Carrick Rangers F.C.
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| Full name | Carrick Rangers Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Gers |
| Founded | 1939 |
| Ground | Loughshore Hotel Arena, Taylors Avenue, Carrickfergus |
| Capacity | 6,000 (400 seats) |
| Chairman | Peter Clarke |
| Manager | Aaron Callaghan |
| League | NIFL Premiership |
| 2015–16 | NIFL Premiership, 10th |
Carrick Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional Northern Irish football club playing in NIFL Premiership. The club, founded in 1939, hails from Carrickfergus, County Antrim and plays its home matches at Taylors Avenue which is known as the Belfast Loughshore Hotel Arena due to sponsorship reasons. Carrick Rangers main rivals are Larne, with matches between the sides being known as, "The East Antrim Derby."
The club was formed in 1939, when two teams from the Carrickfergus & District Summer League - Barn Mills and Bubbles decided to merge. In 1940, the new club joined the Belfast Minor League and took up residence at Taylors Avenue, then known as the Barn Field They won the County Antrim Junior Shield in 1941–42 and in 1943 gained admission to the Northern Amateur League, of which they were the champions in 1948–49 and 1951–52. 1952 saw the club's elevation to the Intermediate League, necessary ground improvements being made at the Barn Field, now known as Taylors Avenue, and then, following the demise of that competition, to the Irish Alliance in 1954 and eventually the Irish League B Division in 1957. As members of the Alliance, Carrick won the McKelvey Cup, a knock-out cup for league members, in 1956-57.
From 1983 until 2003, the club enjoyed senior status, but reverted to intermediate status when the Irish Premier League was established and the number of senior clubs was reduced from 20 to 16. The club's greatest achievement was winning the Irish Cup in 1976, when, as a B Division team they beat Linfield in the final in one of the greatest cup shocks.
On 2 May 2011, the club secured a return to top flight football for the first time since the 1994–95 season, after being crowned champions of Championship 1. However, they were unable to adapt to the step up in quality and lasted only one season in the top flight, finishing the 2011–12 IFA Premiership in last place which resulted in relegation back down to Championship 1 for the 2012–13 season.
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