Havant & Waterlooville F.C. History
Local football can be traced as far back as 1883 in the Borough of Havant, when Havant Football Club was formed, playing in the Portsmouth Football League. In 1969 Havant FC merged with local side Leigh Park United winning the Portsmouth Football League at their first attempt.
In 1986 saw Havant Town FC as one of the founder members of the Wessex League. They finished runners up on three occasions before finally winning the title and moving into the Southern League in 1991.
Waterlooville Football Club, were established in 1905 and progressed from humble beginnings moving through Waterlooville District, Portsmouth and Hampshire League Divisions and had been in the Southern League since 1971.
With the formation of the National Conference, the Southern League re-organised themselves. They nearly won the Championship but narrowly failed despite going 31 matches without defeat. An 11th place finish in the Premier in 1993 was their highest ever placing.
Relegation and rising costs meant that the Club struggled to remain competitive and the talk of a merger with their fierce rivals was first mooted. 1n 1997 Havant Town saw their Club Manager Tony Mount leave unexpectedly, taking the core of his squad with him. June 1998 saw the two rivals join forces, Jubilee Park was sold and the newly renamed Havant & Waterlooville FC was created.
On the 22nd August 1998, the new look team beat Chelmsford City 2-0 to begin a new era in the Club’s history. The team duly won the Southern League Southern Division, earning promotion to the Premier Division at their first attempt. In 2004 the Club were part of the new restructuring of the Conference South. They have remained in the Division ever since.
Stadium
The club play at Westleigh Park, West Leigh, Havant, PO9 5TH. It has been the home to Havant Town since 1982 onwards while Waterlooville F.C. played at the now extinct Jubilee Park. It currently has a capacity of 5,250, of which 526 is seated. The record attendance at the ground is 4,400, for the 4–2 third round FA Cup replay win against Swansea City on 16 January 2008. The club's record attendance for any home game is 5,793, for the FA Cup first round defeat to Millwall on 13 November 2006 played at Portsmouth.
FA Cup Pedigree
2000-2001 The team qualified for the first round proper of the F.A.Cup. A crowd of 1118 turned up to witness a 1-2 loss to their Conference based rivals Southport.
2002-2003 This time in the FA Cup they lost 3-2 at Dagenham & Redbridge in the first round.
2006-2007 A first round draw against Millwall had the gloss taken off it a little when it was decided that the tie would have to be played at nearby Fratton Park. Millwall beat the Hawks 2-1.
2007-2008 This was their best ever season in the FA Cup as they reached the fourth round. The qualifying campaign saw off Bognor Regis Town, Fleet Town, and Leighton Town. The first round proper and the Hawks were drawn away to York City. This tie was to prove third time lucky as an unexpected 1-0 victory resulted in the Hawks in the hat for the second round, for the first time in the Club's history.
Another away draw beckoned at Notts County and witnessed another 1-0 victory. The third round saw the Hawks drawn at Roberto Martinez’s This was their first match outside of England.
A late Rocky Baptiste goal made the scoreline 1-1 and a replay at Westleigh Park. Martinez famously described the Hawks as “a pub team” a remark that would vastly help the Hawks PR campaign at a later date. The home replay sparked unprecedented scenes in the build-up when the winners of the tie were drawn to play Liverpool in the fourth round. Media from around the world appeared at the Stadium and in the Town Centre as news of the potential “David v Goliath” clash was a possibility. A crowd of 4400 filled Westleigh Park who saw the “pub team” ran out fully deserved winners 4-2.
The away tie at Anfield brought Havant & Waterlooville FC into complete media frenzy. Club sponsors Carlsberg (who also sponsored Liverpool) pulled off a major PR coup. They marketed the Hawks as “Probably the best pub team in the world”. On the day of the match Havant Town was deserted as 6000 fans made the trip to Liverpool.
