Southern Combination Challenge Cup
Founded1958
Region England
Number of teams18 (2016-17)
Current championsFarnham Town
Most successful club(s)Hampton & Richmond Borough
(8 wins)

The Southern Combination Challenge Cup is a football competition contested by non-league clubs. An independent cup, it was directly affiliated to the Football Association until 2015, when a change in FA Rules required such competitions to affiliate with the county of the majority of its member clubs: this is currently the Surrey County FA for this competition. The competition was founded in March 1958, as the Southern Combination Amateur Challenge Cup Competition. The word "Amateur" was later dropped in 1974.[1] It is often referred to as simply the Southern Combination Cup.

The competition's rules state that entrants must be based within 25 miles of Weybridge, Surrey (until 1998, within 25 miles of Kingston upon Thames). At least two other competitions with similar names existed, in different areas of south east England:

(1) the Southern Counties Combination Football League started in 1971 as a league competition in Sussex (and later southern parts of Surrey), with an associated League Cup and, a few years later, a Midweek Floodlight [Cup] Competition. This competition closed down in 2002, with the last winners being Fleet Town - a club from Hampshire who, incidentally, have also entered the Southern Combination Challenge Cup.

(2) the Southern Combination Cup, which started around 1980, and offered a set of the sponsors', Phillips', floodlights to the inaugural winners. In some years, a Reserve Section was also contested. Known entrants were from the Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire area, but the competition ceased following Stotfold's victory in 1996.

Hampton & Richmond Borough are the most successful club in the competition's history, having lifted the cup eight times. With seven of those coming under the name of Hampton, their most recent success came during the 2004–05 season. There have been 24 different winners, with Farnham Town FC the current holders after beating Balham 3-2 aet in May 2023 in front of 1,143 fans.[2]

History

Until the 1994–95 season, the competition would comprise a maximum 16 teams starting in the First Round. If extra clubs were competing that year, a Preliminary Round would be added. However, this figure rose to 20 teams ahead of the 1998-99 campaign and the AGM agreed to start the competition in the Second Round, should 16 teams be included. They believed the suffix of Preliminary Round added to the difficulty of selling fixtures to the paying public. The final Preliminary Round fixture came during the 1994–95 season, with Epsom & Ewell recording a 6–0 victory over Walton & Hersham in a replay.[1]

Penalties were introduced into the competition in 1979, but only if both clubs agreed and liaised with the match officials beforehand. They were made compulsory in 1995, should any game be drawn following extra time.[1] In recent years, the competition has typically been dominated by teams in the ninth and tenth tiers of the English football league system, although other non-league teams, such as Staines Town and Leatherhead, have also used the competition as a Reserve team event. The Combined Counties Football League has labelled the competition "a supplementary Combined Counties League Cup".[3]

Finals

Season-by-season list of winners and runners-up.[1]

