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Gainsborough Trinity F.C.

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Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsborough one of the smallest towns in England to have had a Football League team. They are currently members of the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the seventh tier of English football, and play at the Northolme.

Gainsborough Trinity
Full nameGainsborough Trinity Football Club
Nickname(s)Trinity, The Holy Blues
Founded1873
GroundThe Northolme, Gainsborough
Capacity4,340 (504 seated)[1]
ChairmanDave Horsley & John Myskiw
ManagerRuss Wilcox
LeagueNorthern Premier League Premier Division
2023–24Northern Premier League Premier Division, 8th of 21
Websitehttp://www.gainsboroughtrinity.com
Gainsborough Trinity squad photo for 1966–67

History

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The club was established in 1873 as Trinity Recreationists by the Reverend George Langton Hodgkinson, vicar of Holy Trinity parish, Gainsborough.[2] In 1889 the club were founder members of the Midland League, which they won in 1890–91.[3] The club finished as runners-up the following season and again in 1895–96, after which they applied for election to the Football League. In the vote they finished third, ahead of existing members Port Vale and Crewe Alexandra, and were elected into the Second Division.[4] The club's first season in Division Two of the League saw them finish seventh, but a gradual decline in form saw them finish in the bottom half of the table every season until 1904. In 1901–02 Trinity finished bottom of the division, but were re-elected.[5] In 1904–05 the club finished sixth in Division Two, their best performance during their Football League membership.[3]

In 1911–12 Gainsborough finished bottom of the Second Division for a second time, and failed to be re-elected, receiving just nine votes to the 27 received by newly elected Lincoln City.[6] The club returned to the Midland League, finishing third in 1912–13 and second in 1913–14,[3] after which they unsuccessfully applied for readmission to the Football League.[6] When the Football League created a new Third Division North in 1921, Trinity applied for membership, but were again unsuccessful.[7] The club won the Midland League title in 1927–28, and the following season defeated Football League opposition in the FA Cup for the first time since losing their League status, beating Crewe 3–1 in the first round, before losing to Chesterfield in the second round.[3] In 1931–32 they beat Crewe again in the first round, before losing 5–2 at home to Watford. In 1937–38 Trinity beat Port Vale in the first round, before losing to fellow non-League club Yeovil & Petters United.[3] Another Football League team was beaten the following season, when Trinity knocked out Gateshead in the first round, before losing to Doncaster Rovers.[3]

Following World War II Gainsborough had further success in the FA Cup, reaching the first round of the FA Cup in 1945–46, losing to Mansfield Town, and in 1946–47, when they were beaten by Darlington. In 1948–49 they reached the second round after defeating Witton Albion in the first round, before losing 4–3 at Walsall. They went on to win a third Midland League title that season. First round appearances in the FA Cup followed in 1950–51 (losing 3–0 to Plymouth) and 1951–52 (losing to Witton), before the 1952–53 season saw another second round appearance; after beating Netherfield in a first round replay, they lost 2–1 at Newport County. They reached the first round again the following season, before losing 4–1 at home to Chesterfield. The club failed to repeat the feat until 1959–60, when they lost to Doncaster Rovers in a replay.

At the end of the 1959–60 season, the Midland League was disbanded. Gainsborough spent a single season playing in both the Central Alliance and Division Two of the Yorkshire League,[8][3] before returning to a reformed Midland League in 1961. Trinity won their fourth Midland League title in 1966–67, also reaching the first round of the FA Cup (losing 1–0 at home to Colchester United), before becoming founder members of the new Northern Premier League in 1968. The club applied to join the Football League again in 1975 and 1976, but received only a single vote on each occasion.[6] The 1983–84 season saw them reach the first round of the FA Cup for over a decade, as they lost 2–0 at home to Blackpool.

When the Northern Premier League added a second division in 1987, Gainsborough were placed in the Premier Division. In 1997–98 FA Cup saw them drawn against local rivals Lincoln City, who after a 1–1 draw lost 3–2 in a 'home' replay that was played at Lincoln's Sincil Bank.[3] Another first round appearance in 2003–04 ended with a 7–1 defeat at Brentford.[3] At the end of the season a tenth-place finish saw the club become founder members of the Conference North.[3] FA Cup first round appearances followed in 2006–07 (a 3–1 defeat by Barnet) and 2007–08 (a 6–0 loss at home to Hartlepool United). In 2011–12 the club finished fourth, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. However, after beating FC Halifax Town in the semi-finals, Trinity lost the final 1–0 to Nuneaton Town. During the 2012–13 season they reached the semi-finals of the FA Trophy and managed to beat Wrexham 2–1 at home but would lose 4–3 on aggregate.[9][3] In another FA Cup first round appearance in 2015–16, the club were beaten 1–0 by Shrewsbury Town.[3] The club were relegated for the first time in their history at the end of the 2017–18 season, dropping into the Northern Premier League's Premier Division.

Gainsborough finished fourth in the Premier Division in 2022–23, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. They subsequently lost 5–3 on penalties to Bamber Bridge in the semi-finals after a 1–1 draw.

