Wimborne Town

Wimborne Town FC is a non-league football club from the market town of Wimborne Minster in Dorset that were formed in 1878 catering initially for rugby and football. The club soon became members of both the South Hampshire and Dorset Football Association and the Dorset County Football Association.

‘The Magpies’ became members of the Dorset League, winning the Division Two title on three occasions during the 1930’s, before ending as runners-up in Division One in 1938-39. The club also found success in local cup competitions in this era.

Town joined the Dorset Combination for the 1957-58 campaign but returned to their previous league after just one season, before returning to the Combination in 1973-74; this time for a spell of three seasons.

Wimborne returned to the Dorset League where they won the league title in 1980-81 without losing a game. A perimeter wall and new changing rooms were installed at their Cuthbury ground as the club was admitted to the Western League First Division.

The progression led to Town entered both the FA Cup & FA Vase for the first time in 1982-83. Their debut FA Cup campaign saw a fine run all the way from the Preliminary Round and include home wins against Merthyr Town and Bath City before going out 4-0 away to Aldershot.

The 1984-85 campaign saw a third place Western League finish before the club became members of the Wessex League in the summer of 1987. The league title arrived under joint-managers Alex Pike and Nick Jennings in 1991-92 but the triumph would be overshadowed by greater glory.

The Magpies set out on an FA Vase run which saw victories over Mangotsfield United, Chard Town, Horsham, Hastings Town, Newcastle Town, Diss Town and then Bamber Bridge in the semi-final, with over 3,000 fans cramming into Cuthbury for the home leg.

Wimborne faced favourites Guiseley at Wembley in the final. Town won 5-3 thanks to a brace of goals from both Tom Killick and Jamie Sturgess with Steve Richardson also netting as the club became the first ever Dorset representatives to play at the national stadium.

The following season saw the side end as league runners-up before collecting their second Wessex League championship in 1993-94. Another second place in 1996-97 was followed up by a third league triumph in 1999-00.

Cuthbury suffered from ground grading stipulations for several seasons, but promotion was finally won when the team finished as Wessex League runners-up in 2009-10 under manager Alex Browne as the club joined the Southern League Division One South & West.

Steve Cuss took over at the helm in the summer of 2011, going on to fashion a competitive team who had just escaped relegation on a couple of occasions, to one that finished in mid table. Cuss resigned in November 2015 to be replaced by Simon Browne.

However, the new man departed in May 2016 over a disagreement over the playing budget for the following season. An experienced team of directors had been assembled, and they appointed former West Ham United and AFC Bournemouth midfielder as the new team manager.

Holmes ed his side to the 2017-18 play-offs of Division One West, where they defeated Didcot Town before losing at home to Swindon Supermarine on penalties in the final. The disappointment was soon to give way to relief.

Shaw Lane FC resigned from the Northern Premier League, meaning that a place was made available at step three for the team with the next best record. That turned out to be Wimborne Town who were promoted to the Southern League Premier Division South.

Wimborne Town FC will play in Southern League Premier Division South in the 2018-19 season.

My visit

Wimborne Town 3 Hendon 3 (Saturday 9^th February 2019) Southern League Premier Division South (att: 388)

Hendon’s sideways move into the Southern League had certainly provided me with some opportunities to visit venues that I’d have never normally contemplated visiting, and this was another case in point.

I was kindly offered a place with some other regular fans on the team coach and I readily accepted. The rain had fallen heavily in Dorset the day before the game and a provisional pitch inspection was put in place.

I’d enjoyed a few pints on Friday night and marked down Dorking Wanderers v Kingstonian as my back up plan if my initial choice was called off. Steve Barnes was put on stand by for my text when I heard any news.

As it transpired the pitch at Wimborne wasn’t even deemed necessary of an expert look. All was good as we departed around 10.30am from Silver Jubilee Park on a coach that seemed colder inside than out.

The journey was truncated by a stop at Winchester Services and seemed to pass quickly with the usual football chat and watching the King of Thieves film plus all the added extras to pad the time out.

Among the travelling fans was Marina Reznor, an American author who based a couple of her books around the now mythical Kingsbury Town and non-league football. She was over from Pennsylvania for a visit and it was a pleasure to meet her. Marina also provided brilliant artwork posters for Hendon games.

Initial impressions of Wimborne Minster were that it seemed a quaint little town surrounded by pretty countryside. Bob, Alex and Andy seemed impressed that I’d sorted the nearest pub out. Indeed, we passed The Green Man on the road to Cuthbury.

The ground was up the narrow Cowgrove Road, which didn’t have footpaths on a tight bend. The wind, while not as fierce as in North London, was getting up and blowing from the west. I’m glad to report that it didn’t hamper our walk to the pub after we bought the £2 match programme.

The beer in the cosy and friendly pub from Wadsworth Brewery hit the spot as John Rogers joined us. He’d arrived early and confirmed that the town was indeed very pretty. He had to go on ahead as he was on duty updating the club Twitter account.