Season Winner Result Runners-Up Venue Notes
1958-59 Slough Town 3-2* Carshalton Athletic Slough Town After extra time.
1959-60 Carshalton Athletic 4-2 Slough Town Slough Town
1960-61 Windsor & Eton 5-4* Cray Wanderers Windsor & Eton After extra time.
1961-62 Wokingham Town 2-1 Windsor & Eton Wokingham Town
1962-63 Slough Town 3-0 Wokingham Town Slough Town
1963-64 Slough Town 1-0 Molesey Slough Town
1964-65 Staines Town 3-1 Wingate Wingate After original game on same ground & date abandoned at 1-1 after 37 minutes.
1965-66 Metropolitan Police 3-1* British Aircraft Corporation (Weybridge) Addlestone After extra time.
1966-67 Staines Town 3-1 Marlow Marlow
1967-68 Metropolitan Police 6-3 Staines Town Staines Town
1968-69 Hampton 4-3 Aldershot Services Hampton
1969-70 Metropolitan Police 2-0 Banstead Athletic Banstead Athletic
1970-71 Metropolitan Police 1-0 Marlow Marlow
1971-72 Hampton 2-0 Staines Town Hampton
1972-73 Tooting & Mitcham United 1-0 Hampton Leatherhead
1973-74 Dulwich Hamlet 3-1 Egham Town Dulwich Hamlet
1974-75 Addlestone 2-0 Woking Addlestone
1975-76 Addlestone 2-1 Egham Town Egham Town
1976-77 Hampton 3-1 Farnborough Town Hampton
1977-78 Egham Town 4-0 Hampton Egham Town
1978-79 Malden Vale 2-1 Camberley Town Bracknell Town
1979-80 Epsom & Ewell 7-2 Hampton Hampton
1980-81 Camberley Town 1-0* Wokingham Town Camberley Town After extra time.
1981-82 Hampton 3-1 Maidenhead United Maidenhead United
1982-83 Walton & Hersham 1-1* Epsom & Ewell Walton & Hersham After extra time. Walton & Hersham win 5–4 on penalties.
1983-84 Hampton 1-0 Egham Town Hampton
1984-85 Bracknell Town 3-2* Wokingham Town Bracknell Town After extra time.
1985-86 Hampton 3-0 Camberley Town Hampton
1986-87 Feltham 3-0 Bracknell Town Bracknell Town
1987-88 Feltham 2-1 Camberley Town Feltham
1988-89 Walton & Hersham 3-0 Chertsey Town Walton & Hersham
1989-90 Leatherhead 2-0 Malden Vale Malden Vale
1990-91 Molesey 3-2 Feltham Molesey
1991-92 Walton & Hersham 1-0 Malden Vale Walton & Hersham After extra time.
1992-93 Dorking 1-0 Epsom & Ewell Dorking
1993-94 Molesey 1-0 Staines Town Molesey
1994-95 Staines Town W-N Chertsey Town N/A Walkover. Awarded by decision of EGM at Chertsey Town.
1995-96 Ashford Town (Middlesex) 3-0 Feltham Feltham
1996-97 Hampton 2-1* Staines Town Staines Town After extra time.
1997-98 Godalming & Guildford 3-0 Hampton Hampton
1998-99 Chertsey Town 4-2 Walton & Hersham Chertsey Town
1999-00 Walton & Hersham W-N Staines Town N/A Walkover. Match conceded by Staines Town.
2000-01 Walton & Hersham 3-1 Chipstead Chipstead
2001-02 Chessington & Hook United 5-3 Ashford Town (Middlesex) Chessington & Hook United
2002-03 Sandhurst Town 2-1 Walton & Hersham Sandhurst Town
2003-04 Bedfont 2-1 Chipstead Bedfont
2004-05 Hampton & Richmond Borough and Walton & Hersham N/A N/A Cup was shared as the final was not played.
2005-06 Staines Town 3-2* Molesey Molesey After extra time.
2006-07 Merstham and Staines Lammas N/A N/A Cup was shared as the final was not played.
2007-08 Chipstead 1-0 Ashford Town (Middlesex) Chipstead
2008-09 Cove 4-1 Chessington & Hook United Cove
2009-10 Reading Town 4-1 Hanworth Villa Reading Town
2010-11 Ashford Town (Middlesex) 1-0 Hanworth Villa Ashford Town
2011-12 Hanworth Villa 5-0 Sandhurst Town Hanworth Villa
2012-13 Molesey 1-1* Spelthorne Sports Molesey After extra time. Molesey win 5–4 on penalties.
2013-14 Hanworth Villa 1-0 Spelthorne Sports Spelthorne Sports
2014-15 Molesey 3-0 Bedfont & Feltham Molesey
2015-16 Molesey 6-1 Dorking Molesey
2016-17 Sutton Common Rovers 4-1 Camberley Town Gander Green Lane
2018-19 Walton Casuals 4-2 Sutton Common Rovers Gander Green Lane After Extra Time
2019-20 Competition unfinished and declared void due to pandemic
2020-21 Competition not held due to pandemic
2021-22 Ashford Town (Middlesex) 3-2 Fleet Town Fleet Town
2022-23 Farnham Town 3-2 Balham Farnham Town

