Heswall Football Club is an
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...
club based in
Heswall
Heswall is a town on the Wirral, Merseyside, England. At the 2001 Census, the population was 16,012, including the nearby villages of Barnston and Gayton.
Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974 it was part of the administr ...
,
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral ...
, England. They are currently members of the . The club is a
FA Charter Standard Club affiliated to the
Cheshire Football Association
The Cheshire Football Association, also simply known as Cheshire FA, is the governing body of football in the county of Cheshire, England. They are responsible for the governance and development of football at all levels in the county.
About
T ...
.
History
The club was founded in 1891. In the early years the club played in Division two of the
West Cheshire Association Football League
The West Cheshire Association Football League (commonly known as the West Cheshire League) is an English football league in the county of Cheshire, which also includes teams from Merseyside. Its current principal sponsor is ''Carlsberg'', also s ...
from the 1894–95 season until the end of the 1910–11 season, winning the division once in the 1906–07 campaign, but not gaining promotion to Division One.
[West Cheshire League 1892–1915]
West Cheshire League 1892–1915
accessdate: February 22, 2020
In 1958 the club rejoined Division Two of the West Cheshire League, finishing as runners-up at their first attempt.
The club remained in Division Two until the end of the 1968–69 season, when they earned promotion to Division One as champions. The club remained in Division one until the end of the 1981–82 season, when they left the league.
[ Just a few seasons before this the club made its debut in the ]FA Vase
The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footb ...
in the 1978–79 season, but getting knocked out immediately by Linotype F.C. in the preliminary qualify round.[ They did better the following season, making it to the 3rd round, a feat they would repeat a further two times.][
The 1988–89 season saw the club return to Division one of the West Cheshire League, and the 2004–05 season saw the club become champions of the league.][ The club repeated this feat in the 2012–13 season, but they were relegated the following season.][ They bounced back up as runners-up of Division two at their first attempt, to return to Division one. The club stayed in Division one for three seasons, being relegated back to Division Two, when they had a 15 point deduction for failing to play 5 games.][
In 2020, Heswall FC merged clubs with new club Pensby FC under the Heswall FC name.
In an interrupted 2020 - 2021 season, Heswall finished in 2nd Place in Division 2 to make a well deserved return to the top flight, a fantastic achievement from the squad and the management team of Andy Cass, Ben Scoffield & Jake Cripps.
The first season back in the top division saw Heswall perform superbly, finishing in 5th place. Sadly, at the end f the season, Manager Andy Cass chose to step down to take up a post at Vauxhall Motors taking his players & coaches with him. Heswall brought in Neil Young & Paul Mort to rebuild the first team but sadly things didn't go to plan and they stepped down in November with coach Neil Sharpe stepping up to be First Team Manager with Aaron Baird as his assistant. www.heswallfc.co.uk
]
Ground
Since 1971 the club has played its home games at Gayton Park. In 2020, a number of renovations have taken place at the ground.
Honours
*West Cheshire Association Football League
The West Cheshire Association Football League (commonly known as the West Cheshire League) is an English football league in the county of Cheshire, which also includes teams from Merseyside. Its current principal sponsor is ''Carlsberg'', also s ...
Cheshire Football Association
The Cheshire Football Association, also simply known as Cheshire FA, is the governing body of football in the county of Cheshire, England. They are responsible for the governance and development of football at all levels in the county.
About
T ...
Amateur Cup[Cheshire FA]
Results – Cheshire FA
accessdate: February 23, 2020[Cheshire County Cups]
accessdate: February 23, 2020
** Winners (2) 1991–92 & 2011–1
*Wirral District FA Senior Cup
**Winners (7) 1938 - 1939, 1984 - 1985, 1991 - 1992, 1995 - 1996, 1996 - 1997, 1997 - 1998, 1998 - 1999
* Wirral District FA Amateur Cup
** Winners (10) 1931 - 1932, 1932 - 1933, 1933 - 1934, 1935 - 1936, 1936 - 1937, 1976 - 1977, 1986 - 1987, 1995 - 1996, 1998 - 1999, 2003 - 2004
* Wirral District FA Junior Cup
** Winner (1) 1919 - 1920
* Pyke Cup
** Winner (4) 1932 - 1933, 1938 - 1939, 1984 - 1985, 1996 - 1997
* Bill Weight Trophy
** Winner (1) 1991 - 1992
* West Cheshire League Bowl Sponsored by Haworth & Gallagher
** Winner (3) 1989 - 1990, 1998 - 1999, 2020 - 2021
* West Cheshire League Development Trophy
** Winner (1) 2015 - 2016
Notable players
Alan Reeves played for Heswall during the 1987–88 season and later went on to make over 400 appearances for Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
clubs including Wimbledon F.C.
Wimbledon Football Club was an English football club formed in Wimbledon, south-west London, in 1889 and based at Plough Lane from 1912 to 1991. Founded as Wimbledon Old Centrals, the club were a non-League team for most of their history. ...
and Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
. Reeves' brother Dave Reeves
Dave Reeves (born 19 November 1967) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward from 1986 to 2009.
He played in the Football League for many clubs, including making more than 100 appearances for each of Chesterfield ...
, also spent a season with Heswall before beginning his career with Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
. Graham Branch had a stellar career with Tranmere Rovers & Burnley.
Club Legends
Alan Scoffield: Over 600 Appearances for Heswall in a 22 year playing career.
Ray Heller: Over 600 Appearances, every role from Player to Chairman
Wally Scoffield: Former Chairman & President
Ken Meadows: Former Manager
John "Ernie " Wakelem: Over 50 years service to Heswall FC
Gordon "The Jock" Harrison: A stellar career with Heswall FC.
References
External links
Official website
*{{fchd, name=Heswall, id=HESWALL
Football clubs in England
Football clubs in Merseyside
1891 establishments in England
Association football clubs established in 1891
West Cheshire Association Football League clubs