Murton A.F.C.
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Murton A.F.C. (formerly known as Murton Colliery Welfare) are a football team based in Murton, near Sunderland, County Durham in North East England who play in the Northern Alliance Division One, which is at the 8th step (13th Tier of English football).
They play at Welfare Park, which has two stands (two covered standing areas) with a capacity of about 4,000. After repeated vandalism over the years demolition of the main seated stand began in June 2007. The floodlights were removed in early 2008 after being declared unfit for purpose.
The average attendance from season to season only stands at about 12 or 15 but the record attendance is 3,500 spectators for a Durham County Cup game against Spennymoor United in 1951.
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[edit] Club History
Murton AFC was founded in 1891 as Murton Colliery Welfare. They moved to their current ground of Recreation Park from the Fatten Pasture ground in 1928. The clubs only success while playing at Fatten Pasture was winning the 1921-22 Monkwearmouth Cup.
In the 1st season at Recreation Park Murton won the Wearside League and the Monkwearmouth Cup. They again won the Monkwearmouth Cup in the 1934-35 and 1935-36 seasons. In the 1936-37 season Murton took the Wearside League Championship again.
After the war Murton joined the newly reformed North Eastern League but found it hard going with their best position being 13th out of 20 clubs Murton rejoined the Wearside League for the 1951-52 season.
Murton became Wearside League Champions for a 3rd time in the 1959-60 season having in the previous season won the Wearside League Cup. In the same season that Murton became League Champions they also won for the first time in their history the Ship Owners Cup.
The 1960’s saw Murton win the Monkwearmouth Cup in the 1963-64 season and The Ship Owners Cup in the 1969-70 season.
In the 1970-71 season Murton emerged triumphant in 3 cup competitions winning the Wearside League Cup, The Monkwearmouth Cup and The Ship Owners Cup.
During the 70’s and 80’s Murton often undertook summer tours playing teams in Jersey, Spain, USA and Germany. While friendships were developed with many clubs and towns that were visited none are as strong as the friendship built up with the German town of Baesweiler. For the past 25 years they have participated in a twinning arrangement with the club. The annual entertainment of our German guests once a year often proves to be one of the social highlights of the year for the club.
Murton decided to seek pastures new in the late 80’s and in the 1988-89 season Murton competed in the Northern League Division 2. For their first season Murton finished a creditable 11th out of 20 but the following season Murton became 2nd Division Champions.
In Murton’s 1st season in the 1st Division they finished 13th out of 20 teams but in the 2nd season Murton once again improved by finishing runner up on goal difference to Gretna F.C. who now play in the Scottish Premier League. In the 1992-93 season Murton won the top cup competition in County Durham by winning the Durham Challenge Cup after beating Northern Premier League team Bishop Auckland.
That was the last success Murton had, the money eventually ran out and Murton suffered relegation in 1997-98 having conceded 170 goals and scoring only 20. A committee that once boasted 21 members had depleted down to a few people and at the end of that season a decision was made to resign the club from the league unless more committee members were prepared to come along and help.
People did come on board and the club survived, then in the summer of 2000 a hole appeared in the pitch overnight. A collapsed culvert had caused water to erode the soil underneath the pitch causing part of the pitch to collapse in on itself. Murton received some exposure in the National Press and in turn producers for a new BBC programme called Dream Lives made contact with the club to offer their assistance. Although unable to repair the hole millions of viewers were entertained by the Club Chairman doing an assault course. The pitch was eventually repaired thanks to a grant from the Football Foundation and Murton returned home in October 2001 after playing their home games at Peterlee and Ryhope CA.
Murton began the last season looking only to improve upon the previous seasons points tally of 38 points. They achieved their target of surpassing that total finishing with 42 points and having gone on the longest unbeaten run in the clubs history of 10 games. Despite the upturn of performances dark clouds gathered on the horizon in the shape of the Northern League Management Committee. They had been inspecting grounds in Division 2 to check their suitability for membership.
Although the club had done it’s best prior to inspection to improve the appearance of the ground, substantial work could not be carried out until the season finished. Despite telling the Management Committee that the work would be carried out within days of the end of the season they still decided to recommend to clubs that Murton be relegated. Work was duly completed on the ground and the facilities and all clubs eligible to vote at the AGM were invited to inspect the facilities for themselves.
When the vote came the League Chairman spent 45 minutes denigrating the club and issuing veiled threats of what would happen if the club were allowed to stay in the league. His final act prior to the vote was to announce a secret ballot rather than the show of hands that had been expected. Murton lost the motion 28-10 and were relegated.
Now in their fourth season of exile from the Northern League it would be fair to say the club has struggled with 2 consecutive 2nd of bottom finishes in the Premier Division which finally saw Murton relegated (Murton were reprieved the previous season with the resignation of Winlaton Hallgarth). They began the 2006/07 season attempting to get back to the Premier Division at the first time of asking.
On the 11th April 2007 they played in their first Cup Final since winning the Durham Challenge Cup in the 1992/93 season. They took on Gillford Park from Carlisle and after conceding a late 1st half goal lost the final 1-0.
On the 21st April 2008 Murton won the Durham FA Trophy for the first time in their history defeating Whitehill Welfare of the Durham Alliance 3-1. This was also their debut in the competition, previously competing the Durham FA Challenge Cup.
[edit] Current Squad
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[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Murton Colliery Welfare at the Football Club History Database
