Midway F.C. History

In the beginning...

What started out early in 2002 when a few friends decided to have a game of 5 a side at the Meadowside in Burton on Trent has now developed into a football club with a number of teams.

Moving the Thursday night 'kick around' to Ashby's Hood Park when the snooker took over the Meadowside sports hall brought together players from the Burton and Ashby areas and soon the idea of starting an 11 a side team was being bantered around.

A late entry into the Burton and District Sunday Football League (BDSFL) in time for the 2002-03 season was succesful and the team was formed.

The original sponsors of the club and providers of the first kit were the Midway Inn, Midway, with the team taking on the pub name. The red and black kit provided also gave the club it's colours.

Initially the home games were played on Goseley Recreation Ground, Hartshorne, before the team was moved to Chestnut Avenue, Midway.

The details of this history come from this website and details of other 'firsts' may have been overlooked. This is not intentional but if anyone does want anything added please let us know.

The first game was played on Ashby Ivanhoe astroturf pitch against Woodville Polymer and a surprising 6-0 win against a good team saw the first club goal scored by Gav Robinson.

Games against a McVities side, Sargents and a Willington team saw another vistory and 2 draws before Craythorne Harriers Reserves inflicted Midway to their 1st defeat.

Arthur (98) were the first competitive side Midway were to face in the Metro Cup and a 2nd defeat, 9-1, saw Steve Quigg score the clubs first cup and competitive goal.

Midway's league debut was away to Shobnall Rovers and a 5-2 win saw Ian Davies score the first league goal for the club.

That season Midway went on to finish 3rd in Division 5 and gain promotion to Division 4.

A return leg against Sargents saw the formation of the annual Holsten Fusion Challenge Trophy (HFCT) which Midway won.

The Club's first tour took them to Belgium with Sargents, where a 4 team tournament saw Midway come out on top of the league and win the trophy.

Towards the end of the 2002-03 season the decision to expand the Club to include a junior team had been taken.

With the new season also came the renaming of the seniors to Midway, dropping the Inn from the name. A new sponsor for the Seniors was found, The Chesterfield at Hartshorne, and Thorwill Limited agreed to sponsor the juniors.

At the end of the season the club became a registered charity.

That season Midway were also awarded a grant by the Football Foundation and were twice awarded FA Charter Standard Status, first as an Adult club and then with full status.

Midway Juniors were entered into the Burton Junior Football League (BJFL) and in their 1st season they finished second from bottom.

A first goal for the juniors came in the cup when Aaron Jones netted in Midway's first victory. The first league goal came just a week later when Kyle Davies earned Midway Juniors their first point. The only league victory that season, came against fellow strugglers, Anglesey Swifts.

The Senior team meanwhile were playing in Division 4 and ended up 5th in the league.

Another victory over 2 legs in the HFCT saw Midway retain the trophy against Sargents.

A new annual trophy against Bolsover Old Boys saw Midway unsuccessful when a draw and then a defeat saw the A38-M1 trophy head North.

A second tour, again to Belgium, saw Midway once again win a 4 team tournament.

The new season again saw further expansion with an additional senior team, the Reserves, and an additional junior side formed.

New sponsors for the juniors were found, Swan Stores from Swadlincote and Baxter's Bonny Socks from Lumsden, Aberdeenshire.

The first Midway tournament, held at Washlands, kicked off the new season for the Seniors. Midway ended up winning the tournament but only after a final against Monk's Bridge had finished 1-1 and a penalty shootout determined the outcome.

The juniors were entered into the BJFL again and were both placed in Division 4 under the names Midway Palace and Midway Villa, the names relating to the teams the 2 managers at the time support.

The Reserves were placed in Division 5 of the BDSFL

A club badge competition held within the club eventually saw Gary Worth's design chosen as the winner.

Midway 1st team entered the County Cup for the first time but after 4 rounds the last 32 saw the end of the road.

The 2004-05 Season also saw a landmark for appearances within the club when Jonathan Noon became the first player to reach 100 appearances for the seniors.

This season saw Midway reach a semi final for the first time beating higher opposition on the way before going out 5-4 on penalties to Shobnall Dynamo.

Once again the end of season tour saw Midway visit Belgium but this time a draw against the hosts saw Midway finish 2nd to their tour companions Sargents F.C.

A further team was added to the Club this season when the U8's started in the BJFL. The U12s merged into 1 team to make an 11 a side squad and the team secured Goseley Rec as their home ground.

The second Midway tournament saw Western Rovers beat Bolsover Old Boys in the Cup, Midway beat Rising Sun on penalties in the Shield and FC Belmont beat Midway Reserves in the Plate.

The first goal at 11 a side for the juniors fell to Wesson whilst the U8s left it until game 3 before Thompson scored.

In the seniors league a division was scrapped meaning that the 1st team moved into division 3 and the Reserves moved into division 4.

