- Craghead United F.C.
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Craghead United F.C. was an English association football club based in the village of Craghead, County Durham. The team initially competed in the Chester-le-Street & District Football League. They unsuccessfully applied to enter the Northern Football Alliance in 1908—receiving no votes from the member clubs—before joining the Northern League in 1912. They finished fifth in both their seasons in the division before leaving the league at the end of the 1913–14 season.[1] Craghead United subsequently submitted another application to the Northern Alliance in 1920 and were accepted into the league along with Backworth United and Hexham Comrades, and the reserve teams of Ashington and Durham City.[2]
Craghead United entered the FA Cup for the first time in the 1907–08 season, but were defeated in the preliminary round by Leadgate Park. The club enjoyed their best run in the Cup during the 1909–10 campaign, defeating Crook Town and Stanley United before losing to Seaham Harbour in the third qualifying round. Craghead United were knocked out in the second qualifying round on two occasions, but generally struggled to progress past the preliminary stage. During their last five seasons in the FA Cup between 1924 and 1929, the team failed to win a single match.[3]
Despite being an amateur team, Craghead United were represented by several players who also played professional football. Walter Coates, who went on to play for Fulham and Leeds United, and Arthur Thompson, who had a spell at Manchester United, both spent some of their early careers at the club. Harry Pringle and Jack Small, who both went on to play in the Football League, both started their careers with Craghead United.
FA Cup history
Season Round Date Opponents H/A Result 1907–08 Preliminary round 21 September 1907 Leadgate Park Away 1–2 1908–09 First qualifying round 3 October 1908 Annfield Plain Away 4–1 Second qualifying round 17 October 1908 Leadgate Park Away 2–3 1909–10 Preliminary round 18 September 1909 Sunderland West End Home 4–2 First qualifying round 2 October 1909 Crook Town Home 3–2 Second qualifying round 16 October 1909 Stanley United Away 1–0 Third qualifying round 6 November 1909 Seaham Harbour Away 1–5 1910–11 Preliminary round 17 September 1910 Spennymoor United Away 0–0 21 September 1910 Spennymoor United Home 1–2 1911–12 Extra preliminary round 9 September 1911 Grangetown Away 7–1 Preliminary round 16 September 1911 Haswell Away 0–1 1912–13 Preliminary round 28 September 1913 Sunderland Rovers Away 1–1 2 October 1911 Sunderland Rovers Home 2–3 1913–14 Preliminary round 27 September 1913 Leadgate Park Away 2–1 First qualifying round 11 October 1913 Langley Park Home 2–1 Second qualifying round 1 November 1913 Horden Athletic Home 0–0 5 November 1913 Horden Athletic Away 0–4 1914–15 Preliminary round 26 September 1914 Dipton United Home 2–1 First qualifying round 10 October 1914 Birtley Away 2–3 1919–20 Preliminary round 27 September 1908 Boldon Colliery Away 0–1 1920–21 Extra preliminary round 11 September 1920 Wingate Albion Comrades Home 0–0 15 September 1920 Wingate Albion Comrades Away 4–0 Preliminary round 25 September 1920 Birtley Away 0–1 1921–22 Preliminary round 24 September 1921 Wingate Albion Comrades Home 1–0 First qualifying round 8 October 1921 Esh Winning Home 1–2 1922–23 Extra preliminary round 9 September 1922 Consett Swifts Home 2–1 Preliminary round 23 September 1922 Horden Athletic Away 1–2 1923–24 Preliminary round 22 September 1923 Annfield Plain Home 3–0 First qualifying round 6 October 1923 Birtley Away 1–1 10 October 1923 Birtley Home 4–0 Second qualifying round 20 October 1923 Leadgate Park Away 1–3 1924–25 Preliminary round 20 September 1924 Crook Town Away 1–1 24 September 1924 Crook Town Home 0–2 1925–26 Preliminary round 19 September 1925 Horden Athletic Home 2–2 23 September 1925 Horden Athletic Away 0–4 1926–27 Extra preliminary round 4 September 1926 Thornley Albion Home 0–0 8 September 1926 Thornley Albion Away 1–2 1927–28 Extra preliminary round 3 September 1927 Chopwell Institute Away 3–4 1928–29 Extra preliminary round 1 September 1928 Ferryhill Athletic Home 4–4 5 September 1928 Ferryhill Athletic Away 3–4 References
- ^ Craghead United at the Football Club History Database
- ^ History of the Northern Football Alliance at donmouth.co.uk
- ^ The FA Cup results archive at thefa.com
Categories:- Defunct English football clubs
- County Durham football clubs
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