Nickname(s) Town, The Ambers Chairman Graham Medlin Founded 1949 | Ground Capacity 6,000 (350 seated) Manager Andrew Westgarth | |
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Full name Falmouth Town Association Football Club Ground Bickland Park, Falmouth | ||
Falmouth Town Association Football Club is a football club based in Falmouth, Cornwall, United Kingdom. They are currently members of the South West Peninsula League Premier Division and play at Bickland Park. The club are the only Cornish team to reach the first round proper of the FA Cup, which they have done on three occasions; 1962–63, 1967–68 and 1969–70.
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History
The club was established in 1949 and joined the Cornwall Senior League for the 1950–51 season. In 1951 they were founder members of the South Western League. They finished bottom of the league in 1952–53 and again in 1954–55, but won their first trophy in 1957–58, beating Newquay 1–0 in the League Cup final. They were league runners-up the following season, also retaining the League Cup with a 6–3 win over Truro City in the final. In 1961–62 they won the league for the first time, also winning the League Cup and the Cornwall Senior Cup, thrashing St Blazey 7–1 in the Senior Cup final. The following season saw them become the first club from Cornwall to reach the first round of the FA Cup, winning through four qualifying rounds before eventually losing 2–1 at home to Fourth Division Oxford United in front of a record crowd of 8,000. In 1964–65 the club missed out on a second league title by one point after being deducted two points. However, they won the league the following season.
In 1967–68 Falmouth reached the first round of the FA Cup for a second time, this time losing 5–2 at Third Division Peterborough United. The season also saw them win the South Western League title for a third time. Another appearance in the first round in 1696–70 resulted in another defeat to Peterborough, this time losing 4–1 at home. The club went on to win the four consecutive South Western League titles between 1970–71 and 1973–74, also winning the League Cup and Cornwall Senior Cup in 1970–71, a season in which they remained unbeaten in all three competitions; over the next three seasons they only lost five league matches. Their dominance in local football led the club to move up to the Western League in 1974. The club's first season in the league saw them win the league and League Cup double without losing a game. They then won the league for the next three seasons, marking eight consecutive league titles. This included a 58-match unbeaten stretch in the league that saw them go unbeaten in the Western League until January 1976.
In 1978–79 Falmouth finished eighth in the Western League and the following season saw them finish in the bottom half. In 1983 the club withdrew from the league due to increased travelling costs. However, an application to rejoin the South Western League was rejected and they dropped into the Cornwall Combination. After winning the Combination at the first attempt, they were allowed to rejoin the South Western League. The club went on to win back-to-back league titles in 1985–86 and 1986–87 and again in 1988–89 and 1989–90. Further league titles followed in 1991–92, 1996–97 and 1999–2000. When the South Western League merged with the Devon County League to form the South West Peninsula League in 2007, the club were placed in the Premier Division of the new league.
Ground
The club initially played at the Recreation Ground, before moving to Union Corner when they joined the South Western League. Over 1,200 spectators attended the club's first South Western League match on 18 August 1951, the game ending in a 3–3 draw. The ground was a farmer's field with players initially having to change in a nearby YMCA and then travel to the ground by bus. Shortly afterwards the club bought two fields at Ashfield, where a new ground was built. However, this was soon sold to Shell-Mex and BP for £20,000, with the club moving back to Union Corner in 1955. The money allowed them to build a new ground at Bickland Park, which opened in August 1957 with Newquay the first visitors. In the early 1960s the club played a home game at Falmouth Docks' Leggo Park as Bickland Park was being used for a Cornwall FA match.
Bickland Park has covered stands on all four sides of the ground, with the 350-seat main stand on one side of the pitch sent into banking. The other three sides of the ground have covered standing areas. Floodlights were installed in 1973, although their first use was on 10 April 1974 for a match against Portleven.