Ashton Athletic F.C. Explained

Clubname:Ashton Athletic
Fullname:Ashton Athletic Football Club
Nickname:The Yellows
Founded:1968
Ground:Brocstedes Park, Ashton-in-Makerfield
Capacity:400 (100 seated)[1]
Chairman:Jimmy Whyte
Manager:Jay Foulds & Dougie Pitts
Pattern La1:_blueborder
Pattern B1:_banconacion
Pattern Ra1:_blueborder
Pattern So1:_bluetop
Leftarm1:FFFF00
Body1:FFFF00
Rightarm1:FFFF00
Shorts1:0000FF
Socks1:FFFF00
Leftarm2:0000FF
Body2:0000FF
Rightarm2:0000FF
Shorts2:0000FF
Socks2:0000FF

Ashton Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester, England. Affiliated to the Lancashire County Football Association, they are currently members of the and play at Brocstedes Park.

History

The club was formed in 1968, initially as a Sunday league club playing in the Wigan Sunday League.[2] After winning every division in the league in successive seasons, they switched to playing Saturday football, joining the Warrington & District League.[2]

Success in the Warrington League saw the club join the Lancashire Combination in 1978.[2] However, the move up saw the club struggle, finishing bottom of the league in 1978–79 and 1981–82. When the league merged with the Cheshire County League to form the North West Counties League in 1982, Ashton were placed in Division Three, which they finished bottom of in both 1982–83 and 1983–84. After a fourteenth-place finish in 1984–85, they finished bottom of the table again in 1985–86.

At the end of the season the club were expelled from the league due to Brocstedes Park failing to meet the ground grading criteria.[2] They subsequently dropped into Division One of the Manchester League.[2] They continued to struggle in the Manchester League, with several lower-half finishes before finishing bottom of Division One in 1989–90.[3] They finished bottom again in 1994–95,[4]

The 2005–06 season saw them finish fourth in Division One, and after applying for rejoin the North West Counties League following improvements to Brocstedes Park, the club were accepted into Division Two,[2] bypassing the Premier Division of the Manchester League. In 2007–08 a third-place finish saw them promoted to the renamed Premier Division of the league. Although they finished bottom of the division in 2010–11, they were reprieved from relegation after New Mills were promoted from the division and Formby were relegated due to a breach of the rules.[5] In 2013–14 they won the Challenge Cup, defeating Maine Road 1–0 in the final.[6] The 2016–17 season saw them win the Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy with a 2–1 win over Radcliffe Borough in the final.[7]

In 2022–23 Ashton finished bottom of the Premier Division and were relegated to Division One North.

Honours

Records

See also

External links

53.5038°N -2.6647°W

Notes and References

  1. Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) Non-League Club Directory 2013, p714
  2. http://www.ashtonathletic.co.uk/a/club-history-27139.html Club history
  3. http://www.nonleaguematters.co.uk/nlmnet/Regs_2_N/NWman76.html The Manchester League 1976–1994
  4. http://www.nonleaguematters.co.uk/nlmnet/Regs_2_N/NWman94.html The Manchester League 1994–2011
  5. http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/congletontownfc/news/league-constitution-20112012-nwcfl-website-326501.html The constitution of the League for season 2011–12 was announced at the League AGM today
  6. https://www.fchd.info/lghist/nwc2014.htm 2013–14 North West Counties League
  7. http://www.lancashirefa.com/news/2017/apr/post-match-partners-foundation-challenge-trophy-final Post-Match: Partners Foundation Challenge Trophy Final
  8. http://www.hallmarksecurityleague.com/clubpage.php?id=4 Ashton Athletic: Info