Marske United F.C.

History

The club was established in 1956 and initially played in local leagues until joining the Teesside League in 1976. They won the league in 1980–81 and 1983–84 and in 1985 were promoted to Wearside League in 1985, which they won in 1994–95. The following season they finished second and were promoted to Division Two of the Northern League. In their first season in Division Two they finished third, and were promoted to Division One, where they remained for six seasons, including three consecutive top four finishes, before being relegated in 2004. During that time, they also came within seconds of reaching the semi-finals of the FA Vase. After several near misses, they returned to Division One after finishing third in 2010–11, having embarked on an 18-game unbeaten run in the second half of the season.

After maintaining their Division One status in 2011–12, manager Paul Burton left the club and was replaced by Craig Gibbon. However, the 2012–13 season started off poorly and results did not come the way the new management team were hoping. This resulted in club chairman, Peter Collinson, making a swift managerial replacement, appointing Ted Watts in October 2012. The team consolidated their status in the Northern League Division One as well as reaching the North Riding Senior Cup Final.

The 2013–14 season saw the team reach the 4th Qualifying Round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history – part of a 17-game unbeaten start that included victories over Northern Premier League clubs Frickley Athletic and Halesowen Town. The run came to an end with a 6–2 defeat at Conference Premier side Southport. The club's form dipped after the cup exit and they eventually finished 16th in the league. The season did end on a high note when the Seasiders won the Brooks Mileson Northern League Cup, beating Whitley Bay 2–1 at St. James' Park, thanks to a penalty scored by Player of the Year Craig Gott in stoppage time of extra time. On the 12th of May, six days after the League Cup victory, the club announced the departure of manager Ted Watts.

For the 2014–15 season, former Billingham Town boss Carl Jarrett was appointed manager, with Nathan Haslam returning to the club as his assistant. The campaign began with low key expectations, though the squad was bolstered with the signing of prolific strikers Jamie Owens and Fred Woodhouse. Despite losing 6–2 to league champions Spennymoor Town in the JR Cleator Cup, the team made a strong start to the league season, winning 3–1 at well-fancied Dunston UTS on the opening day. The team lost just three league games before Christmas, putting them in contention for the league title and also reached the third round of the FA Vase for the first time in five seasons. A poor run of form in February and March threatened to derail their title aspirations but a stunning fightback at Sunderland RCA, in which they drew 3–3 having been 3–0 down, with goalkeeper Robert Dean saving a penalty to prevent the hosts going 4–0 up, turned the tide in their favour. Comeback victories over West Auckland Town and Guisborough Town over the Easter weekend put them right back in contention and an 8–0 win over Celtic Nation in their final game took them to the 90 point mark. That meant Shildon had to win their final two games to deny Marske the title. They won the first 3–1 at home to Durham City but were held to a surprise 1–1 draw at Bedlington Terriers four days later, meaning Marske were crowned Northern League champions for the first time. The following season saw the club follow up its title-winning campaign by finishing 2nd in the league and reaching the final of the League Cup, where they lost on penalties, finishing as runners-up to Shildon in both competitions.

Current squad

The current squad, as of February 2017: Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Staff

Managers

The following are all the full-time Marske United managers from 1976:

Honours

Records