Billingham Synthonia F.C.

Billingham Synthonia
Full name Billingham Synthonia Football Club
Nickname(s) The Synners
Founded 1923
Ground The Motif8 Stadium, Central Avenue, Billingham
Ground Capacity 4,200
Chairman David Hillerby
Manager Conrad Hillerby
League Northern Football League
Division Two
2014–15 Northern Football League
Division One, 20th (relegated)

Billingham Synthonia F.C. is a football club based in Billingham, England. They were established in 1923, playing first in the Teesside League, and joining the Northern League in 1945. In the 1993–94 season, they reached the quarter-finals of the FA Trophy, in a run which included victories over Conference sides Kettering Town and Macclesfield Town. They are currently members of the Northern League Division One. Their nickname is "The Synners" and they play a derby match against Billingham Town.

They are known for being the only club in England to be named after an agricultural fertiliser (Synthonia being a contraction of "synthetic ammonia", a product manufactured by ICI, with whom the club originally had a close connection), and being the only club to go an entire season (1950–51) in the Northern League without conceding a goal at home, a last minute penalty save in the final game by goalkeeper Harry Armstrong preserving this record.

The position of club president is currently vacant. The position was previously held by former MP Frank Cook. Stuart Coleby, manager from 1990–2007, is the chairman, a role he has held since 1997.

History

2006–07 season

Synthonia experienced a poor league campaign finishing in 14th place, their worst position for over twenty years. However, they achieved a notable success in the FA Vase, reaching the semi-finals, losing 5–4 on penalties to AFC Totton (after extra time the match had finished 3–3). The second leg saw an attendance of almost 2,500 at Central Avenue. The close season has seen Stuart Coleby step down as manager, a role he has held since the 1990–91 season, to concentrate solely on his role as chairman. Bobby Scaife has been named as manager for the 2007–08 season, assisted by Chris Rooney and Barney Malone, both ex-Synners players.

2007–08 season

In their first season with new manager Bobby Scaife, Synners achieved a 9th-place finish in the Northern League Division One. Several long-serving players left during the course of the season, meaning it was very much a period of transition. There was no repeat of the previous season's heroics in the FA Vase, with an exit in the 3rd Round.

2008–09 season

The 2008/09 season was mixed for Synners. They exited the FA Cup in the Preliminary Round against Ryton and then exited the FA Vase in the 1st Qualifying Round at Crook Town.

The league season saw Synners finish in 15th despite topping the table in early October. After a poor start and player unrest, Bobby Scaife and Barney Malone left the club before a 2–0 home win against Seaham Red Star in early September and Chris Rooney took over as manager, beginning his reign with a number of victories.

However, Synners did enjoy some cup success, winning the Durham Challenge Cup 1–0 against Durham City as well as reach the League Cup Semi-final. James McGowan enjoyed a very successful season scoring 36 goals and was voted the club's player of the year.

2009–10 season

In the main, the 2009/10 season mirrored that of the previous season. Synners exited the FA Cup in the Preliminary Round away at Morpeth whilst exiting the FA Vase at the 2nd Qualifying Round stage after losing a penalty shootout in a replay at Tow Law Town.

The league campaign was indifferent with Synners struggling to find any real consistency during the season. Synners improved their final league standing from 15th to 12th but the season ended with manager Chris Rooney standing down from his post due to family reasons.

Synners retained the Durham Challenge Cup with an 2–0 win over Ryton in the final. However, Synners had to work hard to retain their crown after captain Andy Harbron was harshly sent off & Chris Porter in goal, with his man of the match display helped the team to victory. Synners also had good away wins at Billingham Town, as well as a hard earned semi final victory over Shildon in sub zero conditions at a very partisan Dean Street.

The season saw Danny Earl finish top goal scorer with 28 goals whilst Andy Harbron was voted the club's player of the year.

2010–11 season

The 2010/11 season was a transitional one, as the new management team of Michael "Chopper" Watson, Lee Tucker & Mark Scott made major changes to the side. Synners mirrored their 12th position finish in the league with a final haul of 57 points following a strong finish to the season.