There was still time for us to grab a pint in the bar in the busy clubhouse before paying our £10 admission. The crowd was a decent size in a ground Mr Rogers perfectly described as “a beautifully tight, charming tumbledown ground”. My pal had nailed it.

A couple of areas of long low cover, one with seating stood on the entrance side. An area of narrow open standing was behind the near goal with a low covered standing area at the far end. The opposite side was open and flat with hard standing and grass and including a video gantry and the team benches.

The main feature was the sloping pitch. I’d not come across one quite like it before. The main gradient was from the entrance side across the pitch, but there were also a couple of other undulations. The pitch was heavy underfoot after the weeks weather.

Hendon were without a win in eleven league games but had drawn their previous three encounters and were showing sure signs of improvement. They were getting a bit too close to the relegation spots for comfort. Wimborne had a formidable home record but were patchy on the road.

The set up for fans at Cuthbury, or Koolpak Stadium under a sponsorship deal, was first class, with an outside barbeque doing meats while an inside café did all the drinks and some other warm food. My cheeseburger was excellent along with the friendly service.

The wind was blowing straight down the pitch at the backs of the Hendon defence in the first half. It didn’t deter the hosts as a Toby Holmes effort from range hit the top of the Dons crossbar before Luke Burbridge hit the foot of the post with keeper Danny Boness well beaten.

The visitor’s central midfield of Matty Harriott, Sergio Manesio and Ryan Hope began to get a grip of proceedings. I was becoming frustrated as sometimes the play was a little over elaborate when a shot using advantage of the conditions was surely a better option?

On twenty three minutes the Greens, playing in sky blue on their travels went ahead with a low shot from Hope lacked power, but home keeper Gerard Benfield somehow let it out of his grasp to crawl into the net; not that I was too upset!

Within a couple of minutes Wimborne drew level. Holmes latched onto a through ball, which Boness intercepted with his fist on the edge of the box before colliding with the forward. There were appeals for a penalty but Burbridge didn’t wait to find out and shot into the empty net.

The referee was the same as who had officiated Hendon’s game at Salisbury, where he put in a performance that suggested that he’d favoured his old Weymouth team mate Steve Claridge. Some of the feedback from the Wimborne fans seemed to tally. He wasn’t popular.

His stock with the home fans plummeted further just before half time. Hope took a corner when the ref blew and pointed to the spot. He adjudged that defender Sam Davidson was impeding Lewis Toomey and booked the Wimborne man for his troubles.

Benfield got a good hand on Shaquille Hippolyte-Patrick’s penalty, but it was too strong. Hendon went to the changing rooms at the break with a 2-1 lead as we headed inside for a swift pint in good form after the keeper flapped at a Darren Locke header and Boness had made a good stop at the other end.

We headed behind the far goal for the second half, with the roof providing a nice buffer from the wind. Most Hendon fans were in general agreement that the new signings were bedding in well and performances were certainly improving. Famous last words.

On fifty three minutes a regulation ball up the middle got caught in the wind and over Locke. Holmes lobbed the advancing Boness to restore parity. The custodian made another fine save shortly after, this time from Billy Maybury.

On sixty four minutes the hosts went ahead after some shocking Hendon defending. The troublesome Burbridge wasn’t picked up from a standard throw in. He lobbed the ball into the area first time where the impressive Holmes headed home unmarked.

This would have spelled real trouble for the Dons a few weeks previously. However, they had developed a resolute attitude of late and were soon rewarded. A Hope free kick dipped in the wind, Locke stooped to head and the ball beat Benfield to make it 3-3.

The match really did offer great entertainment even if it contained errors. The Dons were getting control and creating audible concern to the Wimborne players. The referee continued to have an excellent game which really did make me think about his Salisbury performance.

With twenty minutes left on the clock Hendon nearly and should have regained the lead. A fine pass from Harriott sent substitute Ogo Obi through. The forward beat Benfield but with too much elevation as the ball came back off the underside of the bar before he eventually saw the follow up saved.

Locke saw another header cleared off the line by Stefan Penny as Benfield continued to struggle particularly with crosses. Boness made a fine acrobatic stop from Burbridge before Benfield proved his worth with a tremendous tip over from a rasping Hope shot.

Both sides continued to look for a winner in the closing stages, but the defences held firm. A draw was probably about the right result. It was a game that epitomised why I loved non-league. Every player gave it everything. The fans were friendly and appreciative.

Marina had her photo taken with the team at full time, which made her day. She’d certainly picked out a cracker for her visit. My mood was brightened further as I won over £100 on the fixed odds and celebrated in the bar with my mates.

I got to meet the Town Crier of Wimborne Minster who seemed a smashing bloke, and apparently a regular fan on my way for a beer. He even posed for a photo. That what was non-league football was all about.

The journey back was smooth and lacking incident until my water bottle leaked in my bag soaking my IPod, failing to turn on when I tried it the following day. Just another chapter in life’s game of snakes and ladders. 

I went to bed to prepare for an early start for my next adventure as I headed to Copenhagen for the day for more fun and football.