Wadhurst United Football Club

	Chairman:	Secretary:	Treasurer:
Trevor Wright	Brian Penny	Malcolm Dick
3 Queens Mews	4 Hill House Cottages	7 Green Square
Rye Road, Hawkhurst	Sparrows Green Road	Wadhurst
Cranbrook, Kent	Wadhurst, East Sussex	East Sussex
TN18 4EZ	TN5 6SS	TN5 6BU
Tel (01580) 753103	Tel (01892) 783782	Tel (01892) 782486
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The 2011 Season

The 2010/11 season brought about fresh challenges on the back of the Double-double season, with the first team returning to intermediate level football in the ESFL Premier division, and the second team also promoted to a higher division. It was a season of 2 halves and contrasting fortunes for both teams. The firsts competing strongly in the top division, and progressing into further rounds of the League cup for the first half of the season, with the seconds struggling before Christmas, only winning one game and drawing two in the league to leave them in a deep relegation dog-fight.

A push for the Premier Division title and the potential for another cup final were well in reach for the first team as the bitterly cold & wet start to 2011 inevitably meant frequent game cancellations, the team maintained strong performances throughout, however dropping points in key games saw the title challenge fade with the frosty conditions, and a mid-table position at the end of the season. The dream of another final outing for the club also ended in heartache with an agonising 3-2 penalty shoot-out defeat to Peche Hill Select in the League Cup Semi-Final, after a tense 1-1 aet draw. Disappointment for one team, but the new year brought about a change of form for the seconds, whom won 5 out of 6 games (with the 6th being drawn) during February & March to haul themselves to safety and maintain division 5 status.

Wadhurst United Club History

Official records show Wadhurst FC to have established in 1890, although some sources say their existence was as early as 1873. The amalgamation of Wadhurst with village rival team Toc-H in 1973 formed the club we know today as Wadhurst United FC.

Having played for a number of years within the East Sussex League, Wadhurst were invited to join the Sussex County League (Division II) for the 1964/65 season. By the end of the 66/67 season, Wadhurst were Division II champions & promoted into the top tier of the County League. However the clubs fortunes changed at the turn of the decade. 1970 brought relegation back to Division II, and three years later came non-election into the County League for the 1972/73 season. This was due to the notorious end-to-end slope on the clubs home ground (Washwell Lane) being deemed too excessive.

The club joined the Southern Counties Combination League for that season, and continued to figure prominently within this league until the late 1980’s. The highlights of this period included a 2-1 defeat of APV to claim the Sussex Intermediate Cup in the 1975/76 season, and winning the league title four years later.

ESFL Domination & County League
After the break-up of the Southern Counties Combination League, Wadhurst rejoined the East Sussex League for the 1988/89 season, where they have since won four Premier Division titles, three of these in the space of six seasons (1997/98, 2000/01, 2002/03), as well as winning and retaining the League Cup for those six consecutive seasons. There has also been league success for the clubs second & third teams in the last decade. A second spell in the Sussex County League followed after the first team (relocated to play at Sparrows Green) were elected into Division III for the 2003/04 season. The club enjoyed three competitive seasons at the higher level, achieving respectable league places along the way.

Rebuilding the club
Unfortunately this success could not be sustained, which resulted in the club regrettably dropping out of the County League ahead of the 2006/07 season, effectively dissolving the first team. Since then a period of rejuvenation and rebuilding of the club has occurred. The new-look first team returned to play at their original home on the Washwell Lane slope, and have gone from the 4th tier of the East Sussex League to regain their place within the Premier Division in 4 years.

The “Double-Double”
The season 2009/10 must surely be heralded as one of the most successful in Wadhurst United Football Club’s history, with both teams winning a league and cup double. The first team won the highly acclaimed Sussex County Junior Cup after defeating Worthing Leisure (a strong powerful team from the Worthing League packed full of experienced county league players) 3-0 in the final held at County HQ in Lancing. They were also crowned East Sussex League Division One champions, making it back-to-back titles following the Second division title in 2009 (also a double winning season with victory in the Hastings FA Junior Cup), and promotion in three successive seasons.Wadhurst United’s second team were the East Sussex football league division 6 ‘invincibles’ during the 2009/10 season, winning the title on their last game of the season and going through the league campaign undefeated (P16, W14, D2, L0), only conceding 10 goals. This was followed up with a tense penalty shoot-out victory over Catsfield in the League cup final at the Saffrons.

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Your local team needs you!

If you would like to know more about the club, please contact Brian Penny on 01892 783 782 or Malcolm Dick on 01892 782 486 or by e-mail

To follow the progress of Wadhurst United FC (or any other team in the East Sussex League) throughout the season, please click below to the East Sussex Football League website. The site contains the results of all games played this season, fixtures for the forthcoming month, as well as up to date league tables.

Click here for the East Sussex League homepage