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| Full name | Hednesford Town Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | The Pitmen | |||
| Founded | 1880 | |||
| Ground | Keys Park,Hednesford | |||
| Capacity | 6,039 (1,011 seated)[1] | |||
| Owner(s) | Craig and Amanda Gwilt | |||
| Manager | Gavin Hurren | |||
| League | Northern Premier League Premier Division | |||
| 2024–25 | Northern Premier League Division One West, 2nd of 22 (promoted via play-offs) | |||
| Website | htfc.co.uk | |||
Hednesford Town Football Club is afootball club based inHednesford,Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of theNorthern Premier League Premier Division and play atKeys Park. They won theFA Trophy in 2004.
The club was established in 1880 as a merger of the Red & Whites and Hill Top.[2] Based at the Anglesey Hotel, they were sometimes known as Hednesford Anglesey.[3] The club were founder members of theBirmingham & District League in 1889 and finished sixth in their first season. Despite finishing third in 1890–91, they left the league at the end of the season,[4] and played only friendly matches before joining theWalsall & District Junior League in 1894.[5] The club were runners-up in the league in their first two seasons, before the league was renamed the Walsall & District League in 1897.
Hednesford were league runners-up again in 1899–1900 and 1901–02. After finishing third in 1907–08, they joined theBirmingham Combination, which they won in 1909–10.[6] AfterWorld War II the club rejoined the Birmingham & District League.[4] They reached the first round of theFA Cup for the first time in1919–20, losing 2–0 atCastleford Town.[7] The club finished bottom of the league in 1924–25, 1925–26 and 1931–32.[4][8] They withdrew from the league during the 1937–38 season and folded before reforming as Hednesford.[7] The new club rejoined the Birmingham & District League for the 1938–39 season; however, with the league reduced to 10 clubs, two round robin leagues were played – the King's Cup, in which the club finished bottom of the table, and the League Cup, in which they finished second-from-bottom.[8]
AfterWorld War II Hednesford joined the Birmingham Combination.[9] They won the league in 1950–51 and were runners-up in 1952–53,[9] after which they rejoined the Birmingham & District League.[8] The league was split into two divisions for the 1954–55 season, with Hednesford playing in the Northern Division.[8] A thirteenth-place finish saw them placed in Division Two the following season.[8] They remained in Division Two until the league was reduced to a single division in 1960.[8] In 1962 the league was renamed theWest Midlands (Regional) League. Hednesford became members of the Premier Division when the league gained a second division in 1965.[10] The club returned to its original name in 1971,[10] and in 1972 they joined theMidland League. However, after finishing bottom of the table in 1973–77, the club left the league,[11] returning to the Premier Division of the West Midlands (Regional) League.[10] They were league champions in 1977–78,[10] and after finishing as runners-up in 1983–84, the club moved up to the Midland Division of theSouthern League.[7]
In1991–92 Hednesford were Midland Division runners-up, earning promotion to the Premier Division; they also reached the final of theWelsh Cup, losing 1–0 toCardiff City. They won the Premier Division in1994–95 and were promoted to theFootball Conference. In theirfirst season in the Conference the club finished third. The1996–97 season saw the club reach the first round of the FA Cup for the first time since 1919–20. After beatingSouthport 2–1 in the first round, they defeated Second Division clubsBlackpool in the second round andYork City in the third round, winning both games 1–0. In the fourth round they were drawn at home toPremier LeagueMiddlesbrough. However, the match was played at Boro'sRiverside Stadium. In what was a close game Hednesford lost the tie 3–2.
Thefollowing season saw Hednesford entered directly into the first round of the FA Cup, where they defeatedHull City 2–0, before losing 1–0 toDarlington in the second round. The club reached the second round again in1998–99, beatingBarnet 1–0 in the first round before losing 3–1 at Cardiff City. A gradual decline in league performances saw them finish bottom of the table in2000–01, resulting in relegation back to the Southern League's Premier Division.[7] In2003–04 the club reachedthe final of theFA Trophy, winning the competition with a 3–2 win overCanvey Island atVilla Park. In2004–05 they finished fourth in the Premier Division, qualifying for the promotion play-offs; after beatingMerthyr Tydfil 5–3 on penalties in the semi-finals after a 1–1 draw, they beatChippenham Town 1–0 in the final to earn promotion to theConference North.[12]
Hednesford finished bottom of the Conference North in2005–06, resulting in an immediate relegation, this time to the Premier Division of theNorthern Premier League. In 2009 they were transferred to the Southern League's Premier Division, and a fourth-place finish in2009–10 saw them qualify for the play-offs again, this time losing 2–0 to Chippenham in the semi-finals.[7] They were Premier Division runners-up thefollowing season; another play-off campaign saw them beatLeamington 3–1 in the semi-finals before losing 3–2 on penalties toSalisbury City in the final after the game had ended 2–2. The club were transferred back to the Northern Premier League in 2011 and finished fifth in2011–12 before losing 5–0 toBradford Park Avenue in the play-off semi-finals.
A fourth successive play-off campaign was secured when Hednesford were Premier Division runners-up in2012–13. After beatingAFC Fylde 3–1 on penalties in the semi-finals following a 3–3 draw, they defeatedF.C. United of Manchester 2–1 in the final, earning promotion to the Conference North.[7] Theirfirst season back in the Conference North ended with a fourth-place finish and a play-off semi-final defeat toAltrincham, losing 4–3 on aggregate.[7] In2015–16 they finished second-from-bottom of the renamed National League North and were relegated to the Northern Premier League's Premier Division.[7] The2022–23 season saw them relegated to Division One West of the Northern Premier League.[13] In2024–25 they were runners-up in Division One West. After beatingVauxhall Motors 3–1 in the play-off semi-finals, the club defeatedCongleton Town 2–0 in the final to earn promotion to the Premier Division.
The club originally played at a ground behind the Anglesey Hotel, which became known as 'the Tins' due to the metal sheeting that was erected around the ground.[3] In 1904 they moved to the Cross Keys ground after a local councillor agreed to pay off the club's £40 debt if they moved away from the Tins.[14] The first match at the new stadium drew a crowd of 900 to see Hednesford beat Stafford 3–1.[14] A large wooden stand was erected on one side of the pitch and banking on the other. The banking was replaced by a pitch-length stand in the 1950s and floodlights were installed in 1953, with over 7,000 attending the inauguration match in which local rivalsWolves defeatedWest Brom 4–2.[14]
By the 1990s the capacity of Cross Keys had been reduced to around 4,000.[14] The final match at the ground saw Hednesford beatLeek Town to secure the Southern League title and promotion to the Football Conference in front of 2,776 spectators.[14] The club then moved toKeys Park, which was built at a cost of £1.3m.[15] The ground initially had a capacity of 3,500, but was expanded during the 1997–98 season and now has a capacity of 6,039, of which 1,011 is seated and 5,335 covered.[15][1] The record attendance at Keys Park was set when 4,701 spectators attended the Northern Premier League Division One West play-off final match against Congleton Town on 3 May 2025.[16]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Gavin Hurren |
| Assistant Manager | Lee Vaughan |
| Coach | Matthew Barnes-Homer |
| Goalkeeping coach | Liam Stoneley |
| Head of Sports Therapy | Adam Paget |
| Sports Therapist | Dan Brayson |
| Data Analyst | Johnathan Matthews |
| Kitman | Mark Thornley |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