The largest crowd the Hawks had ever played in front of, 42,566, saw the minnows from the Conference South ran out with ‘Probably’ emblazoned across their chests instead on the customary ‘Carlsberg’ logo. Hawks took a 1-0 lead against the former European Cup Winners. The Reds drew level but on-loan Alfie Potter put the minnows 2-1 in front and the biggest cup shock in history was a distinct possibility. Liverpool drew level just before half-time and ended up 5-2 victors but the men from Havant & Waterlooville drew a standing ovation from all four corners of the ground, not to mention a decent financial injection in their cup campaign.
2008-2009 Hawks reached the first round with Brentford were chosen to play at Westleigh Park. The ‘live TV cameras’ were in attendance as were 1631 Hawks fans. Brentford ran out convincing 3-1 winners.
2010-2011 The Hawks reached the first round of the FA Cup and had a home tie against Droylsden of the Conference North Division. The side from Manchester proved first class both on and off the field of play and ran out 2-0 winners, for once the Hawks were the victims of a cup shock.
Current Season
The Hawks are currently fifth in Conference South with 23 points from 14 matches. Top scorer in all comps is JJ Hooper with 12 goals with Scott Donnelly and Bradley Bubb are joint second with 6 goals. Highest home crowd this season is 790 with a 2-0 win over Basingstoke Town.
The Hawks have still to concede a goal in the 2014-15 FA Cup. They started in the second Qualifying Round with a 3-0 home win against Swindon Supermarine. The next round saw the Hawks made the trip to North London against Ryman Premier outfit Wingate & Finchley and a 2-0 victory. A visit to Canvey Island in the fourth Qualifying Round saw a 0-0 draw before a 3-0 home victory in the replay to earn a first round proper tie with the Lilywhites.
PNE Connections – Brian Stock
Brian Benjamin Stock was born in Winchester born 24 December 1981.
Stock began his professional career at Bournemouth, making his league debut on 22 January 2000 against Colchester United.
He played 145 league games and scored 16 goals for Bournemouth before signing initially on loan to Preston in January 2006.
Preston reportedly paid £125,000 for the midfielder. Stock scored his first and what turned out to be only Preston goal in a 2–0 win over Leeds United.
He made 6 appearances on loan but only two more appearances after he signed. Lack of first team opportunities however lead to Stock being loaned out to Doncaster in September 2006.
He then signed for Doncaster on 3 January 2007 for £150,000.
Stock played a vital role in Doncaster's 2007-08 promotion season with assured performances in midfield. He filled in as captain for Doncaster in the final two months of the season due to a foot injury to usual skipper Adam Lockwood. Stock captained the side in their Play-Off Final victory over Leeds at Wembley, and scored the first goal from the penalty spot against Southend in the semi-finals of that Play-Off campaign.
On 14 May, it was reported that Wolves had enquired about Stock's availability for a reported £2.5 million. However it was proved that there was no truth in the enquiry and Stock has pledged his future to the club.
Stock made his Wales debut on 9 September 2009, in a World Cup Qualifying match at home to Russia
On 11 August 2012, after long term speculation, Stock joined Burnley on a 2-year deal, joining up with former team mate Eddie Howe. In both his seasons at Burnley, first under Howe and, then later, under Sean Dyche he was a first-team squad player but not a regular. He left Burnley at the end of his contract following the 2013-14 season and signed for Havant and Waterlooville in September 2014, after turning down offers from the Football League. Stock made his debut for the Hawks on with a 5-0 victory over Farnborough.
Last Match
It was the battle of the Hawks at the Whitehawks from Brighton drew 0-0 with Havant & Waterlooville in front of a crowd of 240. Havant came the closest to scoring when JJ Hooper’s 20 yard drive struck the Whitehawks post.
Havant & Waterlooville FC Team: Young, Strugnell, Cummings, Stock (Ryan 90mins), Dutton, Harris, Swallow (Mullings 80mins), Donnelly, Hooper, Bubb (Connell 36mins), Huggins