Harlow Town F.C.

Football club infobox
clubname = Harlow Town


fullname = Harlow Town Football Club
nickname = The Hawks
founded = 1879
ground = Barrows Farm
capacity = 3,500 (500 seated)
chairman = flagicon|England Simon Morgan
mgrtitle = Player/Manager
manager = flagicon|England Ryan Kirby
league = Isthmian League Premier Division
season = 2007-08
position = Isthmian League Premier Division,
15th
pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=
leftarm1=FF0000|body1=FF0000|rightarm1=FF0000|shorts1=FF0000|socks1=FF0000
pattern_1a2 = _white_stripes | pattern_b2 = _whitestripes | pattern_ra2 = _white_stripes | leftarm2 = AAD0FF | body2 = AAD0FF | rightarm2 = AAD0FF | shorts2 = AAD0FF | socks2 = AAD0FF

:"For the railway station, see Harlow Town railway station"Harlow Town F.C. are an English football club based in Harlow, Essex. The club currently play in the Isthmian League Premier Division, after gaining promotion from the Isthmian League Division One North in 2007 as Play-Off Winners after beating AFC Sudbury 5-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw.

The club completed a move to a new stadium at Barrows Farm in October 2006, which can hold up to around 3,500 spectators. The new stadium has two main stands, one which can hold up to 400 people all-seater, and another on the far side of the pitch with standing terracing for around 500 people.

They club are best known for their exploits in the 1979/1980 season's FA Cup, in which they reached the 4th Round Proper, eliminating two Football League sides Southend United and Leicester City on the way, before narrowly losing 4-3 to Watford at Vicarage Road.The club's current manager is Ryan Kirby, who was appointed in November 2006 after Tommy Cunningham resigned his post to become the club's Director Of Football.

History

Early years

The records are not known as to how the formation of Harlow Town came about, but there are records of Harlow Town's first match. The first game took place on 18 October 1879 against Saffron Waldon, with Harlow winning the game 1-0. As there were very few teams to play in Essex in these days, Harlow found themselves playing Bishop's Stortford several times a season. This is when the club's began their long rivalry.At the beginning of the 1896-97 season, Harlow began to play competitive football for the first time in their history, by joining the East Herts League Division One. Their first league game was on 10 October 1896 at home to Hoddeston, with Harlow winning the game 3-0. The club went on to finish 3rd in the league, which only consisted of six teams. Also in the 96-97 season, the club entered the Essex Senior Cup for the first time in its history, but were eliminated in the First Round by South West Ham 4-1. The club did not compete in the league for the 1897-98 season, for unrecorded reasons. For the 1898-99 season, the club were re-named Harlow and Burnt Mill FC, after combining with Netteswell and Burnt Mill FC. Their first match under the new name was against Harlow College, with Harlow and Burnt Mill winning the game 3-0. The team by now had rejoined the East Herts League, and finished 2nd behind Ware. The club also reached the semi-final of the Essex Junior Cup, before losing 3-1 to Leyton Reserves in a replay after a 2-2 draw in the first game.At the start of the 1902-03 season, the combination of Netteswell & Burnt Mill FC and Harlow FC came to an end, with Harlow returning to the name Harlow Town FC. For the 1907-08 season, the club left the East Herts League and began playing in newly formed Stansted & District League. The final league table for that season was never recorded, but it is known that Saffron Waldon won the title that year. In the 1909-1910 season, Harlow re-joined the East Herts League, but also continued to play in the Stansted & District League, so the team were competing in two competitive divisions at once. For the 1900s this was quite common at this level of football, but Harlow were unsuccessful and finished in the bottom half of both divisions. In the 1910-11 season, Harlow finished 2nd in the Stansted & District League, but would have won the championship had they beaten bottom of the league Stansted Rovers in their final game. But Harlow lost the game 0-2 and arch-rivals Bishop's Stortford went on to claim the title.After narrowly missing out on the Stansted & District League the previous year, the club made up for it by winning their first ever trophy, the East Herts League Division One in 1912. They won the title by 6 points, finishing ahead of 2nd placed Ware.They also went the entire season undefeated, although the league campaign did only consist of eight games. But the following season, the champions Harlow ended the 1912-13 season in the relegation zone, seeing them relegated to the East Herts League Division Two for the first time in their history. They also finished bottom of the Stansted & District League, and at this point, decided to drop out of the competition for the first time since it was formed. The situation at Harlow Town did not improve much the following season, finishing third-bottom in Division Two, and going out of the Essex Junior Cup at the first hurdle, being soundly beaten 0-5 by Stansted Rovers.