On 2 November 2024, Trinity beat Hednesford Town to reach the FA Cup second round for the first time since 1952. The game saw Gainsborough come from 3–0 down after 65 minutes, to draw 3–3 and force extra time. Extra time finished 4–4 but Dylan Wharton made three saves in the penalty shootout to swing momentum in favour of Trinity, who were finally able to close out victory when Jordan Helliwell fired home the winning spot kick.[10]

Ground

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Main article: The Northolme
 
The Northolme

Trinity moved to the Northolme ground, then also a cricket venue, in 1884.[11] During their time in the Football League the club also played home matches at the Bowling Green Ground in the north-west of the town and Sincil Bank in Lincoln when the Northolme was being used for cricket.[11] The record attendance of 9,760 was set for a Midland League match against local rivals Scunthorpe United in 1948.[2]

Rivals and local games

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Main article: Lincolnshire derby

Gainsborough Trinity's location on the bank of the River Trent pits them against a host of clubs from Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. The most noted local derbies for Gainsborough are against Boston United and Worksop Town, as both clubs have spent numerous seasons in both the Northern Premier League and Conference North divisions with Trinity. Games with Boston or Worksop are traditionally played on Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

Professional clubs in traditional Lincolnshire such as Lincoln City, Scunthorpe United and Grimsby Town have rarely played Trinity outside of pre-season tournaments such as the Lincolnshire Senior Cup. The last competitive match between Trinity and a professional Lincolnshire club was when they played Lincoln City in the first round of the FA Cup in the 1996–97 season, with Trinity eventually losing 3–2 in the replay following a 1–1 draw at Sincil Bank.

Club officials

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As of 14 November 2023[12]

Position Name
Chairman Dave Horsley
President Steve Summers
Director Darren Ashley
Club Secretary Matt Boles
Manager Russ Wilcox
Assistant Manager/Goalkeeping Coach Kevin Pressman
Kitman Jed Hallam

Managerial history

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Dates Name Notes First Game Last Game P W D L
1959–1960   Charles Walker
1960–1961   Tom Daley
1961–1963   Gladstone Guest
1964–1971   Russell Green
1971–1973   Jim Kilkenny
?-?   Bobby Ham
1979–1980   Roy Ellam
1980–1981   Neil Warnock
1985–1987   Pat Buckley
1991–1993   Gary Simpson 24 August 1991 9 October 1993 96 30 26 40
1993–1994   Leighton James 26 October 1993 3 January 1994 11 4 3 4
1994–1995   Gary Brook 12 February 1994 29 April 1995 52 18 15 19
1995–1998   Ernie Moss 19 August 1995 27 April 1998 128 60 34 34
1998–1999   Steve Richards 22 August 1998 15 October 1999 52 23 10 19
1999–2000   Ernie Moss 6 November 1999 24 April 2000 33 11 13 9
2000   Greg Fee 19 August 2000 21 October 2000 14 2 4 8
2000–2001   Phil Tingay 24 October 2000 20 October 2001 44 20 13 11
2001   Phil Brown &
  Frank Nicholson		 Caretakers 27 October 2001 17 November 2001 5 2 1 2
2001–2002   Dave Norton Player/Manager 24 November 2001 23 April 02 25 6 6 13
2002–2003   Phil Stant Player/Manager 17 August 2002 26 April 2003 44 16 11 17
2003–2007   Paul Mitchell 16 August 2003 1 December 2007 186 63 51 72
2007–2009   Steve Charles Caretaker until 5 January 2008
then permanent		 8 December 2007 17 August 2009 72 24 22 26
2009   Dave Reeves &
  Steve Blatherwick		 Caretaker Managers 22 August 2009 22 August 2009 1 0 0 1
2009   Adie Moses Caretaker Manager 22 August 2009 28 August 2009 3 1 0 2
2009–2011   Brian Little 28 August 2009 20 August 2011 80 25 17 38
2011–2016   Steve Housham 20 August 2011 8 March 2016 201 80 36 85
2016–2017   Dominic Roma Player/Manager 12 March 2016 4 February 2017
2017   Adam Quinn Caretaker Manager 11 February 2017 11 February 2017
2017–2018   Dave Frecklington 18 February 2017 5 February 2018[13]
2018   Nathan Jarman & Adam Quinn Caretaker Managers 10 February 2018 10 February 2018 1 0 0 1
2018–2019   Lee Sinnott
2019   Ross Hannah & Liam King
2019–2021   Curtis Woodhouse
2021–2022   Tom Shaw
2022–2023   Neal Bishop & Damon Parkinson
2023   Neal Bishop
2023   Darryn Stamp
2023–   Russ Wilcox

Honours

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  • Midland League
    • Champions 1890–91, 1927–28, 1948–49, 1966–67
  • Northern Premier League
    • Challenge Cup winners 1981–82, 1996–97
  • Lincolnshire Senior Cup
    • Winners 1889–90, 1892–93, 1894–95, 1897–98, 1903–04, 1904–05, 1906–07, 1910–11, 1970–71, 2002–03, 2017–18
  • Lincolnshire County Senior Cup
    • Winners 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49
  • Lincolnshire Senior 'A' Cup
    • Winners 1950–51, 1951–52, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1963–64
  • Lincolnshire Shield
    • Winners 2007–08, 2011–12

Records

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2016) Non-League Club Directory 2017, Tony Williams Publications, p88 ISBN 978-1869833695
  2. ^ a b Club History Gainsborough Trinity FC
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Gainsborough Trinity at the Football Club History Database
  4. ^ Dave Twydell (2001) Denied F.C.: The Football League Election Struggles, p12, ISBN 1874427984
  5. ^ Twydell, p13
  6. ^ a b c Twydell, p14
  7. ^ Twydell, p15
  8. ^ The Central Alliance, 1947–1962 Non-League Matters
  9. ^ "Gainsborough 2–1 Wrexham (Agg 3–4)". BBC Sport.
  10. ^ "Hednesford Town 4–4 (5–4 on pens) Gainsborough Trinity". BBC Sport. 2 November 2024. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  11. ^ a b Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005, Yore Publications, p92, ISBN 0954783042
  12. ^ Club officials Gainsborough Trinity F.C.
  13. ^ Gainsborough Trinity relieve manager Dave Frecklington and assistant Terry Fleming from their duties Non-League Football Paper, 7 February 2018
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