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| Full name | Haverhill Rovers Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Rovers | ||
| Founded | 1886 | ||
| Ground | The New Croft, Haverhill | ||
| Capacity | 3,000 (200 seated)[1] | ||
| Manager | Ben Cowling | ||
| League | Eastern Counties League Division One North | ||
| 2022–23 | Eastern Counties League Premier Division, 19th of 20 (relegated) | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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Haverhill Rovers Football Club are a football club based in Haverhill, Suffolk, England. They are currently members of the Eastern Counties League Division One North and play at the New Croft.
The club was established in 1886. They joined the East Anglian League in 1906, and became members of its Premier Division when a second division was added in 1907. However, after finishing second-from-bottom of the Premier Division in 1907–08, the club were relegated to Division One. They left the league at the end of the 1908–09 season and later joined the Essex & Suffolk Border League. The club were Division Two runners-up in 1912–13 and won Division Two West in 1919–20.[2]
Haverhill were runners-up in the Essex & Suffolk Border League Premier Division in 1946–47, and did the double in 1947–48, winning both the league and the league cup, beating Brightlingsea United 1–0 in the final.[2] They finished runners-up again in 1950–51, and won the league for a second time in 1962–63, before going on to claim a second double the following season, beating Ipswich Town 'A' 3–1 in the League Cup final.[2] In 1964 they joined the Eastern Counties League, and won the League Cup in their first season. In 1978–79 they won the Eastern Counties League title,[3] with the final match against Chatteris Town being watched by 1,300 supporters, a club record at the time.
In 1986–87 Haverhill reached the quarter-finals of the FA Vase, where they lost to Warrington Town in front of another record crowd of 1,578. In 1991 they won the East Anglian Cup, beating Eynesbury Rovers 2–1 in the final. At the end of the 1995–96 season the club were relegated to Division One after finishing second-from-bottom of the Premier Division.[3] The following season they won the Suffolk Senior Cup, beating Ipswich Wanderers 4–1 in the final. They won the Division One Cup in 2000–01 with a 2–1 win over Needham Market in the final. They won the cup again in 2003–04, defeating Kirkley 2–0 in the final, before winning it for a third time in 2006–07 after beating Saffron Walden Town 3–1.
In 2006 Haverhill reached the fourth and final qualifying round of the FA Cup for the first time. Although they lost 4–0 to Conference club Aldershot Town, a new record attendance of 1,730 was set. The club were Division One runners-up in 2006–07, earning promotion to the Premier Division.[3] They finished bottom of the division in 2008–09 but avoided relegation after Whitton United withdrew mid-season and Tiptree United left the league. After finishing second-from-bottom of the Premier Division in 2022–23 the club were relegated to Division One North.
The club initially played at the Seven Acres ground, before moving to Hamlet Croft in 1913.[4] The pitch originally had a clear slope, but was levelled in the early 1960s, with the club having to play on a local recreation ground whilst the works were carried out.[4] The main stand was built in 1935 at a cost of £250.[4] The club remained at Hamlet Croft until 2010, when they moved to the New Croft, initially sharing the pitch with Haverhill Borough before they switched to playing on the artificial pitch at the same complex in 2016.
