The Southern League`s Outstanding Teams – Histon 2004/05

A review of a terrific season for the Stutes.

Although the Cambridgeshire village club was originally formed in 1904 as Histon Institute – a name where the nickname of the `Stutes` came from - and played for many years in the Cambridgeshire League, their emergence as a force in non-League football didn`t really come until the 1990s.

In 1993 a new club committee was formed and then Gareth Baldwin`s appointment as chairman really set the ball rolling.

It wasn`t instant success. Indeed, they suffered relegation to the Eastern Counties League Division One before bouncing back to the Premier Division in 1997 and then finishing second, third and fourth and finally, in 1999/2000 under new boss Steve Fallon, promotion was achieved to the Southern League Division One East.

Fallon had already achieved a name for himself as a player for Cambridge United and as a manager with neighbours Cambridge City for nine years.

The title was won on the last day of the season with a 2–1 defeat of Gorleston.

The start of the 21st century for Histon was slow, and in the first three seasons they managed fourth spot twice and a disappointing tenth which momentarily halted the fast rise they had experienced with Fallon up the non-League Pyramid.

The 2003/04 season saw Histon finish runners-up to King`s Lynn in the Division One East to claim promotion to the Premier Division.

The advent of the Conference`s North and South divisions saw a big shift of clubs in the Pyramid but the Stutes still faced a tough task in the Southern Premier Division with big, established non-League clubs such as Bath City, Gloucester City and Bedford Town.

Fallon kept faith largely with the squad that won him promotion as they travelled to Cirencester Town for the opening game of the 2004/05 season.

But a 2-0 defeat wasn`t a great start for the Stutes playing at the highest level in their history.

However, three days later came a first Premier Division win, 3-1 at Bridge Road against Dunstable Town, thanks to goals from Neil Kennedy, Peter Munns and Ian Cambridge.

The result was repeated the following Saturday when Halesowen Town left Bridge Road with nothing, courtesy of Neil Andrews, Cambridge and Kennedy.

Sunny August was seen out with a 1-1 draw at Stamford, a good 2-1 win at Gloucester and then a 3-2 defeat at home by Hitchin Town to leave Fallon`s men in sixth spot.

September began with a bit of a hammering at Hednesford Town, who won 4-1 but they recovered to beat Aylesbury United 2-0 the following Tuesday with goals from Kennedy and Louie Farrington.

But Merthyr Tydfil arrived in Cambridgeshire four days later and made the long trek back to South Wales with a 2-1 success to leave Histon in tenth spot with the FA Cup next on the agenda.

The Stutes were drawn against then-Isthmian League Premier Division side Hampton & Richmond Borough in the First Qualifying Round – a tough draw for both sides at this stage of the competition.

But in Histon`s favour was that they were the first team out of the hat and a second-half brace from Ian Cambridge sealed the hosts` passage into the next round.

Chippenham Town, who would prove to be Histon`s biggest rivals for the title, didn`t look like ending up being that when they welcomed them to Hardenhuish Park on Saturday, 25th September!

Histon produced a fine performance to go nap against the Bluebirds with Cambridge taking his tally of goals to 11 already with a hat-trick along with strikes from Jamie Barker and current Cambridge City boss Robbie Nightingale.

A visit to Conference North side Redditch United was next up for the Stutes in the Second Qualifying Round of the FA Cup and another excellent display saw them triumph by the odd goal in five, thanks to defensive kingpin Colin Vowden, Neil Kennedy and Barker again.

Banbury United were beaten 3-1 at home on a Friday night experiment which worked as a bumper crowd of 603 saw two for Kennedy and a Nightingale penalty earn three points.

The draw for the Third Qualifying Round of the FA Cup paired Histon away to Isthmian Division One side Horsham, who were swept aside 5-0 with another Kennedy brace and singles for Barker, Cambridge and Charles Libam.

Fallon`s men had hit a purple patch and they smashed in another 12 goals in their next two away league games in beating Chesham United 7-2 with a Nightingale hat-trick and braces for Barker and Kennedy and Bath 5-1 with Libam this time doubling up.

A third successive away trip followed as Wealdstone were the next obstacle in the final qualifying round of the FA Cup.

Not the force they once were, the Stones were now plying their trade in the Isthmian Premier and Kennedy and Cambridge scored the goals that took Histon into the following Monday`s First Round draw.

That paired them against Football League opposition for the first time in their history as was to be League Two Shrewsbury Town who would be travelling to Bridge Road.

Before that though, Histon made the journey to Creasey Park to play Dunstable Town in the First Round of the FA Trophy.

And they warmed up for the Shrews in style, by winning 6-2, thanks to Ian Cambridge, who notched four himself, with brother Adie and Kennedy getting the others.

Histon were now in unchartered territory as the furthest they had been in the FA Cup before was the previous season when they lost 3-1 at Woking.

And the draw rewarded them with a home tie against another League Two side, Yeovil Town.

Before that though there were two wins in the league against Aylesbury and Hitchin to leave Histon third in the table, and a Trophy Second Round win at Isthmian Premier outfit East Thurrock United.

The 2004/05 season was Yeovil's second in the Football League and manager Gary Johnson was to celebrate another promotion come the end of the campaign as they clinched the League Two title.

They also knocked Histon out of the FA Cup too, as a crowd of 2,564 – the biggest at Bridge Road since 1956 – saw the Glovers progress 3-1, thanks to a Phil Jevons penalty and goals from the manager`s son Lee Johnson and Yemi Odubade, with Ian Cambridge netting the Stutes` consolation.

