 | |||
| Full name | Billingham Synthonia Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Synners | ||
| Founded | 1923 | ||
| Ground | Bishopton Road West, Stockton-on-Tees | ||
| Chairman | Paul Dolan | ||
| Manager | Dean Irvine | ||
| League | Northern League Division Two | ||
| 2023–24 | Northern League Division Two, 6th of 22 | ||
Billingham Synthonia Football Club is a football club based in Stokesley, North Yorkshire, England. Nicknamed the "Synners", they are currently members of the Northern League Division Two and play at Bishopton Road West in Stockton-on-Tees.
The club was established in 1923 and was named after an agricultural fertiliser, Synthonia being a contraction of "synthetic ammonia", a product manufactured by ICI, with which the club was affiliated. [1] They initially played in the South Bank & District League, later joining the Teesside League. They won the Teesside League Cup in 1934–35, the league title in 1936–37 and the League Cup for a second time in 1938–39. [1]
In 1945 the club joined the Northern League. They reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time in 1948–49, losing 5–0 to Crewe Alexandra at Gresty Road. [2] The following season saw them finish as Northern League runners-up and reach the first round of the FA Cup again, this time losing 3–0 at Stockport County. [2] After finishing as runners-up again in 1950–51, a season in which they did not concede a goal during their home league matches, [1] the 1951–52 season saw them win the League Cup with a 1–0 win over Tow Law Town in a replay, [2] finish as runners-up for the third consecutive season and reach the FA Cup first round for a third time, losing 5–0 at Scunthorpe & Lindsay United. [2] They won the Northern League for the first time in 1956–57, a season which also saw another FA Cup first round appearance, resulting in a 6–1 defeat at Carlisle United. [2] The following season they reached the first round again, losing 5–2 at Boston United. [2]
In 1985–86 the club were relegated to Division Two after finishing second-from-bottom of Division One. However, they made an immediate return to Division One by winning Division Two at the first attempt. The 1987–88 season saw a second League Cup win with a 2–1 defeat of Shildon in the final, [1] as well as another FA Cup first round appearance – a 4–2 loss to Halifax Town in a home match played at Hartlepool United's Victoria Park. They went on to win back-to-back Division One titles in 1988–89 and 1989–90; [2] The 1989–90 season also saw a third League Cup win, beating Whitby Town 5–2 in the final, [1] as well as a seventh appearance in the FA Cup first round, this time losing 1–0 at Lincoln City. [2]
A fourth Northern League title was won in 1995–96. [2] In 2006–07 Billingham reached the semi-finals of the FA Vase; after beating AFC Totton 2–1 away from home, they lost the home leg 2–1, with Totton winning the penalty shootout 5–4. [2] At the end of the 2014–15 season they were relegated to Division Two after finishing in the Division One relegation zone. [2] A third-place finish in 2016–17 saw them promoted back to Division One. However, in 2017–18 the club finished bottom of Division One and were relegated back to Division Two.
The club initially played at Belasis Lane, which was part of the ICI sports complex. The first ground was on the south side of the road, with the club moving to one on the north side of the road prior to joining the Northern League in 1945. [1] The Belasis Lane ground saw the first floodlit game in northern England on 11 November 1952 when Billingham defeated an RAF team 8–4 in front of a crowd of 3,000. [1] In 1958 they moved to the Stadium on Central Avenue in Billingham; the new ground was opened on 6 September 1958 by Lord Derby, with the first game ending in a 2–2 draw against Bishop Auckland; the crowd of 4,200 remains the club's record attendance. [1] In the same year, the stadium was used for an England 'B' international athletics meeting; the stadium's 2,000 capacity cantilever stand was the longest in the country at the time. The Stadium was also used by the Billingham Athletics club and hosted Middlesbrough reserve matches until 2011
In April 2017 the club left the Stadium due to the cost of upgrading works, initially agreeing to use the Norton Sports Complex in Norton for two seasons, [3] which was later extended until 2022. In April 2022 the club announced that home matches in 2022–23 would be played at Stokesley Sports Club. [4] They relocated to Stocktown Town's Bishopton Road West ground in 2024. [5]
Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the Northern Premier League Division One West and play at Keys Park. They won the FA Trophy in 2004.