uccessful era

Due to the First World War, the club did not compete at all for six years. But at the start of the 1919-1920 season, Harlow had re-joined the Stansted & District League and had been re-instated to the East Herts League Division One, despite being in the bottom half of Division Two before the war. But the six year absence clearly had not helped the team's fortunes, as they finished second from bottom in both leagues, and again went out in the first round of the Essex Junior Cup to Stansted Rovers, this time by a 2-3 scoreline. Again, in the 1920-21 season, Harlow finished bottom of the East Herts League. But as there was no relegation that season, the club kept its status as a Division One side. In the 1921-22 season, Harlow's luck finally began to turn. They managed to finish a respectable mid-table in the Stansted & District League, as well as finishing an impressive 2nd in the East Herts League behind Stansted Rovers. The following year, Harlow Town once again were crowned champions of the East Herts League, finishing 4 points clear of the previous year's champions Stansted Rovers. Also the following season (1923–1924) turned out to be a very successful one, as Harlow finished third in the East Herts, but finally managed to win the Stansted & District League for the first time. The club also won the West Essex Border Charity Cup in this season, beating Burnt Mill 5-0 in the final. But there was an obvious drop of standard in the leagues, as sides such as Bishop's Stortford, Ware and Hoddeston Town were now fielding their reserves in the competitions, as they had moved on to the more competititve Herts County League. Harlow remained in the East Herts League for the 1924-25 season, but it was for the last time, with the club finishing 3rd, behind Allenbury's and Stansted. They managed to retain the Stansted & District League, and also reached two cup finals that year, losing the West Essex Border Charity Cup final 1-2 to Stansted, but triumphing in the Rolleston Cup, by beating Sawbridgeworth 5-1 in the final. The club also recorded their record victory during the season, beating arch-rivals Bishop's Stortford 14-0. Harlow then moved to the Herts & Essex Border League after leaving the East Herts League. But they were only in the Herts & Essex for two years, finishing 3rd and 4th respectively. For the 1927-28 season, Harlow Town made a return to the now extended East Herts League, where they finished in 4th position, and only 5 points behind champions Hertford Athletic. Harlow also managed to win the Stansted & District League for the third time, by a single point to Stansted. The 1928-29 season turned out to be Harlow's most successful to date, with them winning both the East Herts League and the Stansted & District league for a fourth and final time. Harlow then decided to leave the Stansted & District League at the end of that season. At the turn of the decade in Harlow's Golden Jubilee year, Harlow were in a new league, the newly formed East Herts & District League. The year turned out to be a great one for Harlow, with them claiming the East Herts double, firstly by winning the league by 5 clear points from Stansted, and then by winning the East Herts Challenge Cup, defeating White Rovers 3-2 in the final.