Synners departed the FA Cup in the Preliminary Round after a 0v3 defeat at home to West Auckland Town. Synners also relinquished their hold on the Durham Challenge Cup at the quarter-final stage after a 4v1 defeat at Spennymoor Town and went out of the League Cup via a 4v3 defeat on penalties at Stokesley after playing out a 1v1 draw after extra time.

However, Synners enjoyed some success as they reached the 5th Round of the FA Vase. After beating Newcastle Benfield 2v1 at home, Synners managed a 4v3 win after extra time with 10 men in a true blood & thunder cup tie against Bishop Auckland. This was followed by a 3v1 win over Stokesley before beating Westfields FC at the fourth time of asking 2v1 after extra time. This was followed up with another 2v1 win in the next round at home to Tadcaster Albion. Synners then played Cornwall side Torpoint Athletic in the 5th Round and suffered a 1v0 defeat. Torpoint Athletic scored with a deflected shot, which proved to be their only one on target in the game.

The top scorer for the season was James Magowan with 25 goals and the player of the year was David Abel.

2011–12 season

The 2011/2012 season saw Synners finish in 11th position with 59 points. Synners had improved on their previous seasons standing but a demanding run in took its toil on the young squad, ultimately preventing them for securing a higher final finish. However, over the course of the season performances were extremely encouraging and highlight the potential within the squad that will push the side on next season.

Synners started the season in emphatic fashion and stole Newton Aycliffe's thunder in their inaugural FA Cup match when a resounding 7v2 away victory was secured. However, Synners ran aground in the next round at Penrith when falling behind 3v0. Synners fought back to make it 3v2 but after laying siege to Penrith's goal with 17 attempts in the second half, the keeper, the woodwork and a good dose of luck saw the home side through.

The Durham Challenge Cup which had been good to the club in previous seasons, proved unkind again as a 3v1 defeat at Spennymoor Town saw Synners exit the competition. Synners did enjoy a decent run in the League Cup which started with a 1v0 victory at Whickham and then saw Alnwick Town thumped 6v1 at Central Avenue. Unfortunately, the quarter-final match at Team Northumbria was one step too far as Synners exited the competition after a 3v1 reverse.

The FA Vase saw Synners enjoy another run to the 5th Round for the second season in a row. Synners started off their campaign in the 2nd Round Proper after the previous season's exploits with a 2v0 victory over Crook Town before comprehensively beating Consett 4v0 in the 3rd Round. Synners drew Runcorn Town at home in the 4th Round and the game ended 0v0 aet but the following weekend Synners won 2v1 at Runcorn with a scoreline that was not as close as it suggests. Synners played some wonderful football and secured another home tie in the 5th Round to Bournemouth. Sadly the weather denied Synners the opportunity of playing for 3 weeks when they were in a great run of form which ultimately contributed to the 0v0 draw aet. Synners started the replay well and led 1v0 at h/t although some heavy-handed tactics by the home team just before and after the interval left a couple of key players injured. Still Synners had opportunities to secure a place in the quarter-finals as firstly a cracking penalty save and then the post denied the team a key second goal. Bournemouth equalised and then another key chance for Synners was missed from 6 yards out before the home side scored the killer second goal minutes from full-time leaving Synners with another painfully long trip home for the second consecutive season.

The top scorer for the season was Danny Earl with 22 goals and Dan McWilliams was voted the player of the year.

2012–13 season

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The 2012/2013 season saw Synners finish in 13th position with a haul of 61 points. Some may consider the season to be a disappointing one as much was expected this term but given several key factors faced during the campaign, the club battled through a steep learning curve and the lessons learnt from that should hold them in good stead for next time around. Synners produced some extremely good performances during the season but to be fair several disappointing one's were shown as well. However, Synners did show that on their day they could compete and beat the best in the League so hopefully with a touch more luck, this will become a much more regular occurrence during the 2013/2014 season.

Synners exited the FA Cup with a lacklustre 0 v 1 performance against Celtic Nation FC but Synners fared better in the FA Vase when securing a fine 3 v 2 victory at Pickering Town before succumbing to the eventual winners Spennymoor Town in the 3rd Round after producing a performance which did not bring its just rewards.