Scarborough Football Club was a football club based in the seaside resort of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. They were one of the oldest football clubs in England, formed in 1879, before they were wound up on 20 June 2007, with debts of £2.5 million. They played at the Athletic Ground from 1898 until the club's dissolution.
Bishop Auckland Football Club is a football club based in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England. They are one of the most successful amateur sides, having won the FA Amateur Cup ten times and reached the final on a further eight occasions. Nicknamed 'The Bishops' or 'The Two Blues', they are rivals with West Auckland Town.
Chesham United Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England. Nicknamed "the Generals", they are currently members of the National League South and play at the Meadow. They are sponsored by the Channel 4 programme Taskmaster.
Cirencester Town Football Club is a football club based in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England. Affiliated to the Gloucestershire County FA, the club are currently members of the Hellenic League Premier Division and play at the Corinium Stadium.
Grantham Town Football Club is a football club based in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. They are currently members of the Northern Premier League Division One Midlands and play at the South Kesteven Sports Stadium.
Clevedon Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club representing Clevedon, Somerset, England. Affiliated to the Somerset County FA, they are currently members of the Western League Premier Division and play at the Hand Stadium in Kenn.
Whitby Town Football Club is an English football club based in Whitby, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Northern Premier League, the seventh tier of English football. Founded in 1880, Whitby are one of the oldest clubs from the North Riding of Yorkshire. The club has spent their entire history in the amateur and semi-professional leagues, though they reached the second round of the FA Cup in both 1983–84 and 1985–86.
Skelmersdale United Football Club is a football club from Skelmersdale, Lancashire. They are currently members of the North West Counties League Division One North and play at The Community Ground, Burscough. The club is a member of both the Liverpool County Football Association and the Lancashire County Football Association.
Bedlington Terriers Football Club is a football club based in Bedlington, England. The club are currently members of the Northern League Division Two and play at Welfare Park.
Billingham Town Football Club is a football club based in Billingham, England. They are currently members of the Northern League Division Two and play at Bedford Terrace.
Amalgamated Football Club Totton is a football club based in Totton, Hampshire, England. The club is affiliated to the Hampshire Football Association and is an FA Standard Chartered club. They are currently members of the Southern League Premier Division South and play at the Testwood Stadium.
Northallerton Town Football Club is a football club based in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, England. They are currently members of the Northern League Division One and play the Calvert Stadium.
Ryton & Crawcrook Albion Football Club is a semi-professional English non-league football club from Crawcrook, near Ryton, Newcastle upon Tyne, in Tyne and Wear, currently playing in the Northern League Division Two. The team, nicknamed "Albion" or the "RACA", play their home games at Kingsley Park. They were known as Ryton F.C. until 2011.
Gateshead United Football Club was a football club based in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. The club was established in South Shields in 1936 as a replacement for the club that had relocated to Gateshead in 1930. Like their predecessor, the club was relocated to Gateshead in 1974 after the former club went bust. Renamed Gateshead United, they folded three years later.
Stokesley Sports Club Football Club is a football club based in Stokesley, North Yorkshire, England. They are currently members of the North Riding League Premier Division and play at the Stokesley Sports Club.
Craig Hignett is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker and later in his career as a midfielder.
The North Riding Senior Cup is the county cup in the North Riding of Yorkshire. It is administered by the North Riding County FA. According to the current rules of the competition, it is open to all clubs whose first affiliation is with the NRCFA. A team having entered an F.A. Competition,, in the current season must compete in the Senior Cup. Clubs can be exempt upon payment of a fee. Therefore, the lowest tier for compulsory entry are Northern League Division Two, Northern Counties East Division One or other Leagues of a similar status.
Middlesbrough Football Club Women is an English women's football club. Founded in 1976, they currently play in the FA Women's National League Division One North, with home games played at Bishopton Road West, Stockton.
Stockton Town Football Club is an association football club based in Stockton-on-Tees, England. They are currently members of the Northern Premier League Premier Division and play at Bishopton Road West, which has an overall capacity of 1,800, including 200 available seats. They are managed by former player Michael Dunwell, who retired from playing in 2014.
The borough of Stockton-on-Tees | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major Settlements | |||||||
| Villages | |||||||
| Governance |
| ||||||
| Culture, leisure and tourism | |||||||
| Services | |||||||
| Organisations |
| ||||||
| Sport | |||||||
| Waterways | |||||||
| Transport |
| ||||||
| Historic | |||||||
| Other | |||||||
