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Littlehampton Town F.C.

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Coordinates: 50°48′29.02″N 0°31′48.14″W / 50.8080611°N 0.5300389°W / 50.8080611; -0.5300389
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Littlehampton Town
Full nameLittlehampton Town Football Club
Nickname(s)The Marigolds, The Golds
Founded1896 (as Littlehampton)
GroundThe Sportsfield, Littlehampton
Capacity4,000
ChairmanRob McAlees
ManagerMitchell Hand, George Gaskin
LeagueIsthmian League South East Division
2023–24Isthmian League South East Division, 17th of 20

Littlehampton Town Football Club is a football club based in Littlehampton, England. They were established in 1896 and joined the Sussex County League in 1928. In the 1990–91 season, they reached the 1st round of the FA Cup, and in the 2021–22 season they reached the FA Vase final at Wembley Stadium. They are currently members of the Isthmian League South East Division (8th tier) and play at The Sportsfield.

History

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Littlehampton F.C. was formed in 1896, adding the Town suffix in 1938. The club became founding members of the West Sussex Football League in 1896, joining the Junior Division.[1] In 1928 the club joined the Sussex County League. Despite finishing as runners-up in Division One on six occasions, they had to wait until 1990–91 before lifting the championship – the only time they have done so, having finished as runners-up to Wick the previous season – clinching the title on the last day of the season, at nearest rivals Peacehaven & Telscombe.

That season was undoubtedly the finest in the Marigolds’ history. As well as finishing as Division One champions, the club also reached the 1st Round of the FA Cup where they were beaten 4–0 by Northampton Town in front of a crowd of 4,000 at The Sportsfield. A League & Cup ‘double’ was completed with a 3–0 win over Burgess Hill Town. If that wasn't enough, Littlehampton also reached the semi-finals of the FA Vase,[2] which was the furthest any Sussex club had reached in the competition until the Golds went one step further and reached the final in 2022.

The following season, Littlehampton finished third behind Peacehaven & Telscombe and Langney Sports (now Eastbourne Borough). However, fortunes declined to the extent that they were relegated at the end of the 1994–95 season.

Two seasons later Littlehampton returned to the top division as champions of Division Two, and finished runners-up to Division One champions Burgess Hill Town in 1997–98. Once more however, the club suffered a sustained period of mediocrity, culminating in a miserable 2002–03 season, including a 22–1 defeat at Horsham YMCA; and relegation once again, ironically with Wick and Peacehaven & Telscombe... together, the three most dominant clubs in the early 1990s.

The club responded by investing heavily in the playing squad for 2003–04 and began the season as hot favourites to bounce back at the first attempt. This they duly did, finishing seven points clear of runners-up Worthing United. The two clubs also met in the League Cup final, with the Marigolds again coming out on top. There was no significant difference in the average attendance from the previous wretched season.

The club were the favourites of many to secure back-to-back championships, which was probably a little too ambitious. Nevertheless, they did well to finish in a creditable 4th place, a position they occupied once again at the end of 2005–06. Unfortunately, and as so often appears to be the case in West Sussex, the club lost manager Carl Stabler and most of the previous season's squad during the close season (many to Wick) and from being amongst the championship favourites the previous season, were now hotly tipped as relegation fodder. That proved to be the case and the Marigolds were always struggling throughout 2006–07, under new manager Trevor Waller, with a largely young and inexperienced squad.

The 2012–13 season saw the club finish as champions of Division Two, gaining promotion to Division One.[3]

Littlehampton won the 2014–15 Sussex County Football League, finishing 1st. They however were not promoted after not applying for the Isthmian League. Their Twitter account said that "we don't want to", although it is likely they couldn't because their ground would not pass the grading test for Step 4 teams.[4][5] The 2021–22 season saw Littlehampton win the league and gain promotion to the Isthmian League for the first time in their history,[6] in addition to reaching three cup finals, where they won the Peter Bentley Southern Combination Challenge Cup,[7] lost 3–0 in the 2022 FA Vase Final to Newport Pagnell Town at Wembley Stadium,[8] and finally won the Sussex RUR Cup. This success saw Littlehampton achieve a historic treble,[9] in addition to becoming the 'first team in Sussex to reach an FA Vase final'.[10]

Ground

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Littlehampton Town play their home games at The Sportsfield, St Floras Road, Littlehampton, West Sussex, BN17 6BD.

The ground consists of an old, predominantly wooden, mainstand with two smaller covered terraces either side of it. The club passed plans for a modernised main stand in 2023, with construction taking place in May 2024 and completing in June 2024 after a successful crowd fund.

Honours

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  • Southern Combination Premier Division
    • Winners (1): 2021–22
  • Sussex County League Division One[11]
    • Winners (1): 1990–91,
    • Runners Up (9): 1946–47, 1971–72, 1973–74, 1975–76, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1989–90, 1997–98
  • Sussex County League Division Two[11][12]
    • Winners (3): 1996–97, 2003–04, 2012–13

Cup honours

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Sussex Senior Winners 1969/70

Records

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  • Highest League Position:[11]
    • 1st in Sussex County League Division One: 1990–91, 2014–15, 2021–2022
  • FA Cup Best Performance[11]
    • First Round: 1990–91
  • FA Trophy Best Performance[11]
    • Third Qualifying Round: 2024–25
  • FA Vase Best Performance[11]

Notable former players

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Players that have played/managed in the football league or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league):

Players with full international caps:

Players that hold a club record or have captained the club:

References

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  1. ^ "Shoreham F.C. – Early football in Shoreham and the 'Glory Years". Shoreham History Portal. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  2. ^ "The amazing adventures of Littlehampton Town". 2nd Yellow. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  3. ^ "Golds crowned champions – Local Football". Littlehampton Gazette. 1 May 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  4. ^ Littlehampton TownFC @LittlehamptonFC 4 Apr 2015
  5. ^ Littlehampton Town -ground grading and promotion
  6. ^ Knell, Trevor (25 April 2022). "How champions Littlehampton Town made sure of SCFL top spot". Sussex Express.
  7. ^ a b Bone, Steve (17 May 2022). "26 pictures as Littlehampton Town lift Peter Bentley Cup". Sussex Express. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  8. ^ "FA Vase final: Littlehampton Town 0–3 Newport Pagnell Town". BBC Sport. 22 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Treble winners! Benn's 60th of season helps Littlehampton Town win another cup". www.sussexexpress.co.uk. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Non-league club 'won't be changing approach' ahead of historic game at Wembley". The Argus. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d e f "Football Club History Database – Littlehampton Town". Fchd.info. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  12. ^ a b c "Golds see red in cup final loss – Local Football". Littlehampton Gazette. 16 May 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  13. ^ "R.U.R. Cup Final Results – Sussex County Football Association". Sussexcountyleague.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  14. ^ Spoor, Jamie (25 May 2022). "Littlehampton Town completed a historic and record-breaking treble as Joe Benn's 60th goal of the season fired them to victory over Saltdean at Culver Road". Sussex FA. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
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50°48′29.02″N 0°31′48.14″W / 50.8080611°N 0.5300389°W / 50.8080611; -0.5300389

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