Leicester Road F.C.
Full name | Leicester Road Football Club | ||
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Nickname(s) | The Knitters | ||
Founded | 2013 | ||
Ground | Leicester Road Stadium | ||
Capacity | 4,329 (630 seated) | ||
Manager | Neil Lyne | ||
League | Midland League Division One | ||
2015–16 | Midland League Division One, 4th | ||
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Leicester Road F.C. is a football club based in Barwell, England. The club was formed on 4 November 2013 to provide continuity for the players, staff and supporters left without a club following the liquidation of Hinckley United in October 2013, and competes in the Midland League Division One. The Under 21 squad headed by Neil Lyne stayed together and continued to train and played a programme of friendly games for the remainder of the 2013-14 season. The Youth team took over the fixtures of the defunct Hinckley United Youth Team and carried on to win the Midland Floodlit Youth League Premier Division title and the Leicestershire County Floodlit Youth Cup. The development teams continued in the Midland Junior Premier League at Under 14, 15 and 16 levels and all finished the season admirably.
History
Following the liquidation of Hinckley United in October 2013, the town of Hinckley was left without a non-league football team for the first time in many years. The players who had played for Hinckley United Development sides up to 2013 were retained by Leicester Road and football continued at Leicester Road Stadium in the 2013-14 season through the auspices of the Development and Youth Teams. Leicester Road applied to the FA to join the FA pyramid system during the 2014 close season and were accepted by the newly formed Midland Football League in time for the 2014-15 season in place of Phoenix United who had withdrawn from the league. Leicester Road started their life in Division Two of the Midland Football League on 23 August 2014 with a home match against Hampton which ended in a 2-2 draw. The first team had a progressive first season in senior football battling through to the final game and beating Earlswood Town 5-0 at Leicester Road to finish runners-up to Coventry United and gain promotion at their first attempt. The club was promoted to Division One, at level 10 of the English football league system.[1][2] In the 2015-16 season, they finished fourth in Division One and qualified automatically for the FA Cup for the first time. On the 6th August 2016, Leicester Road played their first game in the Emirates FA in an Extra Preliminary Round tie at Retford United of the NCEL Premier League. The game ended in a 1-1 draw with Luke Kingsley-Smith scoring the goal.
Honours
- Midland Football League Division Two Runners-up - 2014-15
- LRCFA County Floodlit Youth Cup Winners - 2014-15
- LRCFA County Veterans Cup Winners - 2014-15, 2015-16
- Leicester City Football League Veterans Division One Champions 2015-16
- Midland Football League Division Two Team of the Month 2014-15 - September, November
- Midland Football League Division One Team of the Month 2015-16 - September
- Midland Football League Division Two Fair Play Award Winners 2014-15
- Midland Football League Division One Fair Play Award Winners 2015-16