enior Status

Harlow's last season in the East Herts & District League proved yet again successful, with them winning both the East Herts Challenge Cup and the West Essex Border Charity Cup, beating Ware reserves and Potter Street in the finals respectively. For the 1932-33 season, Harlow had moved on to the Spartan League, in the Division Two East. The team managed a mid-table finish in its first season, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the Essex Junior Cup. The next four seasons Harlow again finished in mid-table, but managed to reach the Epping Hospital Shield Final twice, but lost both cup finals to Pelly House and Epping.For the 1937-38 season, Harlow were by now beginning to struggle in the Spartan League, and finished 3rd from bottom. In the 1938-39 season, Harlow once again had a dismal league campaign, but managed to finally win the Epping Hospital Shield, by beating Epping Town 4-3 in extra time. But the eagerly anticipated 1939-1940 season never got under way, as the Second World War put a stop to all competitive football. Harlow Town along with the Spartan League closed down for seven seasons and waited for normality to return to the game.After the Second World War had ended in 1945, football resumed for the 1946-1947 season. Harlow had been placed in Division One of the Spartan League, after playing previously in the Division Two Eastern league. The club remained ever consistent, finishing in mid-table for the next two years, but managed to win the Epping Hospital Shield three seasons in a row. During this period, Harlow Town's recorded their heaviest defeat, losing 11-0 in 1948 against Ware. Over the next five years, Harlow only managed bottom-half finishes in the league, but won the first-ever Spartan League Cup in 1953, beating the league champions Bletchley 3-2 in the final, and stopping them doing the double in the process. For the 1954-55 season, The Spartan League changed its format, forcing some of its members to find new leagues to join. Harlow were one of the clubs to leave, and moved to the London League. Harlow found the competition much harder in the London League, and failed to finish in the top-half of the league until 1961. Also the club didn't manage to get past the second round the League Cup until 1960, when they won it, beating West Thrurrock Athletic 1-0.

Move to the Sportcentre

1960 proved to be a major year in the history of Harlow Town. Not only did they win the London League Cup, but they moved from the Green Man playing fields, where they had played since the formation of the club in 1879, to the newly-built Harlow Sportcentre on Hammarskjold Road, the first sports centre in England. The opening game for the new ground was an Essex XI vs. London League XI, with Harlow having two representing players on each side, including the club's all-time record appearance maker Norman Gladwin in goal for Essex. The Essex XI won the match 3-2. The official opening of the ground came on 1 October when Saffron Waldon visited in the FA Amateur Cup, with FA Secretary Sir Stanley Rous in attendance. Harlow won the match 2-0. Rous also confirmed 'The Town' had been granted associate membership to The FA, an important milestone for Harlow Town Football Club. Also in 1960, Harlow decided to appoint John Kavanagh, a former England Amateur International as the new first-team manager. Harlow went on to finish a respectable 3rd in their first season at their new home, and which proved to be their final season in the London League. For the 1961-62 season, Harlow had once again moved leagues, this time to the more competitive Delphian League. The club made the move to really try and put itself on the non-league map, and were now attracting better standard of players to the club, due to the fact they were playing at the new Sportcentre and had John Kavanagh in charge, who was a very well respected man in the non-league ranks. they found the going tough in the Delphian League though, and could only finish in the bottom half for two years.

The Athenian League

In 1963, the Delphian League announced it was merging with the Corinthian and Athenian League, forming a three-division system of 16 teams in each, with Harlow entering the Second Division. Harlow finished third in their first season, earning promotion to Division One. Harlow remained in the Division One tier of the Athenian League for eight seasons, achieving mainly mid-table finishes throughout this period. Due to Harlow's facilities at the Sportcentre, the club managed to attract a few big-names to the area in the late-sixties. In July 1966, Harlow Town arranged a highly-prestigious friendly match against Uruguay, who were staying at the Saxon Inn hotel preparing for the World Cup to be held in England that summer. Uruguay beat Harlow 6-1. And also in 1968, Benfica had reached the European Cup final against Manchester United at Wembley. Benfica prepared for the final at Harlow's Sportcentre, with their team including the top scorer from the 1966 World Cup Eusebio. The club bought a new £15,000 main stand with 370 seats for the 1971-72 season. Its official unveiling came on 15 March 1971 against a Tottenham Hotspur side, containing stars such as Ralph Coates and Jimmy Neighbour. Spurs won the match 1-0. After 8 consecutive seasons in the Athenian League Division One, Harlow finally found success in the 1971-1972 season. Under the new management of Roy Thomas, Harlow won their first championship since becoming a senior club. Harlow won the title by 3 points from Croydon, who had been a point clear of Harlow with two games to play. Harlow's final game of the season was at home to Finchley in front of a packed crowd, with Harlow storming the match 6-0. At the end of the game, player/manager Roy Thomas received the championship trophy. Harlow's top goalscorer from that season Bryn Key (with 39 goals) went on to join Crystal Palace, but never made it at the top level after sadly breaking his leg. Harlow instantly found their feet in the Premier Division, finishing 4th in the 1972-73 season. But this turned out to be Harlow's one and only season in the top flight, as they moved on to the Isthmian League at the end of the year.