Results by team

A list of all clubs to have reached the Final of the competition since formation.[1]

Club Winners Runners-Up Winning Years Runners-Up Years
Hampton & Richmond Borough previously known as Hampton in years marked * 1968-69*, 1971-72*, 1976-77*, 1981-82*, 1983-84*, 1985-86*, 1996-97*, 2004-05† 1972-73*, 1977-78*, 1979-80*, 1997-98*
Walton & Hersham 1982-83, 1988–89, 1991–92, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2004-05† 1998-99, 2002–03
Molesey 5 2 1990-91, 1993–94, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16 1963-64, 2005–06
Staines Town 4 5 1964-65, 1966–67, 1994–95, 2005–06 1967-68, 1971–72, 1993–94, 1996–97, 1999-00
Metropolitan Police 4 0 1965-66, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1970-71
Slough Town 3 1 1958-59, 1962–63, 1963–64 1959-60
Ashford Town (Middlesex) 2 2 1995-96, 2010–11 2001-02, 2007–08
Feltham 2 2 1986-87, 1987–88 1990-91, 1995–96
Hanworth Villa 2 2 2011-12, 2013–14 2009-10, 2010–11
Addlestone 2 0 1974-75, 1975–76
Camberley Town 1 4 1980-81 1978-79, 1985–86, 1987–88, 2016-17
Egham Town 1 3 1977-78 1973-74, 1975–76, 1983–84
Wokingham Town 1 3 1961-62 1962-63, 1980–81, 1984–85
Chertsey Town 1 2 1998-99 1988-89, 1994–95
Chipstead 1 2 2007-08 2000-01, 2003–04
Epsom & Ewell 1 2 1979-80 1982-83, 1992–93
Malden Vale 1 2 1978-79 1989-90, 1991–92
Bracknell Town 1 1 1984-85 1986-87
Carshalton Athletic 1 1 1959-60 1958-59
Chessington & Hook United 1 1 2001-02 2008-09
Dorking 1 1 1992-93 2015-16
Sandhurst Town 1 1 2002-03 2011-12
Windsor & Eton 1 1 1960-61 1961-62
Farnham Town 1 0 2022-23
Bedfont 1 0 2003-04
Cove 1 0 2008-09
Dulwich Hamlet 1 0 1973-74
Godalming & Guildford 1 0 1997-98
Leatherhead 1 0 1989-90
Reading Town 1 0 2009-10
Sutton Common Rovers 1 0 2016-17
Tooting & Mitcham United 1 0 1972-73
Merstham ½ ½ 2006-07†
Staines Lammas ½ ½ 2006-07†
Marlow 0 2 1966-67, 1970–71
Spelthorne Sports 0 2 2012-13, 2013–14
Aldershot Services 0 1 2012-13, 2013–14
B.A.C. (Weybridge) 0 1 1965-66
Banstead Athletic 0 1 1969-70
Bedfont & Feltham 0 1 2014-15
Cray Wanderers 0 1 1960-61
Farnborough Town 0 1 1976-77
Maidenhead United 0 1 1981-82
Wingate 0 1 1964-65
Woking 0 1 1974-75

† denotes that in this year the final was unplayed and the cup was shared between the two clubs who qualified for it. These instances are counted as ½ in the "Winners" and "Runners-Up" columns, with the year recorded in the "Winning Years" column.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Tony's Non-League Forum: Non League Football Information: Other Cup Competitions: Southern Combination Cup 2010/11". nonleaguematters.co.uk. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  2. Bridgen, Gary (5 March 2017). "Sutton Common Rovers crush Camberley to win Southern Combination Cup". Sutton Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  3. "Southern Combination Challenge Cup 2015-2016 - The Cherry Red Records Combined Counties Football League". combinedcounties.pitchero.com. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
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