Nickname(s) The Villagers Manager Jules Mumford | Chairman Colin Woodhouse Founded 1868 | |
Full name Long Melford Football Club Ground Stoneylands, Long Melford 2015–16 Eastern Counties League Premier Division, 9th League Eastern Counties Football League First Division | ||
Long Melford F.C. is an English football club based in Long Melford, Suffolk. The club are currently members of the Eastern Counties League Premier Division and play at Stoneylands. The club is affiliated to the Suffolk County FA.
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History
The existence of the club was first recorded in 1868, when they won a match against Ipswich Rangers 5–1 on Church Green. William Cobbold played for the club in their early years, and was later capped by England.
During the 1887–88 season the club played fifteen games, winning all but two. Following their success, they challenged Ipswich Town to a match. Although Ipswich declined, claiming that it would be injurious to their prestige if they play "little village teams", the two clubs met in the Suffolk Senior Cup semi-final, with Long Melford winning 2–1 before going on to beat Woodbridge 1–0 in a replay in the final. The club won the Senior Cup in 1895, beating Saxmundham 2–1 and again in 1909, beating Bury Town 1–0 in a replay, a score repeated in the 1921 final. They won the Senior Cup again in three consecutive seasons between 1953 and 1955.
The club played in the Essex & Suffolk Border League, winning the Premier Division on five occasions, and the League Cup three times. In the summer of 2002 the club upgraded their Stoneylands ground, installing a new 106-seat stand, and were promoted into Division One of the Eastern Counties League. At the end of the 2002–03 season they won Senior Cup for a sixth time, beating Stanton 5–0.
In 2014–15 the club won Division One of the Eastern Counties League, and were promoted to the Premier Division.