Ten years after a famous victory at Wembley, a new North Ferriby has arisen, writes Paul Davis
As the tenth anniversary approaches of one of the most extraordinary feats in non-league football, North Ferriby line up to kick off against Sheffield FC at their Dransfield Stadium. Three-quarters of this community-minded village by the wide Humber estuary could fit inside it – today, the crowd is 412, a healthy turn-out for the eighth-tier Northern Premier Division One East on a bitter February afternoon, even if the opposition are the world’s oldest football club.
Winning a fifth straight league match with the last kick of the game, Ferriby now face near neighbours, Bridlington Town, this Tuesday, February 11, the first of four home fixtures stretching into March.
The fact that Ferriby are here at all – and seeking a third promotion in four seasons – is a testament to the determination of the villagers not to let their football team die. As co-owner/chairman Les Hare puts it, “This club is firmly cemented into the heart of our community”.
Hare first retired from 30 years of chairing North Ferriby in 2016, the high-water mark in a century of football on the Hull side of the Humber. The Villagers had just gained promotion to the National League, one division from The 92, and one season after that memorable achievement at Wembley.
Taking Wrexham to extra-time after being 2-0 behind, Ferriby even went 3-2 up before their goalkeeper, Adam Nicklin, saved three penalties in the shoot-out to send the FA Trophy to East Riding. Within four years, unable to pay the company responsible for laying the turf to prepare for that solitary season in the National League, North Ferriby United were wound up at Hull County Court for the want of £7,645.25.
“The task was enormous at the club,” admits Hare, who was “in a queue of one to reform it, given the FA would only grant 28 days to set up a new company and secure tenure on the ground. With the aid of my co directors, we formed a new company, agreed a new lease with our parish council and then set about dealing with the mountain of repairs required to open the stadium again”.
On April 1, 2019, North Ferriby FC rose from the remains of North Ferriby United – all 18 teams, men, women and children, many helping to shift the eight tons of waste that had accumulated at the Grange Lane ground.
As for the seniors setting out in level ten. “no targets were set,” says Hare, “so there was no expectancy. With the club having played at every level of the non-league game from six to one, the most important consideration was, and remains, sustainability”.
Nonetheless, one spring day in 2022, Hare was celebrating with the other 1,442 spectators, a league record, at the renamed Dransfield Stadium when Ferriby beat Harrogate Railway Athletic in the play-off for promotion to the Northern Counties Eastern League Premier.
Topping it by a country mile the following season while attracting attendances of 500-plus, the Villagers then held their own in the Northern Premier Division One East before their current unbeaten run.
Les Hare, however, is pretty sanguine about Ferriby’s prospects: “Given our low budget in comparison to some in our league, success for this club would arguably be staying up – but realistically a top ten place. It follows that promotion would therefore be an overachievement.”
“All promotions are double-edged. Every uplift incurs more expense. I’m not so sure we’re in line for promotion this season, more like hanging onto the shirt tails of a play-off position. I’ve never shied away from the challenges of playing at a higher league, and that’s not going to change.”
But it’s not all about the battle for league points. Here by Ferriby station, and the train tracks carrying direct services from Hull, York and Doncaster, the club lays on comedy nights at its convivial clubhouse, The One Point Sports Bar. A local hotel is hired for sportsmen’s dinners and, last Monday, a tenth-anniversary reunion to mark the FA Trophy win,
As Hare concludes: “As a not-for-profit football club run entirely by volunteers, we provide footballing opportunities to over 360 people every weekend. We have 24 teams ranging from five year olds to 75 year olds. Men, women, boys and girls. We’re fully inclusive”.
North Ferriby v Bridlington Town, Tuesday, February 11, 7.45pm. Dransfield Stadium, Grange Lane, North Ferriby HU14 3AB. Northern rail to Ferriby station. Admission £8, over-65s £6, under-18s £1.
