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| Full name | Fivemiletown United Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Town | |
| Founded | 1888[1] | |
| Ground | Valley Stadium (1993–present)[2] | |
| Chairman | Davy McQuigg, BEM | |
| Manager | Scott Robinson | |
| League | Mid-Ulster Football League Intermediate A | |
| 2023/24 | Mid-Ulster Football League Intermediate A, 10th | |
Fivemiletown United Football Club is anintermediate-level football club who play in the Intermediate A division of theMid-Ulster Football League inNorthern Ireland. The club is based inFivemiletown,County Tyrone. Their home ground has been the Valley Stadium on the Cooneen Road in the Town since 1993. The club was formed in 1888, making Fivemiletown United the oldest club in Northern Ireland not playing at Senior Level in the country.[citation needed]
The club's most successful period came under stalwart Davy McQuigg as underdogs in the Intermediate B division;[citation needed] they defeated Intermediate A Champions Annagh United in the Premier Cup Final. Annagh went on to play in the Senior Divisions after this season and have not returned to Intermediate football since.
In 2005, McQuigg's side beat a future Premiership clubWarrenpoint Town in the same final. His side won the Intermediate B at the first attempt in 2002/03. Andy Parkinson became the second manager to win a trophy at Intermediate Level winning the Marshall Cup in 2010/11.[3] Parkinson departed the club in May 2011 to joinBallinamallard United’s backroom team.[4] The club reached the Premier Cup Final in 2009, 2011 and 2014, losing the former matches against Dollingstown and the latter against Newry City AFC. Scott Robinson brought short-term success during his tenure as manager in 2016/17, leading the club to their most famous moment in December 2016 when they defeated Premier Intermediate League sideDundela F.C. in the 4th Round of theIrish Cup 4–3. This was the first time the club had ever reached the fifth round. However, at the end of the season after a disappointing league campaign several players left for pastures new and Robinson followed, leaving the Town to rebuild again.
Fivemiletown United then appointed former manager Raymond Clarke as manager, with former goalkeeper David Ballantine joining as First Team Coach. After three years under Clarke, during which the club stabilised their position in the MUFL Intermediate A, Clarke was replaced at the end of the 2020/21 season by Chris McDowell and Barry Anderson in a joint managerial partnership. McDowell, a firm fan favourite, holds the illustrious honour of having made the most appearances of all time for the club. Anderson had previously featured as a player and, as a youth coach, guiding the U19s to successive cup final wins in 2018 and 2019. On 24 June 2022, Fivemiletown ended an eleven-year wait for a trophy when they defeated Oxford Sunnyside 2–0 in the Marshall Cup final in Armagh. The trophy had been won eleven years earlier against Hill Street, another Lurgan-based side. In July 2024, Barry Anderson's move to Ballinamallard United as assistant manager paved the way for Scott Robinson to return as first team manager, with Chris McDowell taking on the role of his assistant.[5]
Notable former players with the club have included:[citation needed]