1970s

For the 1973-74 season, Harlow had finally made it to the prestigious Isthmian League, The highest level for non-league clubs in the South of England. But despite the season being highly anticipated by Harlow fans, it turned out to be one of the most disappointing to date. The club could only manage a bottom-half 13th place finish in the league, and failed to make an impact on any of the cups. Also, manager Roy Thomas left the club, which led to many of the team's key players leave to join St Albans City. Also, in November 1973, tragedy hit the club, as goalkeeper Micky Byrne was killed in a road accident. The only bit of good news for Harlow during the season was that they managed to get Crystal Palace down to the Sportcentre for a friendly to compensate for the transfer of top-scorer Bryn Key. The match finished 1-1 with over 2,000 people in attendance. Over the next three seasons, Harlow's fortunes remained disappointingly consistent, with lower half league placings and only one real cup run to note, reaching the Isthmian League Cup semi-final in 1976, where Harlow lost 3-1 to league champions Tilbury. In 1977, the Isthmian League changed format, with Harlow now playing in Division One. Their first year in the new division was fairly uneventful, with the club finishing in mid-table and failing to mount any notable cup runs. The 1978-1979 season turned out to be Harlow's most successful to date. After going through an unsuccessful transaction period in the early 1970s, the club now had a very strong team for the level of football they were competing at, and had experience in manager Ian Wolstenholme. The league campaign ended with Harlow running away with the league title, finishing on exactly 100 points, fourteen clear of 2nd placed Harrow Borough. The team also scored an amazing 93 goals, and only conceding 32. Also to cap the season off in style, Harlow Town clinched the double by winning the Essex Senior Cup for the first (and so far only) time in the clubs history, by beating Tilbury 1-0 in the final, avenging their 3-1 defeat to the same team in the 1976 Isthmian League Cup semi-final.

1980: The FA Cup run

The club's centenary season of 1979-1980 turned out to be the most famous in the club's 129-year history. The club were in the Isthmian Premier Division for the first time in their history. The league campaign went well for Harlow, and finished in mid-table. But back in November of that season, Harlow had several games in hand against the teams above them and could've mounted a realistic promotion challenge, but lost ground due to the FA Cup, the reason that the 1979-1980 season in the most memorable in the club's history. Harlow began their FA Cup adventure at home to Lowestoft Town in the Preliminary Round. Harlow won the game 2-1. Now Harlow were in the qualifying rounds of the cup, and were 4 steps away from making the first round proper. In the 1st Qualifying Round, Harlow were drawn away to fellow Essex side Hornchurch, who they soundly beat 3-0. The next two qualifying rounds gave Harlow home ties, where they defeated Bury Town 2-1 and Harwich & Park 1-0.Harlow were now in the 4th Qualifying Round, and a 1-0 victory over Conference side Margate put Town into the First Round proper for the first time in their history. Hoping to draw one of the big Football League sides, Harlow were disappointed to draw a home tie against Leytonstone & Ilford, but they managed to beat the fellow non-leaguers 2-1. Cup fever had now swept across the town, as Harlow finally got their just reward as they drew an exciting away game in the Second Round to league side Southend United at Roots Hall on 15 December 1979. Harlow dug deep to earn a brilliant 1-1 draw away to the league side, and brought them back to the Sportcentre on the following Tuesday night for the replay. A crowd of 5,000 people turned up for the replay, which Harlow won 1-0 with a goal from Micky Mann. By now, Harlow were into the Third Round, and their reward was a money-spinning away tie to Second Division league leaders Leicester City at Filbert Street. By this point, Harlow had become the main attraction for the media. The game at Leicester was expectedly one-sided, with Leicester taking the lead before half-time. But Harlow held out at 1-0, and scored a fairy-tale 89th-minute equaliser through Neil Prosser, and amazingly earned Harlow a replay. The replay took place on 8 January 1980, and the club shattered its attendance record, with the crowd officially recorded at 9,723. The BBC were broadcasting the game for Match of the Day also. The packed Sportcentre crowd were not disappointed, as Harlow Town amazingly defeated Leicester City 1-0, with the goal coming from John McKenzie. Harlow had written themselves into English footballing history, and joined the likes of Hereford United as FA Cup giant-killers. The Fourth Round draw was once again kind to Harlow, as they were drawn away from home to Watford. Over 7000 people travelled from Harlow to Vicarage Road, with the crowd at the game recorded at 24,000. Harlow unbelievably went 1-0 up through Neil Prosser and held out at 1-0 until half-time. But in the second half Watford went up a gear and took control of the game 4-1. It looked as if Harlow's cup-run was coming to an end with a heavy defeat, but the team kept working hard and amazingly pulled the game back to 4-3 with 6 minutes left, as John McKenzie scored both goals. In the final minute, Peter Twigg had the chance to earn Harlow yet another replay, but saw his header clip the top of the bar and go over. Harlow's fairy-tale cup run was over, but earned themselves a lot of respect from the teams in the Football League, and returned to the Isthmian Premier Division with their heads held high.

