Morpeth Harriers F.C.

The club was declared the co-winner of the Northumberland Senior Cup in 1885-86 in unique circumstances. Drawn against Shankhouse Black Watch in the semi-final, the two clubs played out three 1-1 draws,[4] the first two ties both seeing Morpeth equalize with seven minutes to go.[5]

It looked as if Shankhouse had won through at the fourth time of asking, with a late winner in the third replay, but Morpeth protested on the basis that the goal had been scored after its players heard a whistle and stopped playing, giving Shankhouse a simple goal. The whistle came from someone in the crowd. On appeal, the Football Association ruled that there had been crowd interference with the match, and scrubbed off the goal.[6]

Therefore, the teams had to play for a fifth time, under orders to continue until the match finished. However, after three half-an-hour periods of extra-time, the game remained goalless, and it was too dark to continue.[7]

Instead of playing a sixth game, the clubs drew lots to see who would play West End in the final, and Shankhouse drew the winning lot.[8] However this was not to work out who won the semi-final, but to work out who would represent both clubs in the final. Shankhouse duly won 3-2, and, as a result, both Shankhouse and the Harriers were declared to be the co-holders of the Cup.[9] It was the Harriers' only triumph in the competition, and they had the distinction of winning a knockout cup without ever playing a final.

The club entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1887-88. In the first round, despite weather that was "wretched in the extreme", nearly 4,000 attended the club's tie at Sunderland.[10] The Harriers lost 4-2, but, as Ford of Sunderland had not been registered in time for the competition, the FA ordered a replay at Morpeth's ground. The Harriers were two-nil up inside half-an-hour, but Sunderland, who had been unbeaten all season, came back to win 3-2.[11]

Qualifying rounds were introduced the following season, and Morpeth lost to Birtley F.C. in the second qualifying round in 1888-89. This time Morpeth were the victims of a protest,[12] having won the original tie 3-1, and lost the second attempt 1-0 after injury reduced them to 10 men for eighty minutes.[13]

The club entered the Cup for the following two seasons, both times losing in the first qualifying round to the Whitburn club of Sunderland.

The north-east football landscape was transformed by the legalization of professionalism; Sunderland A.F.C. had rich backers and the two leading Newcastle clubs merged to form Newcastle United, and both joined national leagues, which enabled them to earn the income to pay for their players. The Harriers, like many north-east clubs, lacked such resources, and turned to local football to generate income.

In 1890-91, the club was a founder member of the North-Eastern League, but the League was plagued with financial difficulties and organizational problems. Each club should have played 18 matches, but, by April, no team had played more than 15, and the competition seems to have petered out - disastrously for the Harriers, as, with 19 points from 13 games, the club was top.[14] By May, the media were seeking information as to what was happening, in vain.[15]

Consequently, with only a precarious income, the club ceased operations in 1891.

The club played in black shirts with a yellow hoop.[16]