EYNESBURY ROVERS FC

EYNESBURY ROVERS FC HISTORY

The club were formed in 1897 and played friendly matches before joining the Biggleswade & District League and then the St Neots Junior League, which they won in 1910/11. They lifted the Huntingdonshire Senior Cup for the first time in 1914 and won the County Junior Cup in 1921, 1927 and 1932. Rovers competed in the Bedford & District League and in 1934 they joined the South Midlands League. Promotion was achieved at the first attempt whilst the Scott-Gatty Cup was won, while Senior Cup finals in 1937 and 1939 ended in defeat. The post war era began with Rovers joining the United Counties League and they enjoyed spectacular cup success winning the Hunts Senior Cup and Hinchingbrooke Cup four times each in a five year period. In the 1950-51 campaign a Premier Cup success made it a cup hat trick.

In 1952 Eynesbury joined the Eastern Counties League finishing fourth in their second season. Three years later a crowd of 4,000 packed into Hall Road to watch a friendly against Fulham with the legendary Stanley Matthews guesting for Rovers. The club continued to enjoy cup success lifting the Senior Cup in 1955 and 1957, the Hinchingbrooke Cup in 1959 and Cambs Invitation Cup in 1962, but they were finding life difficult in the league. In 1963 they rejoined the UCL.

Successes in the Hinchingbrooke Cup in 1967 and Hunts Senior Cup in 1970 masked a continued decline and relegation was suffered in 1972. A top flight place was regained in 1977 and floodlights were installed in 1981 with Luton Town providing the opposition for the official opening in front of a four figure crowd. The Hunts Senior Cup was won in 1985 before the club enjoyed a successful spell finishing a best ever third place in the league, two Hunts Senior Cup wins, a Premier Cup success and two East Anglian Cup finals, and a 1993 Senior Cup success.

Barry Cavilla led Eynesbury to fifth in the league and wins in both the Senior and Premier Cups. Peter Schofield took over and done well to keep the team in the Premier Division on a small budget. Neil King enjoyed success in the Hunts Senior Cup in 2000 but was followed by relegation a year later. Steve Galbraith took over and in 2002 Rovers again won the Senior Cup beating St Neots 3-0 in the final, while the 2003-04 campaign saw them reach the Premier Cup final only to lose 4-2 to Wootton Blue Cross.
In the summer of 2005 Dean Shipp took charge and the following season Rovers reached the final of the South Midlands Floodlit Cup losing 2-1 to Saffron Walden. In December 2007 Rovers appointed the management duo of Al Lenihan and former player Pat O’Keeffe. Season 2008/09 saw Rovers near the top of the table for most of the season but had to settle for 9th place after being deducted six points. Al & Pat resigned at the end of that season and Eynesbury appointed Matt Plumb to take charge for the start of the 2009/10 campaign and with Martin Field he guided Rovers back to the Premier Division in 2013/14. In a record breaking season they finished with a record number of points (98) and goals (118) and recorded a club record 11 consecutive wins.  

Matt Plumb took on the role of chairman in the summer of 2015 before Martin Field resigned in October. Mark Ducket was appointed as manager and in four campaigns he led Rovers to three Hunts Senior Cup Finals, winning 1-0 against St Neots Town in 2017. Whilst in the same season recording 119 league goals and equaling their second best ever league placing finishing fifth. In 2019/20 Rovers joined the Spartan South Midlands League and enjoyed their best ever run in the FA Vase reaching the 4^th Round. In January 2020 Mark Ducket left to manage Bedford Town and Rovers appointed Steve Kuhne as his replacement. After two aborted seasons in the Spartan South Midlands League Rob Sinclair led Rovers to a ninth placed finish back in the UCL but moved on at the end of that season. The 2022/23 campaign started with former Eynesbury United manager Mark Spavins in charge with ex-player Neil Morris as coach but after a tough start Spavins resigned and Morris took over. In a difficult campaign the club finished 15^th in a division of 18 clubs. Last season started with former players Mark Garwood and Craig Smith in charge but they left midway through the season and Darren Fairbrass & Callum Douglas took over and led the team to safety. They remain with the club for the 2024/25 season with Neil Morris returning in a four strong management team along with Haani Rasool.

Admission Prices: Adults £8, concessions £6, u16’s free if accompanied by an adult.

Programme: £1.00

Sports Ground Development League Knockout Cup Winners 2024/25

Hinchingbrooke Cup Winners 2025/26