Difficult times

With the 1980-81 season highly anticipated after Harlow's cup heroics the year before, the season failed to live up to expectations. Harlow only managed a lowly 19th place finish, but would've avoided relegation even if they had strayed into the bottom two, as Enfield and Dagenham were leaving the league at the end of that season. The only plus point to come out of the season was that Harlow made it to the First Round proper of the FA Cup for the second year running, and drew Charlton Athletic at the Sportcentre. But despite the excitement and expectation of another giant-killing, Harlow were well beaten 2-0. The following season turned out to be even more disastrous for Town, as they were relegated back to the First Division after a three-year stay in the top flight of the Isthmian League. On a positive note, the club were granted full membership to the Football Association after their exploits in the FA Cup the year before. Harlow managed to bounce straight back in the 1982-1983 season though, finishing second behind Worthing. Harlow played Worthing away from home in the final game of the season, which should've been the title decider, had Harlow not lost 4-1 at home to Walton & Hersham the week before, handing the championship to Worthing. Once back in the Isthmian Premier Division though, Harlow struggled to find their feet as well as they had after their last promotion. The first year back in the premier Harlow managed a satisfactory mid-table finish, and even made it to the semi-finals of the Essex Senior Cup, before they were beaten 1-0 by Clapton. The next two seasons turned out to be disastrous for Town though, as they were relegated to the First Division again in 1984-85, finished bottom of the league with only 27 points, and only picking up 5 wins all season. The cause of this was down to the lack of finance at the club at the time, after they had gone into administration in the summer before the season. Harlow knew that the next few seasons were not to be easy, and would struggle to make it back to the Isthmian Premier Division. Even more trouble was laid on the club in the 1985-86 season, as they were relegated for the second year running, finishing second from bottom and going into the Isthmian League Division Two North, the lowest level of football the club had competed in since 1972. The club were left playing in the Division Two North league for three seasons, after their first year ended in an extremely disappointing 17th finish, and the following year a much improved 5th place. Finally in the 1988-89 season, Harlow managed to win the Division Two North championship, finishing a massive 12 points clear of second placed Purfleet (now Thurrock F.C.). Also in the season, striker Jeff Wood broke two post-war Harlow Town records, firstly by scoring in 14 consecutive games, and then also by scoring a total of 44 goals in the season. Once back in Division One, Harlow had a successful first year back after their promotion, firstly by achieving a respectable 8th placed finish in the league, and then following that up by winning the East Anglian Cup for the first time in their history, beating Cambridge City 1-0 in the final. The next two seasons weren't as successful for Harlow though, only managing two bottom half finishes in the league. But the club did make it through the First Round proper of the FA Cup once again in 1992, where they were drawn away from home to Peterborough United. Hopes of another famous giant-killing were shattered though after Harlow were soundly beaten 7-0 at London Road. Also at this time, Harlow's plans to leave the Sportcentre for a new stadium on Roydon Road collapsed, and the Isthmian League closed down the Sportcentre after it no longer met league requirements. Harlow had to play the rest of their home games at local venues including Sawbridgeworth, Bishop's Stortford, Ware and Aveley.

