Full name | Horsham YMCA Football Club |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | The YM |
Founded | 1898 |
Ground | Gorings Mead, Horsham |
Capacity | 1,500 |
Chairman | Mick Browning |
Manager | Peter Buckland |
League | Southern Combination Premier Division |
2015–16 | Southern Combination Premier Division, 7th |
Horsham YMCA is a football club based in Horsham, West Sussex, England. They were established in 1898 and joined the Sussex County League Division Two in 1959. In the 1999–00 season, they reached the 4th round of the FA Vase. They are currently members of the Southern Combination Premier Division and play at Gorings Mead.
Horsham YMCA Football Club was formed in 1898. During the first 31 years of the club's existence they played at Lyons Field, the name of which is derived from the Bowes-Lyon family who owned a substantial amount of land around Horsham at one time. In 1929 the club moved to its present ground at Gorings Mead for which they were able to secure the freehold at a later date. In the early years 'YM' played in the Horsham and District League before moving to the Crawley League and subsequently to the Mid Sussex League. Their rise through the later two leagues was swift and facilitated the club's entry into the Sussex County League in 1959.
In that first season, YM finished twelfth out of fifteen and then began a gradual improvement. YM then spent seven years in Division 2 before gaining promotion in 1966 as Champion, two points ahead of Newhaven. During that season they dropped just four points from 34 matches, scoring 141 goals in the process. The club gained Division 1 status along with Newhaven and remained there for sixteen seasons until the end of the 1981–82 season when they were relegated. The best performances during that period were two consecutive third place finishes in 1977–78 and 1978–79.
Despite relegation the club bounced straight back as Division 2 champions in the following season. This time YM spent five seasons in the top division before being relegated for the second time in at the end of the season 1987–88. Promotion back to Division 1 for the third time was achieved by finishing third in 1994–95. The past six seasons have seen YM consolidate their Division 1 status by finishing twelfth, eighth, Thirteenth, a very creditable third in our Centenary Season and the last two seasons have seen them finish fifth.