County host North Ferriby United tomorrow in a 3pm kick off and, ahead of this Vanarama National League North match, County Tweet-meister Gareth Evans has put-together five factoids on our opponents for you. TAKE FIVE…
1. So – the ‘Villagers’. Are they really from a village, or some ‘Greater Ferriby’ conurba-tion?!
North Ferriby, in the East Riding of Yorkshire and on the North bank of the Humber Estuary, is
indeed a village, as well as the only one that has a team in the National League North. The club sim-ilarly exercised a lone village voice one level higher last term – and, two seasons before then, won the FA Trophy (although it has, in 2003 winners Burscough, another village team for company so far as that particular achievement is concerned).
As for the rest of Ferriby, there is a South version – albeit on the opposite bank of the estuary, in a different administrative area, North Lincolnshire, and almost eight miles away by road and bridge (but less than a mile as the wading bird flies). And there was once a third, separate Ferriby – the hamlet of Ferriby Sluice – which is nowadays incorporated within South Ferriby village.
2. With our record, it’s probably as well that we’re not playing the whole of Ferriby! Arf.
Well, South Ferriby’s potential footballing might is a lot less – given that village’s population in 2011 of a mere 651 (Ferriby Sluice and all), as opposed to its North counterpart’s 3,893 – but, yes, take your point. In the course of six attempts – all at our current level, between 2013 and 2016 – the Hat-ters have yet to win. Ever.
We have managed to draw half of the fixtures – including two at the Villagers’ Grange Lane home (or the Eon Visual Media Stadium, if you will) – and County fans will not need to be of great
vintage to recall just how close we came to recording that elusive first victory in our last meeting at Edgeley Park just over two years ago, when Neil Young’s side was pegged back by a late, late equaliser. And I, like many others, had to catch the milk-float home…
3. Perhaps we can go one better this time, then?
For once, it is true, we are receiving Ferriby during a downturn in the club’s fortunes. Having
finished bottom of the National League in April, the Villagers currently occupy the same position in the NLN, three points adrift from safety, with over a quarter of the season played. And they bowed out of the FA Cup last Sunday to 1874 Northwich, who ply their trade three tiers below.
Prior to this, the story of the club formed after a village meeting in 1934 had been one of almost in-exorable rise. From its humblest and holiest of pre-war beginnings, in the East Riding Church League, Ferriby moved onwards and upwards after 1945: through the East Riding Amateur League, the Yorkshire League (from 1969), the Northern Counties East League (from 1982) and the North-ern Premier League (from 2000), before arriving in the (then) Conference North, at the same time as County, in 2013. In the three seasons we have met, the Villagers sequentially
finished second, lifted the Trophy after penalties against Wrexham, and won promotion after
defeating Fylde in the play-offs. All told, quite a ‘Ferri’ tale…
4. With some geography between us, and only a recent shared history, surely no player has turned out for both clubs?
To be fair, I had initially expected to answer this question with the ‘near miss’ that was beanpole striker, and one-time County transfer-target, Tom Denton – who, in the wake of Ferriby’s
promotion to the National League in 2016, opted to follow manager Billy Heath to Halifax Town, ra-ther than signing for the Hatters.
But travelling further back in time unearths a proper response, in the form of keeper Ian
Ironside who turned out between the sticks for the Villagers during 1987/88, before arriving in SK3, via Scarborough and Middlesbrough, to don the gloves between 1993 and 1995. He also
occupies a small place in County history – after becoming, on 2 October 1993, the first-ever
goalkeeping substitute for the Hatters, because of an injury to Neil Edwards, against Bournemouth at EP.
5. He’s Joe Ironside’s dad, too. So, that’s your tenuous link for ‘Take Five… Kidderminster’ sorted!
Ooh – harsh. But you’ll have to wait until late October, when the Harriers come a-visiting, to be proved wrong…!