1992-1993: Administration

In the close season manager Dave Edwards made a plea to local businessmen to back the club and try to help finish the planned new stadium on Roydon Road, which had been an on-off saga for some time. Backers could not be found though, and building work at Roydon Road closed down. Also at this point, chairman Alan Howick resigned due to the financial plight of the club. It had got to the point where Harlow Town could no longer compete in the Isthmian League, and dropped out of football completely for the 1992-1993 season. It all seemed a long way away from the glory days of winning the double in 1978-79 and the amazing FA Cup run the following season. Harlow Town were not the only football club in financial crisis at this time, as sides such as Aldershot and Maidstone United were thrown out of The Football League due to their financial positions. In June 1993, Italian restaurant owner Georgio Di Benedetto and builder John Taylor officially gave the club a cash injection, to support manager Dave Edwards and help him rebuild a competitive playing squad and to revemp the Sportcentre. They also paid off the £7,500 owed to The FA Later the same month, the club were voted back into the Isthmian League, but would be forced to drop two divisions the Division Three tier, the lowest in the Isthmian League. Plans now began to prepare for the new season, as Dave Edwards was re-instated as manager and refurbishment was made on the Sportcentre to meet league requirements, costing £200,000.

Rise back up the Isthmian League

Now back in the Isthmian League at the Division Three tier, large-scale changes were to happen at Harlow Town in the summer of 1993. Harlow Town were now a limited company, under the chairmanship of Italian investor Georgio Di Benedetto. One of the Italians first decisions as the new owner of the football club was to change Harlow from their famous red and white strip, into blue and black striped jerseys, after Di Benedetto's club, Inter Milan. Also at this time, the club changed its nickname from 'The Owl's' to 'The Hawk's', after a poll was conducted on a local radio station. Dave Edwards had assembled a copletely new playing squad, ready for the start of the 1993-1994 season. Harlow missed out on promotion in the first year back by one point, after Oxford City pipped them to 3rd place. It was so close for Harlow, especially after they had won 8 of their final 9 games in the season. Dave Edwards had worked marvels in putting Harlow back on the non-league footballing map, and had come so close to achieving promotion. Dave Edwards left at the end of that season for Saffron Waldon, as he found it impossible to work with chairman Di Benedetto. He was replaced by Len Glover. The following season turned out to be a great disappointment though, as all of last season's hard work was un-done as the club limped to a 15th place finish in the league. Len Glover, and his assistant Bobby Kellard was replaced by Dave Greene as the manager mid-season. Georgio Di Benedetto was succeeded as chairman of Harlow Town by Jeff Bothwell, owner of Britsec Security. Also by now, Harlow had reverted back to their traditional Red and White strip. The next two seasons were again frustrating for The Hawk's, as they missed out on promotion to Division Two by finishing 5th and 4th respectively. Dave Greene resigned as manager at the end of the 1996-1997 season, after failing to take Harlow up after two attempts. He was replaced by Eddie McCluskey. Finally in the 1997-1998 season, Harlow made it out of Division Three by finishing third, and 4 points clear of 4th placed Camberley Town, who they drew 2-2 with on the final day of the season. Harlow Town managed to make it two promotions in a row in their first season in Division Two, finishing 2nd behind Bedford Town. Promotion was confirmed with a 3-0 home win against Wivenhoe Town in the April of that season. The 1998-1999 season came as a surprise to the Harlow faithful, who would have been happy with consolidation in their first year out of Division Three. Eddie McCluskey had worked wonders in getting Harlow Town back into Division One, where The Hawks had been before their financial plight.