The 1st team got out of the 1st round of their league cup for the 1st time beating Willington Reserves 2-1 only to be awarded a bye in Round 2 and secure a semi final place where they beat Miners Arms before a goal less final saw Midway lift the cup beating Crown Inn, Newhall 7-6 on penalties.

The 1st team went on to finish 3rd in division 3 whilst the Reserves finished bottom of the 4th division.

The U8s also finished bottom of their division whilst the U12s finished 5th.

The tour for this season moved away from Belgium as once again Sargents and Midway travelled together but this time to Barcelona

The start of this season saw the club more than double in size with the addition of an U8s and U9s an U11s and an U15s to go along with the existing U9s and U13s. Another 1st for the club saw them move into female football as a Ladies team was created giving the club 9 teams in total.

The U13s won their 1st tournament in July when they won the Measham tournament on penalties whilst the new U9s came runners up in the Newhall tournament. The Ladies also came runners up in their 1st tournament when they nearly won at Dovefields.

The Seniors were again promoted this time into Division 2 whilst the Reserves were once again placed in Division 4.

Midway's 3rd tournament saw Midway regain the Cup when they beat Bolsover Old Boys on penalties after a goal less final. The Reserves beat Bolsover's Reserves in the Plate Competition to also add silverware to the Club. This was a fitting end to a pre season that saw the 1st team go unbeaten and the Reserves lose only 1 game the 1st as they also picked up 1st and 2nd place in Sargent's Vince Old Testamonial Tournament.

The 1st team went on to finish 3rd in league 2 whilst finishing runners up in the Freemans Challenge Cup at Burton Albion and once again win their league cup at Gresley Rovers ground in extra time. The Reserves showed a vast improvement on the previous season as they finsished 5th in Division 4.

The Club moved to the new Pingle facility after years of being on the committee that pushed for its formation. Thanks go to Newhall, Overseal and TS Sports who also gave up their time to ensure that the local teams got a decent venue.

The Ladies finished 5th in their 1st league campaign in the Staffordshire County Womens League.

The U9s Red picked up Midway's 1st title at the end of this season when they won division 2 at a canter whilst the U13s and U9s Yellow finished 3rd and 5th respectively to also earn promotion.

A new season saw the Club expand again to incorporate 12 teams. With 2 Sunday Mens Teams, 1 Ladies team and 8 Junior teams they also expanded into Saturday football for the 1st time.

The U9s Red finished runners up in their 1st tour tournament at Butlins whilst also picking up the fair play award for the weekend. The Mens tour saw them head to Budapest whilst the Ladies headed to Blackpool for their 1st tour.

The 1st team were once again promoted this time to division 1 whilst the Reserves were also moved up from division 4 to 3. The Ladies switched leagues to the Derbyshire League and the Saturday team entered the Burton and District FA League.

Midway's team count wasn't the only thing to expand as the tournament saw the 12 mens teams joined by 5 Ladies teams. With pre tournament favourites Lichfield picking up the Ladies trophy, Midway took the Runners Up prize. The 1st team retained their Cup beating AFC Wymington 1-0 in the final whilst the Reserves went out in the Shield Semi Final to Bolsover Old Boys.

During the season the Saturday team finished 5th in the league after a poor start where a different team showed up every week, the Sunday 1st battled relegation from the 1st division, only securing their place with a win against the league champions in the last match, The Reserves faired better finishing 5th in Division 3. Following the season both Sunday team managers announced their retirements after years with the Club.
The pick of the senior section went to the Ladies though who remained unbeaten in the league until they had secured the 1st league title of the Derbyshire Ladies League in its 1st season. This was rounded off with a cup final appearance at Matlock Town's ground where a 2-0 win clinched the double for the Ladies.
The Juniors highlights were in the U10s sections where the Yellows who had been promoted stood their ground in the league with some good performances whilst the Reds finished runners up in league 1. The U8s were the best crop the Club had had at this level in 3 years whilst the U9s lost their manager and assistant at the end of the season and unfortunately folded. The U12s and U13s both finished bottom of their divisions and again the loss of the manager in the U13s saw the team fold. The U14s fought relegation in Divsion 1 but remained off the bottom in the end but they found their feet too late in the league. The U17s turned round their results in the 2nd half of their 1st season.
Christmas saw the Ladies go on their 1st tour when they visited Blackpool before their end of season tour saw them go to Bognor Regis and Butlins. The Mens team returned to Belgium when they went on a mystery tour to The Netherlands and Belgium where F.C.Charly's once again hosted a tournament.

Preseason wins for the U11s Yellow in the Topps Tiles tournament and the U11s Red in their summer tournaments along with some other semis and finals appearances saw Midway enjoy a reasonable summer.
The Club expanded to 13 teams with the formation of an U15s girls team. The creation of a disability section also saw Midway open their doors to a wider field of the community. This was rewarded on the 13th August when the Club gained the FA Charter Standard Community Club Award.

.... To be continued... <>