Durley F.C.

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Durley F.C.
Full nameDurley Football Club
Founded1919
GroundDurley Recreation Ground
ChairmanColin Watts
ManagerPaul Darbyshire
LeagueSouthampton League

Durley F.C. are a long running amateur football club based in Durley, a village and civil parish located between Southampton and Winchester in Hampshire, England.

Contents

History

Durley F.C. were founded in 1919 and spent their early days playing friendly fixtures before joining the Meon Valley League.

After World War II, the club reformed and joined the Eastleigh & District League, before moving on to the Southampton League. Here they climbed the Junior divisions, reaching the Senior section 1966 only to be relegated straight back again. After a spell in the doldrums, the club bounced back in 1974 when they won the Junior Division 4 title. [1]

The late eighties saw an upturn in fortunes as Durley won four promotions in seven seasons to reach the Premier Division for the first time in 1993. They were then relegated straight back, but returned a year later and solidified their status in the top-flight. [2]

In 2003, Durley made a successful application to join the Hampshire League [3] and finished 10th in Division 2. [4] However, the competition was then absorbed by the expanding Wessex League, [5] and unable to meet the stricter ground criteria, Durley instead became founder members of the Hampshire League 2004. [6]

Durley became regular title contenders and after several near misses, they finally won the title in 2012. [7] [8] [9] A year later, the competition became Division 1 of the Hampshire Premier League, but by this point the team had broken up and after finishing bottom, Durley were relegated.

Durley now run two sides in the Southampton League. The club celebrated their centenary in 2019.

Honours

County League career 2003–14

Ground

Durley F.C. play at the Recreation Ground, Kytes Lane, Durley, SO32 2AE. [11]

The venue is enclosed with a large car park and a modern pavilion.

Local rivalries

Durley have a number of local rivals including Fair Oak, Bishops Waltham and Upham.

References

  1. ↑ Hampshire Football Association Centenary History 1887-1987 by Norman Gannaway
  2. ↑ A Century of Southampton Local Soccer 1908-2008 by John Moody
  3. ↑ "Durley 6 - M & T Awbridge 0". Daily Echo. 18 August 2003.
  4. ↑ A Tabulated History of the Hampshire League by Stephen Farmery
  5. ↑ "Hants League accept Wessex expansion plans as inevitable". 20 May 2003.
  6. ↑ "All systems go as 'new' Hampshire League earns a reprieve". Daily Echo. 5 August 2004. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  7. ↑ "HFL2004 football: Durley win 4-1 at Broughton in Christmas farce". Daily Echo. 22 December 2005.
  8. ↑ "FOOTBALL: Tickner hat-trick is highlight in dour affair". Hampshire Chronicle. 9 February 2007.
  9. ↑ "Goal in nine seconds boosts Durley's Hampshire Leage 2004 hopes". Daily Echo. 20 January 2005.
  10. ↑ Southampton Football League Handbook & Directory 2018–19
  11. ↑ "Recreation Ground".
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