Consolidation

Harlow's first year back in Division One proved to be tough for The Hawk's, as they found themselves battling to stay out of the bottom 3 all season. Harlow's humiliating 6-0 defeat at Uxbridge on 18 December 1999 spelt the end of Eddie McCluskey's reign as manager of The Hawk's. Despite guiding the team to two successive promotions, the club felt it was the right time for Eddie to move on. He was replaced by former Arsenal player Ian Allinson, who was largely popular with the Harlow fans. Harlow went on to just stay in Division One on the final day of the season, winning 5-2 away at fellow releagtion rivals Leatherhead. Harlow also reached the East Anglian Cup final in 1999-2000, but ultimately lost the final 3-1 to Clacton. The 2000-2001 season passed without much incident for Harlow, as they found themselves in mid-table safety in the league and failed to mount any real cup runs, but the 2001-2002 season proved to be a more successful one Harlow, as they managed an impressive top 8 finish in Division One and also managed to win the East Anglian Cup for the second time, beating Maldon Town 2-1 in the final, with a dramatic last minute winner from Leon Green. In 2002-2003, the Isthmian League changed format, seeing Harlow now playing in the Division One North. Harlow remained in the division for another two seasons, before they moved on to the Southern League for the 2004-2005 season, after 31 years of playing in the Isthmian League. 2004-2005 was an uninspiring year for Harlow, finishing 15th. But by now, the club were once again in a position to try to move away from the Sportcentre where they had been playing since 1960. Their attempts to move from the Sportcentre was what initially started Harlow's financial plight in 1993, but the club felt the time was right to try again. 2005-2006 turned out to be Harlow's second and final season in the Southern League, where they managed a bettered 9th placing in the league, and again managed to win the East Anglian Cup, beating Spalding United 1-0 in the final at the Sportcentre, with 17 year-old Craig Charles scoring the winner.

2006-2007: Barrow's Farm and Promotion

After 46 years at the Sportcentre, Harlow Town finally made the move to a new stadium at Barrow's Farm in 2006. The stadium is situated on Roydon Road, ironically the same road where Harlow had began building on their last attempt to move in 1993, before the club went into administration. 'The Farm' as it is nicknamed by The Hawk's fans was supposed to open in July 2006 with a friendly against Northern Irish champions Linfield, but the stadium wasn't finished in time for the game and was played at the Sportcentre. Harlow eventually moved in at The Farm in October 2006, where there first game was against local neighbours Ware on 18 October. Harlow won the game 2-0, with the goals coming from Danny Boateng and a penalty from Sammy Winston. The club's first season in the new stadium went better than many expected, with Harlow finishing the league campaign in 2nd place in the Isthmian Division One North, behind run-away Champions AFC Hornchurch. But second place earned the club a place in the Isthmian League Play-Offs for the first time since their introduction, and received a bye to the Final after Maldon Town were ineligible to compete in the Play-Offs. Harlow Town eventually achieved promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division with a victory over AFC Sudbury at Barrows Farm 5-3 on penalties, after an exciting 2-2 draw.

2007-2008: Back in the Isthmian Premier

After the play-off success against AFC Sudbury at the end of the 2006/2007 season, Harlow could finally look forward to the tough task ahead in the Isthmian League Premier Division, for the first time in 23 years. But despite being one of the pre-season favourites for relegation back to the Division One North, The Hawks managed a fairly solid season, finishing in a respectable 15th position in a 22 team league, and two points safeclear of the relegation zone. The Hawks fans were kept wondering right into the season's run-in as to what division they would be playing in next season, but Harlow sealed their survival with a historic 2-1 away victory at non-league giants AFC Wimbledon, who themselves went on to win promotion to the Conference South the following month through the division's play-offs.

Current squad

Club Officials

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External links

* [http://www.harlowtownfc.co.uk/ Official website]