Friday 6 August 2010

Sherborne Town (England)

Another grand old team of non-league football who are now playing in their third century, Sherbourne formed in 1894 in this historic Dorset market town. Despite playing diligently every season since then, they only made it to a reasonably high standard of league when the joined the Dorset Combination in 1962.

There they stayed for over 40 years until they finally made it to the Western League Division One. Obviously the novelty of this promotion lark hadn't worn off, as they promptly went up to the Western League Premier Division - the ninth level of football in England - two years later, and have stayed there ever since.

After 91 years at their Marston Road home, they decided to move across the lane to Raleigh Grove in 1985 - but it wasn't easy. At the time it was grazing land, with a massive slope and a pond in one corner. But they persevered through the undergrowth and carved out the 150 capacity ground that they have today - although that number only accounts for the seated area, and many others can stand around the perimiter. This was proved in 2003 when a gate of 1000 sqeezed in to watch them play an Eastleigh side featuring Matt Le Tissier in the Andy Shephard Memorial Match.


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