Gresley Rovers Through To Gresley Fc - A History-00-6168

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Back then, Church Gresley was just a small mining community nestled between Burton upon Trent and Ashby-de-la-Zouch and the only matches the team would play were special local cup games or friendlies with nearby teams.

The Beginning of Derbyshire football

Gresley Rovers were one of only a few teams involved in Derbyshire football in the 19th century and they made it into the Burton Junior League for the start of the 1992-93 footballing season. Gresley Rovers were quick to make an impression on the league and won their first league title in 1895.

Before the big league win the team played at the Mushroom Lane Ground for the first three years. After the triumph in Derbyshire football they were allocated a ground in their home town. The Church Street Ground would be their home for the next 13 years and is where they would play their first Midland League game in 1903.

FA Cup and League Successes and Failures

The Midland League did not suit the team known now as Gresley FC, and after three disastrous seasons they pulled out and applied once again to join Leicestershire Senior League. During their ...
... time in this league the team had to move grounds to Moat Ground, with a capacity for 2,400 supporters.

In the 1930-31 season the team would make it successfully through to the first round of the FA Cup but they met York City in that tie and lost 3-1. This would be the start of a downward spiral that saw the team drop into the lower leagues to stave off financial difficulties.

The following years would be a rollercoaster ride for the team involved in Derbyshire football. Changes in leagues, pre and post-war schedules made it hard to play and it was not until the team entered the Central Alliance League in 1959 would they start to see some improvement.

Gresley went on to win no less than four league titles and did not finish below fifth spot for the following 15 seasons. They went on to change leagues to join the West Midlands Regional League for the start of the 1975-76 season.

The first 10 years were a struggle and the Derbyshire football team would rarely break out of the bottom half of the table. A good 10 years of hard work saw them finally get somewhere in the league when they finished as runners-up in 1986. This would be followed by two fourth place finishes, a second and third and then two league titles on the bounce. On this particular run of the form they also managed to lift the Derbyshire Senior Cup on four continuous occasions.

Gresley also managed a trip to Wembley in what was billed as the ‘best cup final ever' by the press. The FA Vase Final against Guiseley saw Gresley down 3-0 after the opening half an hour. A dramatic injury leveler caused extra time to play but it finished 4-4. A replay in Sheffield saw Gresley Rovers lose 3-1.

The Beginning of the End

In the 1996-97, season Gresley Rovers were the Derbyshire football team to win the Dr Martens Premier Division. Under normal circumstances this would lead to a promotion to the football conference but their ground was not of the required standard and the resulting static nature of the team led to many top players leaving.

Just two seasons later, after the clubs best ever season, they were to have the worst in their history. Gresley Rovers were relegated at the end of the 1999 season and this sent them spiraling out of control. At the end of the 2008-09 season the company that was Gresley Rovers put itself into voluntary liquidation and the new team, Gresley FC, was formed. This team now plays in the East Midland Counties League, at the Moat Ground in Church Gresley.

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For all the latest news about http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/Sport/ clubs, visit the Burton Mail. The website has dedicated pages for http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/Sport/Gresley-FC/, Burton Albion FC and Derby County FC.