Oswaldtwistle Rovers F.C.
| Full name | Oswaldtwistle Rovers Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Rovers, Ossy, The Whistlers |
| Founded | c.1884 |
| Dissolved | c.1910 |
Oswaldtwistle Rovers Football Club were a team based in the town of Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire. They first entered the FA Cup in 1884 and, in 1885, reached the second round. Rovers were one of the founder members of the Lancashire League in 1889, but predominantly competed in the Lancashire Combination between 1894 and 1909. In 1909, after leaving the second division of the Combination, they played their final game in the FA Cup.
Oswaldtwistle Rovers were based in the town of Oswaldtwistle, near to Accrington, in Lancashire. Aside from friendly matches, they played in a number of competitions, including the FA Cup, the Lancashire League and the Lancashire Combination.
The first of their 22 appearances in the FA Cup came in the 1884–85 season, where they lost 12–0 to local side Blackburn Olympic in the first round. However, Olympic were a strong team who had won the cup in 1882–83 – the first time it had been won by a northern team. They fared better in 1885–86, beating Lower Darwen 3–1 in the first round. They were then paired against another local side, cup-holders Blackburn Rovers in the next round. They lost the game 1–0, with the goal scored by Hugh McIntyre; only a thousand spectators attended the game, which suggests that the two Rovers were not big rivals, despite their proximity. Blackburn Rovers went on to retain the cup that year.
Oswaldtwistle never again made it to the second round of the FA Cup. In the 1888–89 season, qualifying rounds were introduced for the first time. That year, Rovers entered at the second qualifying round, winning 3–1 at Blackburn Olympic, before losing to South Shore, who went on to become Blackpool F.C. In the same year, Rovers won the Lancashire Junior Cup. In February 1888, they also hosted Newton Heath – who would later change their name to Manchester United – in a friendly match that they won 6–0.
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