Newquay A.F.C.

Newquay

Full name	Newquay Association Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Peppermints
Founded	1890
Ground	Mount Wise Stadium Newquay
Ground Capacity	5,000
Chairman	Peter Butterly
Manager	Sean Middleton
League	South West Peninsula League Premier Division
2012–13	South West Peninsula League Premier Division, 12th
Home colours

Newquay A.F.C. is a football club based in Newquay, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom, nicknamed "The Peppermints". They were the founding members of the South Western League in 1951, and remained there until 2007 when they joined the South West Peninsula League Division One West. After winning the SWPL Div 1 West Title in 2011–12, the first team now play in the SWPL Premier division Their reserves were founder members of the Cornwall Combination in 1959, and have remained there ever since.

Glynn Hooper took over as Manager at the start of the 2011–12 season, he with his assistant, Phil Lafferty, won the SWPL Div 1 West Title at the first attempt. The Management team left at the end of 2012/13 season and were replaced by the well known figure of Alan Carey in time for the 2013/14 season but, after a poor run of form and results, Carey left by mutual consent on 4 December 2013. A week later, the club appointed a new management team Sean Middleton and Kelvin Hunkin.

History

The club can trace its roots back to January 1890. It has had many names and variations since that time and are known locally as the 'Towns Club'.

• 1890–1903 Newquay FC
• 1903–1912 Newquay One and All FC
• 1920–1937 Newquay Rovers FC
• 1946–present Newquay AFC

It is generally thought that Mr G R Card, a master at Newquay Grammar School, was responsible for the introduction of soccer to the town. It was in January 1890, in the grounds of the Newquay Grammar School (now the Pendennis Hotel, Mount Wise) that the first team match took place under the Association Rules. Following this match sufficient enthusiasm was worked up to form the first Newquay Football Club.

Newquay Football Club did not play competitive matches until season 1896/97 when the team were grouped with Truro, Camborne School of Mines, Illogan, St Agnes and Penzance in the Western Division of the Cornwall County Cup (Senior Cup). Newquay won their first trophy in season 1906/07 defeating Looe 4–1 Bodmin to win the Cornwall Charity Shield.

A milestone in the history of the club was in 1921 when Newquay was elected to the Plymouth and District League, but the financial burden proved too great and the club withdrew in 1927. In season 1931/32 Newquay Rovers played in the newly formed Cornwall Senior League and in 1935 won both the League and Cup for the first time.

The Newquay Club was reformed in April 1946 following the Second World War and the first eleven played in the Cornwall Senior League until 1959 when a new senior league was formed, namely the Cornwall Combination League, the Newquay Club was again a founder member and the reserve side has played in that league since that date.

The Newquay Club's nickname of 'The Peppermints' evolved during the turn of the century and was first mentioned in 1906, alluding to the red and white shirts worn by the players, which resembled a boiled peppermint sweet of that time.

FA competitions

The club has competed in the FA Cup on over 20 occasions, but has never made it past the qualifying rounds. Four appearances in the second qualifying round (the most recent in 1979–80) have been the best performances. Newquay have also had limited success in the FA Vase, with a run to the fourth round in 1990–91 the pinnacle of their achievement when they were defeated in a replay by Saffron Walden Town

In June 2012 before the 2012–13 season, the club faced some bad news when the FA refused to allow them to enter any national FA competitions because they do not have toilet facilities in the home and away dressing room, and the referee's room.^[1] The club have been accepted into The FA Vase for 2013/14 season, they have been drawn at home in the 2nd Qualifying Round on Sat 21st Sept 2013, and will face the winners of the Barnstable Town v Witheridge 1Q Rd.

Stadium

Newquay play their home games at Mount Wise Stadium, Clevedon Road, Newquay, Cornwall, TR7 2BU.

In 1922 the Newquay Urban District Council, under pressure from the general public to provide a football field for the town, sought permission from the Ministry of Health to lease a piece of land (originally acquired for allotments) to the club and so from that date Mount Wise has been the home of Newquay Football Club.

There is a wooden seated stand (300 capacity) and a small covered area with some bench seats on the other side of the ground. Terracing covers the complete length of the ground opposite the Main Stand. Floodlights were installed and a spacious clubhouse built in 1988. New High Lux rated Floodlights were installed in the summer of 2013 and opened officially when Peterborough United sent a team to play The Peppermints in July 2013.

Season-by-season record since 1951

^[2]

Honours

• South Western League:
  • Winners (7): 1958–59, 1959–60, 1977–78, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1987–88
  • Runners-up (4): 1957–58, 1985–86, 1991–92, 1993–94
• South Western League Cup :
  • Winners (2): 1955–56, 1988–89
  • Runners-up (1): 1956–57
• South West Peninsula League Division One West:^[3]
  • Winners (1): 2011–12
  • Runners-up (1): 2008–09
• Cornwall Senior Cup:
  • Winners (5): 1934–35, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1991–92
• Cornwall Charity Cup:
  • Winners (13): 1906–07, 1908–09, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1955–56, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1962–63, 1969–70, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1988–89, 2009–10
  • Runners-up (1): 1986–87^†
• Cornwall Combination:
  • Winners (2): 1972–73^‡, 1974–75^†
• Cornwall Combination League Cup:
  • Winners (2): 1994–95^‡, 2002–03^†
• Evely Cup:
  • Winners (1): 2002–03^‡

† Limited details available, may have achieved more. ‡ Won by reserve team.

References

External links

• multimap.com map of ground location
• Cornish soccer
• Official club website
• Twitter - @NewquayAFC
• Facebook - Newquay AFC Official

Coordinates: 50°24′35.91″N 5°05′03.77″W / 50.4099750°N 5.0843806°W / 50.4099750; -5.0843806