Would that dent Histon`s confidence? A 1-1 draw at home to Hednesford and a 3-0 loss at Bedford suggested it just might have done. However, a 4-1 win at Rugby United, courtesy of a Nightingale brace, Barker and a first of the season for Matty Haniver, steadied the ship, only for Team Bath`s students to shock Fallon`s men at Bridge Road four days later with a 2-0 success and make it a slightly less happy Christmas.

The New Year`s Day game saw Grantham Town dispatched 2-1 at home and Histon were briefly in second spot before losing 3-2 at Hemel Hempstead Town two days later.

A 3-0 home win over Stamford saw the Stutes back in third spot before attention focussed again on the FA Trophy which had paired them away at Team Bath.

Keen for a bit of revenge for that home defeat in the league just before Christmas, Ian Cambridge and Robbie Nightingale edged a hard fought 2-1 win.

Cirencester, who had beaten Histon on the opening day, again frustrated them by holding out for a 2-2 draw at Bridge Road and Fallon`s side were now fifth in the table.

The Fourth Round of the Trophy rolled round and it was a tough trip to Conference Premier side Gravesend & Northfleet that faced the Stutes.

And it was a step too far for Histon, who were also knocked out by Fleet in 2002.

After taking a 12th-minute lead through Neil Kennedy, Fleet eventually equalised through Jay Saunders on 56 minutes and then Manny Omonyimi scored what proved to be the winner in the 68th minute.

Histon got that result our of their system three days later by hammering Fisher Athletic 5-1 to reach the fifth round of the Southern League Cup and then did the `double` over Chesham with a 2-1 home win through the two Neil`s, Kennedy and Andrews.

The Stutes scrambled a 2-2 draw at Twerton Park the following Tuesday, thanks to an own goal and an Ian Cambridge penalty but there were three successive wins to follow at home to Hemel Hempstead and Tiverton Town and away at Solihull Borough to leave Fallon`s side in fourth spot going into March.

A surprise 1-0 home defeat to Gloucester followed before two good away wins at Halesowen and Merthyr without conceding a goal lifted the Stutes up to second in the table behind Chippenham.

Banbury United held Histon to a 1-1 draw at Station View in their game in hand, but with Chippenham losing to Bath and Tiverton, and the Stutes beating Solihull 3-1 away with a Jamie Barker brace and one from Matty Haniver, the race was on.

April arrived with Chippenham maintaining top spot with a 2-1 home win over Halesowen Town, while Histon were shocked by a 2-1 home defeat by Rugby.

And on Tuesday, April 5th, Histon dropped two more home points when Bedford held them to a 3-3 draw with new signing Leon Gutzmore, Neil Kennedy and Jamie Barker salvaging a draw.

Supporters were thinking that Histon`s hopes of the title were disappearing fast as Team Bath beat them again, this time 2-0 at Twerton Park, but then news came through that Chippenham had also lost, 3-2 at Aylesbury.

The following Tuesday, the Stutes faced a tricky trip to The Walks to play King`s Lynn in one of their games in hand and a fine 4-1 win, thanks to a Colin Vowden brace and singles for Kennedy and Andrews kept up the pressure on the Bluebirds.

Four league games each left to play now, and for Fallon`s side Saturday, April 16th saw Solihull come to Bridge Road, while Chippenham hosted Bedford at Hardenhuish Park.

And the title turned in Histon`s favour as Ian Cambridge`s 26th goal of the season helped them to a comfortable 3-0 win, but the Eagles held Darren Perrin`s side to a 1-1 draw and Fallon`s men went to the top of the table for the first time.

Saturday, April 23rd saw the Stutes make the long journey to Devon to play Tiverton and Banbury headed to Chippenham.

The tide turned once more in the Bluebirds` favour as Tivvy did them a favour by winning by the odd goal in five at Ladysmead, while Banbury were beaten by the same scoreline to take Perrin`s side back to the summit.

Saturday, 26th April saw Histon head across to Dunstable for their final game in hand.

Chippenham had to sit and sweat it out as they only had one more game to play – AGAINST HISTON!

Neil Kennedy`s goal 8 minutes after half-time earned the Stutes a nervy 1-0 win and they were back on top of the table on goal difference.

So, after 41 matches, the Southern League Premier Division championship race was down to one game – a winner takes all encounter at Bridge Road.

It could hardly be closer. Histon had a one-goal advantage going into the game, so a draw or a win would see them home, but a 2-0 success for the Bluebirds would see the title go to Wiltshire.

In front of a crowd of 1,920 on Saturday, April 30th, a Neil Kennedy effort 10 minutes from time earned Histon their 1-0 win and the title in a thrilling finale.

That striker took Kennedy`s total to 31, and his partnership with Ian Cambridge totalled 57.

Chippenham lost 1-0 in the play-off final to Hednesford Town, who had finished fourth in the regular season.

Histon went on to finish a very creditable fifth in their first season as a Conference South side and then went and defied the odds to win the championship and make the top level of non-League football the following campaign – achieving it in style by a massive 19-point margin from Salisbury City.

After doing well initially, a lack of funds saw them fall down the Pyramid, back through the Southern League divisions and eventually back to the Eastern Counties (Thurlow Nunn) League in 2017 before bouncing back up again in 2019.

But that 2004/05 season was certainly an outstanding one for the village of Histon.