The Durham Challenge Cup saw Synners beat Esh Winning (A) 4v3 before beating Seaton Carew (H) in extra time 4 v 2. Unfortunately Spennymoor Town's iron tight grip over Synners continued as they ended any hopes of winning the trophy with a comfortable 4 v 0 win. The League Cup campaign started with a 2 v 1 win after extra time against Esh Winning (H) before overcoming Northallerton Town (A) 3 v 0 again after extra time. Synners then exited the competition in disappointing fashion when losing 1 v 0 against Newcastle Benfield (H) in a match which will not live too long in the memory.

The top scorer for the season was Danny Newby with 15 goals and Chay Liddle was voted the player of the year.

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Paul Roberts Trophy

The Trophy was established in the year 2000, in honour of an outstanding young person, Paul Roberts, who was diagnosed with leukaemia in 1998 before sadly passing away in February 2000. The Trophy was introduced as the club's way of remembering and honouring such an outstanding young man. All the players, management, coaching staff, and get committee get one vote each at the end of each season and the Trophy is awarded to the player who receives the most votes.

Stadium

Synthonia play at The Motif8 Stadium, Billingham (formerly The PTS Stadium from August 2007 until the end of July 2009 & The Glamal Engineering Stadium, August 2009 to June 2013.) Their ground is also used by the Billingham Athletics club. The stadium was opened on 6 September 1958 by Lord Derby, with the first game ending in a 2–2 draw against Bishop Auckland. In the same year, the stadium was used for an England 'B' international athletics meeting. The stadium's 2,000 capacity cantilever stand was the longest in the country at the time. Previously, the team had played at Belasis Lane, a ground they left in 1958 to make way for a new ICI office block. The Belasis Lane ground saw the first floodlit game in the North of England and the first amateur team to play under lights, when Billingham Synthonia defeated an RAF team 8–4 before an attendance of 3,000. The club's record attendance was 4,200 against Bishop Auckland in 1958. Some Middlesbrough reserve matches were played at Central Avenue up until the end of the 2010/2011 season.

Successes

Synthonia most recently won the Northern League Division One in the 1995–96 season (having finished 2nd in 1994–95, as they did in 1996–97 and 1997–98) with other successes occurring in 1956–57, 1988–89 and 1989–90. They also won the Northern League Cup in 1951–52, 1987–88 and 1989–90. In 2005–06 they finished 7th in the league and were Durham Challenge Cup runners-up. In the 2006–07 season, they were knocked out in the semi-final of the FA Vase, beaten by AFC Totton 5–4 on penalties.

In the 2008–09 season on 13 April 2009, an 81st-minute goal from an indirect free-kick by James McGowan [assist by Simon Shaw] after the keeper picked up a backpass, gave Synners a 1 v 0 victory in the Durham Challenge Cup Final against Durham City.

Synners replicated their 2008–09 DCC success, when they beat Ryton 2 v 0 on Good Friday 2 April 2010 to retain the title. Goals from Danny Earl and Danny Newby, both from Colin Iley assists sealed the win for the Synners.

Honours

Famous players

The most famous ex-Synner is Brian Clough, who appeared for the club before he went on National Service. Others include Aidan Davison, a goalkeeper capped 3 times by Northern Ireland, who played for Synthonia during the 1987–88 season, and Northern Ireland winger Terry Cochrane. Bernie Slaven, ex-Middlesbrough and Republic of Ireland striker, played for the club after his retirement from professional football. Another ex-Middlesbrough and Republic of Ireland player, Curtis Fleming, played for Synthonia in 2006–07 season before becoming assistant manager of Livingston of the Scottish Football League. Other notable former Synner's are the entire Liddle family who have played over a number of generations in various positions.

During the 2008–09 season, ex Middlesbrough FC, Barnsley and Crewe Alexandra FC player Craig Hignett played 4 games for the club, scoring 2 goals in the process.

Sources

External links

Coordinates: 54°35′59.014″N 1°16′54.523″W / 54.59972611°N 1.28181194°W / 54.59972611; -1.28181194

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