Orpington F.C.

Orpington
Full name Orpington Football Club
Nickname(s) The O's
Founded 1939[1]
Ground Green Court Sports Club, Crockenhill[2]
Ground Capacity 1,500
Chairman Steve Hall
Manager Marc Bentz
League Southern Counties East League Division One
2015–16 Kent Invicta League, 16th

Orpington Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Orpington, Kent. Although the club is based in Goddington Park in Orpington, the first team plays at Green Court Sports Club in Crockenhill. They are currently members of the Southern Counties East League Division One, at Step 6 of the National League System (level 10 of the English football league system). The club is a FA Charter Standard Community Club.[3]

History

Orpington F.C. was originally founded in 1880 and had played in local leagues up until the 1920s before folding for unknown reasons. The current incarnation of the club was founded in 1939.[1] From 1970 to 1998 (with a brief spell in the London Spartan League Intermediate Division from 1987 to 1991) the club played in the South London Alliance, winning the league a number of times. Since then the O's have been playing in the Kent County League, reaching the Premier Division in 2007–08 before relegation in 2009–10 left them in Division One West. Despite finishing 4th in 2010–11, the club were announced as founder members of the Step 6 Kent Invicta Football League on 2 June 2011.[4]

In their first game in the Kent Invicta Football League, Orpington lost 2–1 to Bearsted. The club endured a miserable start to the season and eventually finished bottom of the league, with 24 points. Their second season, under the leadership of former goalkeeper Sean Glover, saw a massive improvement as the club finished comfortably in mid-table with a 9th-place finish. The 2013/14 season saw another step forward under Sean Glover as the club finished a respectable 5th.

Byron Beard was appointed as manager of the first team for the 2014/15 with Sean Glover having resigned.

Ground

Orpington play their home games at Green Court Sports Club, Green Court Road, Crockenhill, Kent BR8 8HF. The Ground has a capacity of 1,500.

Youth teams

The club operates a soccer school and has 21 youth teams (including 3 girls' teams) from 7–17 age groups, making it one of the largest youth football clubs in Bromley.[3]

Honours

Orpington have won two leagues and four cup competitions in their history.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Club history Orpington FC
  2. ↑ Orpington Kent County League
  3. 1 2 The Club Orpington FC
  4. ↑ Kent Invicta League confirm first sixteen participants Kentish Football, 3 June 2011
  5. ↑ Kent County Football League – History Accessed 20 June 2012

Coordinates: 51°23′29″N 0°09′46″E / 51.39125°N 0.162675°E / 51.39125; 0.162675

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