Match Preview | Morpeth Town v Stocksbridge Park Steels

Date: Saturday 10^th November 2018

Venue: Craik Park, Morpeth Common, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2YX

Kick Off: 3pm

Competition: Evo-Stik Northern Premier League Division One East

Match Coverage: Twitter

Highlights: Highwaymen TV

History

Stocksbridge Park Steels F.C. was formed in 1986 as the result of the merger of Stocksbridge Works, the works team of the local British Steel Corporation plant, with another local club, Oxley Park Sports. The new club was immediately admitted to the Northern Counties East League Division Two, the works club having previously played in Division Three of the same league.

The Steels spent five seasons in Division Two before being placed in Division One when the lower division was discontinued upon league re-organisation in 1991. In the same year Mick Horne was appointed as the club’s manager, and he led the team to the championship of Division One in the 1991–92 season.

In Stocksbridge’s first season in the Premier Division the team finished near the bottom of the table, but in the 1993–94 season the Steels became Northern Counties East League champions. The club failed to gain promotion to the Northern Premier League, however, as their stadium did not meet the required standard. The club finished second in the division two seasons later, losing the championship on goal difference to Hatfield Main, and on this occasion were admitted to the Northern Premier League Division One.

Stocksbridge finished in the top half of the table in the club’s first five seasons at the higher level, with a best finish of fourth place in the 2000–01 season, but the following season the Steels finished only two places from the bottom of the league. Shortly before the end of this season, manager Mick Horne tendered his resignation after 11 years in charge and was replaced by his assistant, former Norwich City player Wayne Biggins.

Under Biggins’ management, the Steels had their best ever runs in both the FA Cup and FA Trophy and set a club record with a 17–1 defeat of Oldham Town in the FA Cup preliminary round in August 2002, but remained near the bottom of the league table. After the Steels were defeated 6–0 by Shildon in the final qualifying round of the 2003–04 FA Cup, Biggins attempted to resign but the board of directors persuaded him to continue in his job. However, he left in November 2003, with the club again fighting a battle against relegation.

Former assistant manager of local rivals Worksop Town Peter Rinkcavage was appointed as Stocksbridge’s new manager, and in the 2005–06 season he led the team to a sixth-place finish, sufficient to qualify for the play-offs for promotion to the Northern Premier League Premier Division. After holding Kendal Town to a 1–1 draw in the semi-final, the Steels lost a penalty shoot-out, ending their hopes of promotion.

The following season Stocksbridge again finished in sixth place, although with only two teams promoted, it was not high enough to qualify for the play-offs. Stocksbridge did, however, defeat Worksop Town to win the Sheffield and Hallamshire Senior Cup. Following this win manager Rinkcavage resigned in order to return to his former club, Worksop, as manager, with Gary Marrow replacing him for the 2007–08 season, for which the club was placed in the Southern section of the now-regionalised Division One. Stocksbridge again qualified for the play-offs, but lost to Sheffield. In the 2008–09 season, the Steels again qualified for the play-offs and defeated Belper Town in the final to gain promotion to the Northern Premier League Premier Division for the first time. During the following season, Marrow resigned as manager and was replaced by Simon Collins. The Steels spent five years in the Premier Division, never finishing out of the bottom half of the table, and were relegated at the end of the 2013–14 season.

Last Match

The Highwaymen were in action on Saturday when they travelled to Frickley Athletic and came away with a 2 – 0 victory. A Jack Foalle double was enough to seal the points in a bad-tempered game that saw 3 red cards. Frickley receiving two of them and Morpeth one.

The Steels grabbed a 90^th minute to win 1-0 at home to Wisbech Town. Benjamin Rhodes got the only goal of the game when he reacted the quickest to lash home a free kick that hadn’t been dealt with.

Manager

Chris Hilton – Hilton was appointed in 2014 following a successful spell with Worsbrough Bridge Athletic. In his time with the Steels, Hilton was taken the club to the First Round of the FA Trophy.