Profile: Hucknall Town
Nicknames: The Yellows, The Town
Ground: Aerial Way (Currently known as the RM Stadium)
Capacity: 4,000 (270 seated)
Address: Aerial Way, Hucknall, Nottingham NG15 6DW
Distance: 28.3 Miles
Last Season:
The Yellows finished fourth in the United Counties League Division One, 13 points behind winners Aylestone Park, who took the one automatic promotion spot. The semi-final was a one-legged affair away to third placed Bourne Town. Former Nottingham Forest striker Craig Westcarr handed Town the advantage in the 21st minute but Melton Town loanee Zak Munton equalised for the hosts 13 minutes later. The match finished 1-1 and went straight to penalties with the Yellows triumphing 4-2 in front of 893 at Abbey Lawn.
The final was away to second placed Birstall United, in front of another bumper crowd, with 850 in attendance at Meadow Lane on a baking hot late April afternoon. Hucknall, once again, struck first as Kieran Knight scored in the 54th minute, only for Paul Pallett to draw the hosts level just two minutes later. It would be down to penalties again, with the Yellows repeating their spot kick dominance with a 5-3 win in the shootout.
Hucknall Town didn’t qualify for the FA Cup last season, as, after the recent pyramid restructure, very few step six sides make it in to the competition (there were just 11 last season, ranked on points per game from the previous season). They did, however, compete in the Vase, but it was a short entry, losing 3-0 away to Kimberley Miners Welfare in the first qualifying round. The League Cup also saw a 3-0 defeat at the first attempt, this time away to Sherwood Colliery, leaving just the Nottinghamshire Senior Cup. That competition saw another penalty shootout win as the Yellows defeated Eastwood 7-6 after a 3-3 draw in regulation time. The next round saw a 2-0 defeat at home to step three Basford United.
Westcarr was top scorer for the Yellows with 32 goals in 46 appearances. Knight was second with 18 in 45 and Joseph Ashurst also reached double figures with 11 in 39. Hucknall had the highest average attendance in division one last season with 273. Their lowest attendance was 160, with a high of 806 watching their final league match at their historic home of Watnall Road, when they lost 2-0 to Aylestone Park.
History:
Hucknall Town were renamed from Hucknall Colliery Welfare in 1987 and for the next two seasons finished first in the Notts Alliance. They moved into the Central Midlands League where they finished first in both 1989–90 and 1990–91 and runners up in 1991–92 to Lincoln United. The league cup was also won in all three seasons with the losing finalists being the now defunct Crookes, Nottingham neighbours Arnold Town and Nettleham.
Hucknall Town were promoted to the Northern Counties East League Division One and then to the Premier Division, where they struggled, until 1996–97, when they recovered from a poor start to finish sixth. However, the League Cup and President's Cup made their way to Watnall Road with Hucknall beating Pontefract Colleries and Belper Town in the respective finals. It was the second time they had won the League Cup, having beaten Thackley in 1994.
In 1997–98, they won the Northern Counties East League and retained the league cup with North Ferriby United finishing second in both competitions. The following season came as a major surprise as Hucknall finished second in the Division One, behind Droylsden. The title would have been won but for an early season points deduction.
From 1999 to 2004 they played in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, winning the championship in the 2003–04 season. However, as their Watnall Road ground did not meet the standards of the Football Conference they were refused promotion to the Conference National division and had to settle for a place in the new Conference North.
They were due to be relegated from the Conference North to the Northern Premier League Premier Division following the 2007–08 season. This would have been the first relegation from any league in the club's history. However, Halifax Town's financial woes meant that they were reprieved. The club were eventually relegated at the end of the 2008–09 season.
Relegation following the 2010–2011 season saw them drop into Division One South and further financial woes saw them relegated again in 2012–13, dropping three divisions to the Central Midlands League South Division.
In the 2014–15 season Hucknall Town finished 4th in the Central Midlands League and won the Central Midland League Cup, beating Clifton All Whites 3–0 at Alfreton Town's Impact Arena. Hucknall Town became Central Midlands League South divisional champions in the 2018–19 season. After losing to Hinckley AFC in the playoff semis last season, the Yellows won the playoffs at Birstall United this year.