial problems saw a number of non-league sides revived, leaving the Pitmen with the prospect of Northern Premier League football for the forthcoming campaign. On 21 May 2008, the club confirmed that they had parted company with manager Phil Starbuck and that former Wolverhampton Wanderers, Exeter City and Torquay United player Dean Edwards, had been appointed as Phil Starbuck's successor working alongside Stephen Price, the club's chairman. After a busy first few days, Edwards brought in a succession of new players, and also named his former Torquay team-mate Matt Elliott as the club's new assistant manager. A great start to the 2008-09 season saw the Pitmen hit top spot in the league, playing neat, attractive football. A young, locally-based side enjoyed the status as favourites for the title, with a 7-2 hammering of Worksop Town on Boxing Day the high point. Since the turn of the year, Hednesford's form dipped, although they enjoyed a good run in the F.A. Trophy. A topsy-turvy final month of the campaign saw the Pitmen remain in contention for a play-off place, relying on a fine run of wins away from home to conteract a dismal run of form at Keys Park, which saw poor defeats to relegation-haunted Whitby Town, Boston United and Leigh Genesis in sequence. However, Kendal Town snatched the final play-off spot, leaving Hednesford with a fourth successive season at step three. News arrived at Hednesford on 29 May 2009 that the Pitmen had been moved by the FA to their former stamping ground, the Southern League Premier Division, for the 2009-10 season, after a number of clubs were 'shunted' around the leagues to allow for re-structuring. This sees a return to local derbies for the club in 09-10, with Nuneaton Town, Halesowen Town, Stourbridge, Rugby Town AFC, Leamington and Evesham United all lining up against the Pitmen in the Southern League. Off the field, Matt Elliott stepped down as assistant manager of the club to concentrate on other business interests, with Edwards moving swiftly to sign Macclesfield Town defender Richard Walker as the club's new player/coach. On 15 September, 2009 Edwards was relieved of his managerial duties following a disappointing start to the season, culminating in a shock 4-1 home defeat to Pegasus Juniors or the Hellenic League Premier Division, 2 divisions below the Pitmen. Former Northern Ireland international and AFC Telford United manager Bernard McNally was appointed caretaker manager while the club searches for a new manager. The club released a statement on Thursday 8th October 2009 that Simon Line, previously of Market Drayton Town, had accepted the managers job at Keys Park, with Delwyn Humphreys as his assistant manager and Paul Mellings coming in as goalkeeping coach. [edit] StadiaMain article: Keys Park  Keys Park is situated on Keys Park Road approximately five minutes from Hednesford town centre, and is a purpose-built stadium The club originally played at a ground called The 'Tins', a patch of land directly behind the Anglesey Hotel in Hednesford Town Centre. It was called the 'Tins' due to large number of metal sheeting that was erected around the ground. A move to the Cross Keys occurred in 1903 after the club fell into debt to the tune of £40. A local councillor agreed to meet the deficit provided the club moved to a patch of land behind the Cross Keys public house and away from the Anglesey The Cross Keys was a perfect arena for a club of Hednesford's size for many decades. A large wooden stand stood on the site for many years, with a large bank opposite holding over fifty spectators. Only the arrival of the fifties, and floodlit football, saw changes at the ground. The banking made way for a large stand along the whole side of the ground, followed by floodlights that were erected in 1953. A friendly against West Bromwich Albion visited the Cross Keys to mark the official switch-on, watched by over 7,000 people As the club rose from the local leagues to the higher reaches of the football pyramid, the ground was never improved. Once the club arrived in the Southern League in the early nineties, a decision was taken to move away from the beloved Cross Keys, now with a capacity of 4,000, but crumbling with every season. In 1994, the club started work on a new stadium, on the site of an old brickworks snapped up just 300 yards away from the Cross Keys The stadium was due to be completed during the summer of 1995, with the cost at £1.3 million and was first used in a friendly against Walsall. Keys Park was officially opened by Sir Stanley Matthews later that year in a ceremony that included a friendly against Wolverhampton Wanderers. In January 1997, Keys Park saw its highest attendance ever as over 3,200 people witnessed the Pitmen's 1-0 win over York City in the FA Cup Third Round. During the following season the Heath Hayes End was converted into a 1,000 capacity open terrace, whilst the Wimblebury side was turned into a large uncovered terrace and seating was installed at the previously terraced Hednesford End. Despite relegation from the Football Conference in 2001, the club proceeded with plans to make the stadium covered on all four sides, and installed roofs on each of the uncovered terraces. After being an 'A' graded stadium by the Football Association for a number of years, Keys Park has been downgraded to a 'B' grade stadium Its highest league attendances were set against the same club - Telford United. 2,480 squeezed into Keys Park in September 1995 for a Football Conference game, which the Pitmen won 4-0. In January 2007, the newly-reformed AFC Telford visited in a Northern Premier League game, which attracted 3,005 supporters. Telford won 1-0 on this occasion [edit] Players[edit] Current first team squad
[edit] Honours
[edit] External links
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