For many years, Hull City have enjoyed the headlines and plaudits as far as football goes in East Yorkshire.
As the only professional team in the East Riding, the Tigers command a large amount of local support and, aided by some impressive recent results, are currently going about the task of securing their place at the top table of English football.
However, Hull aren’t the only team enjoying a renaissance in the east of God’s Own County. Just down the A63, at the recently renamed Eon Visual Media Stadium, North Ferriby United are occupying the number one spot in the Conference North and identifying themselves as serious promotion contenders.
Formed in 1934, the club have been a mainstay of the local amateur sport scene and, as well as entertaining fans on a Saturday afternoon, hold an important role in the community, including a well-established junior set-up that provides children and young people with the opportunity to play football and develop under-qualified coaches.
A colourful history on the pitch included reaching the final of the FA Vase in 1997, where they played Whitby Town at Wembley and although the game ended in a 3-0 defeat it put the area on the map.
Overshadowing the trophy final in the history books was the 2012/13 season which was arguably the club’s most successful, completing the Northern Premier League and Cup double as well as winning the East Riding Senior Cup.
Winning the league title saw Ferriby promoted to the Conference North and was testament to the hard work and commitment of long-serving chairman Les Hare and manager Billy Heath and his squad, who led the table from early October to the end of the season, equalled a long-standing Premier Division record of winning 16 away games and became only the third team to retain the League Cup and the fifth to complete the NPL Title and Cup double.
The summer saw the club make a couple of important signings, the most influential being that of former Chester FC striker Nathan Jarman who has bagged 12 goals for The Villagers so far this campaign.
North Ferriby have won 15 matches, drawn four and lost only five times in their 24 games, and went joint top of the league just before Christmas following a 2-1 win over former Football League side Stockport County.
The club’s promotion ambitions recently received further impetus when local businessman Steve Forster and his wife Eman, daughter of Hull City owner Assem Allam, completed a takeover.
Forster, owner of Eon Visual Media, has been involved with Ferriby for 15 years and declared his intention to back the club in their quest to secure back-to-back promotions and leave no stone unturned in increasing revenue.
The club have built the necessary infrastructure to move forward, including developing their squad, sponsorship and community links, and now have the financial stability in place to take them to the next level.
With half the season played, Billy Heath’s side are showing no signs of slowing down and have proven they will not be intimidated in a division that hosts a number of former Football League sides. They have also shown they are a match for opposition from the Conference, thrashing Lincoln City 4-0 to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Trophy.
The sky really is the limit for The Villagers and with the key ingredient now in place the time may have finally arrived for North Ferriby United to fulfill the dreams of their fans and become a Football League team.
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