Merstham Football Club is a football club based in

Merstham Merstham is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. It lies 25 miles south of Charing Cross and 2 miles south of the Greater London border. Part of the North Downs Way runs along the northern boundary of the town. Mers ...

, Surrey,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Affiliated to the Surrey FA, they are currently members of the and play at Moatside.

History

The club was established in 1892. In 1897 they were founder members of the Redhill & District League.Our history
Merstam F.C. In 1926–27 the club were Redhill & District League champions, and in 1929–30 they won the East Surrey Junior Cup. Merstham won back-to-back titles in 1934–35 and 1935–36 and again in 1949–50 and 1950–51, after which they moved up to the Surrey Intermediate League, going on to win the league at the first attempt. In 1965 the club moved up to the

Surrey Senior League The Surrey Senior League was an English regional football league for teams based in Surrey although teams from outside the county were often admitted as well. The league existed from 1922 until 1978, when it was rebranded as the Home Counties Leagu ...

. They were champions in 1971–72, but left the league in 1978 to join the

London Spartan League The Spartan League was a football league in England covering London and adjacent counties. Established in 1907, it merged with the South Midlands League in 1997 to form the Spartan South Midlands League. History The Spartan League was establ ...

, largely composed of clubs to the north of London. Their first season in the league saw them win its Challenge Cup and the Surrey Senior Charity Cup, before winning the East Surrey Charities Cup in 1979–80. In 1984 Merstham transferred to the Surrey-centred

Combined Counties League The Combined Counties Football League is a regional men's football league in south-eastern England with members in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Jersey, Kent, Middlesex, Oxfordshire, Surrey, and the western half and sou ...

to reduce their travelling. They were runners-up in 1987–88 and 1989–90, a season that also saw them win the Elite Cup.Honours
Combined Counties League When the league gained a second division in 2003, Merstham became members of the Premier Division. After winning the Premier Challenge Cup in 2004–05 and finishing as runners-up in the Premier Division in 2005–06 and 2006–07 (also winning the Premier Challenge Cup and the Southern Combination Challenge Cup), the 2007–08 season saw the club win the Premier Division title, the Premier Division Cup and the Surrey Senior Cup. Winning the Combined Counties League title resulted in Merstham being promoted to Division One South of the Isthmian League. In 2014–15 they finished fourth in the division, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beating Faversham Town 5–4 on penalties in the semi-finals, they defeated Folkestone Invicta 3–0 in the final to earn promotion to the Premier Division. They finished the season by winning the Surrey Senior Cup for a second time. In 2016–17 the club reached the first round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

for the first time, losing 5–0 at home to Oxford United in front of a record crowd of 1,920.FA Cup: Oxford United chairman donates gate receipts share to Merstham
BBC Sport, 7 November 2016 They won the Surrey Senior Cup again in 2017–18.Merstham - Trophies
Soccerway The 2018–19 season saw them finish fifth in the Premier Division. In the subsequent play-offs, they beat Carshalton Athletic 2–1 in the semi-finals before losing the final 2–0 to Tonbridge Angels. In 2021–22 the club finished bottom of the Premier Division and were relegated to the South Central Division.

Ground

The club originally played at Limeworks Meadow, a pitch based in the Merstham Lime Works. Players initially had to change in nearby hedges before being allowed to use the nearby Jollieffe Arms pub. In the early 1910s the club temporarily relocated to the Weir ground. They moved to Moatside in the early 1920s. Changing rooms were built in 1960 and a 90-capacity stand opened in 1974. Floodlights were erected during the 1990–91 season and were inaugurated with a friendly match against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

. A record attendance of 1,587 was set on 9 November 2002 for a league match against AFC Wimbledon. This was broken in 2016 when 1,920 watched the club's FA Cup first round match against Oxford United.

Honours

*Combined Counties League **Premier Division champions 2007–08 **Premier Challenge Cup winners 2004–05, 2006–07, 2007–08 **Dan Air Class Elite Cup winners 1989–90 *London Spartan League **Challenge Cup winners 1978–79 *Surrey Senior League **Champions 1971–72 *Surrey Intermediate League **Champions 1952–53 *Redhill and District League **Champions 1926–27 1934–35, 1935–36. 1949–50, 1950–51 *Surrey Senior Cup ** Winners 2007–08, 2015–16, 2017–18 *Surrey Senior Charity Cup ** Winners 1978–79 *East Surrey Charities Cup **Winners 1979–80 *East Surrey Junior Cup **Winners 1929–30 *East Surrey Hospitals Charity Cup ** Winners 2004–05 *Southern Combination Challenge Cup **Winners 2006–07 (shared)

Records

*Best

performance: First round, 2016–17 *Best FA Trophy performance: Second qualifying round, 2009–10, 2012–13, 2016–17 *Best FA Vase performance: Quarter-finals, 2007–08 *Record attendance: 1,920 vs Oxford United, FA Cup first round, 5 November 2016 *Heaviest defeat: 8–1 vs

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spring ...

, FA Cup first qualifying round, 1996–97

References

External links