CLUB HISTORY

Formed in 1946, Whitchurch Alport took its name from the nearby Alport Farm which was the home of local footballer, Coley Maddox, who lost his life during WWII. Alport started out in the Shrewsbury & District League, winning the title two years after their formation, before becoming one of the founder members of the Mid Cheshire League in 1948.
Alport went on to enjoy some success in the 50’s and 60’s, reaching numerous Cup finals – one of which saw the club contest the Welsh Amateur Cup Final against Chirk AAA in front of 5,000 spectators at Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground. Arguably their finest hour though, came in the 1969-70 campaign when Whitchurch became the first side to take the League Championship outside of Cheshire.

We also won the Shropshire County Cup but in pursuit of the treble, Kidsgrove Athletic denied them of unrivalled success, with Whitchurch beaten 4-2 in the League Cup Final. Still, it didn’t stop the town’s Council from honouring the club with a Civic reception acknowledging the team’s outstanding achievements. Season 1973/74 saw the club achieve arguably its highest honour to date by defeating Cardiff College 2-1 to become the first English side ever to win the Welsh Amateur Cup under the stewardship of the late Eddie Morris. But a decade later and Alport were in decline. A disastrous decision to field only local players resulted in back-to-back bottom place finishes with barely a handful of wins across two successive campaigns.

In 2009, Alport won the Shropshire County Cup at Shrewsbury Town’s stadium with a 1-0 win over Wellington Amateurs. But just four years later, the Reds resigned from the Cheshire League just a few short weeks before the campaign began, and there was a question mark against the club’s future. They survived – just - and took the decision to play in the Mercian Premier Division, but it was far from plain sailing from there. After a couple of seasons in the Mercian, there was an even bigger decision to be made: Alport had seen an opportunity to apply for NWCFL status. Originally, their application was declined but an appeal was successfully heard at Wembley Stadium - with the FA’s appeals committee overturning the original decision. And in August 2015, Whitchurch finally stepped onto the field to compete at the highest level in their history, earning a 1-1 home draw with Rochdale Town (att:83) with Luke Woollam’s goal earning him a place in the history books.

Initially, the Reds began brightly, losing only five of their first 15 league games. But a harsh winter saw interest wane and many of the better players decided they’d had enough. Alport limped over the line simply to complete their league fixtures, but a miserly 16 points from 34 league matches told its own story. The club appointed an ambitious young manager, Luke Goddard in May 2016. He set about assembling a brand new youthful and energetic team & WAFC were beaten semi-finalists in the play-offs earning the right to compete in the FA Cup. Alport were promoted to the Premier Division after a thrilling end to their 2017-18 season. A play off final victory over Cammell Laird in front of a 733 crowd at Yockings Park sent Alport to the top-flight after just three seasons as an NWCFL club.

The Ethelston Cup was won for the first time in 9 years in 2018 and retained in 2019. Alport finished their inaugural season in the Premier in a respectable 14th place and secured a second trophy by landing the Huddersfield Cup, with a penalty shoot-out victory over Market Drayton. A then club record 797 attendance was set at the ground for the FA Cup tie with Leek Town in September 2019, and a few weeks later, Alport won the Shropshire Senior Cup for the first time in its history, beating Shrewsbury Town 3-1 at the Montgomery Waters Meadow.

The 2021/22 season saw the Reds move leagues after restructuring of some step 5 leagues ,to the Midland League Premier Division, which presented a new challenge for the club both on and off the pitch, in terms of locations of opponents and recruiting players closer to the Midlands area. This season did see the Reds get to the quarter finals of the FA Vase, only to be beaten by the eventual winners of the cup Newport Pagnell Town 2-1, in front of a club record attendance of 1400 supporters at Yockings Park. He Alport would though win the TJ Vickers cup, beating Haughmond 3-2 at AFC Telfords ground.

October 2023 saw the end of Luke Goddard’s trophy laden reign at the club, and it saw the introduction of Adam Shillcock, who had the task of rebuilding the club, and to put his own brand of football on show. The early signs are promising both on and off the pitch, as the club stabilises after a few turbulent seasons

Whitchurch Alport

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