1st Surrey Rifles F.C.

Former association football club in England August 2019 1st Surrey Rifles File:West Surrey Rifles regimental badge.jpg 1st Surrey Rifles regimental badge, as sometimes found on the club's shirts First Surrey Rifles Football Club the Rifles,Forest School 1-0 First Surrey Rifles The Sportsman 23 October 1872 3 the Riflemenreport The Referee 11 November 1877 6 1869 1887 Flodden Road, Camberwell 1870–75 _yellowshoulders 0b176d 0b176d 0b176d 0b176d 1875–76, 1884–87 _redhalf2 FF0000 000000 000000 FFFFFF 000000 1st Surrey Rifles F.C. was an amateur football club from Camberwell, open to members of the corps, who featured in the early years of the FA Cup from 1872 to 1878 and from 1885 to 1887.1STSURRR 1st Surrey Rifles History The club claimed a foundation date of 1869, and was open to all members of the corps, unlike the officer-only Royal Engineers.Alcock Charles Football Annual 1871 Virtue London 58 Its first reported match played against external opposition was a 1–0 victory against the Lausanne club at the latter's Rosemary Branch ground in 1871.report Sportsman 30 March 1871 3 At least five of the Lausanne players (Davenport, Foster, Dümmler, Dearle, and F. Maynard)Lausanne v 1st Surrey Rifles Sportsman 7 March 1872 3 were also members of the regiment, and from 1872 played for the Riflemen as the Lausanne association side disbanded. The club's first Cup tie, in 1872–73, resulted in a 2–0 win over Upton Park, in poor weather, the second goal coming near the close of play.report Sportsman 29 October 1872 3 It lost 3–0 in the second round away at Maidenhead, all three goals coming in the second half; it was the Rifles' first-ever defeat.Maidenhead v 1st Surrey Rifles Maidenhead Advertiser 27 November 1872 2 The club did not win again in the competition until 1877–78, with a home win over Forest School. The only goal came after "Allport, calling on his men for a sort of infantry charge, went bodily through the ranks of his enemies, and Kirkpatrick, taking advantage of an opportunity that presented itself, made a splendid long kick, and although Littlewood tried hard to turn aside the ball with his hand, it bounded off and went under the tape." R. L. Allport, the club captain, had started the game in goal, but soon swapped out.report The Referee 11 November 1877 6 The club's second-round defeat to the Old Harrovians was its last in the competition for seven years, as the club went into abeyance; both Allport and John Maynard played in the club's first and last matches in the Cup. It was revived in 1884, and entered the national competition again in 1885–86. The 12–0 home defeat in the first round to Clapham Rovers (eight coming before half-time),1st Surrey Rifles v Clapham Rovers Sporting Life 2 November 1885 4 and the 9–0 defeat in the first round the following year at home to Upton Park, demonstrated that the game had passed the club by; to add insult to injury, one of the Upton Park goals was scored by goalkeeper Evans, who had swapped with forward Inglis after the latter was injured.1st Surrey Rifles v Upton Park Field 30 October 1886 645 Although the club remained a member of the Football Association until 1887,Alcock Charles Football Annual 1887 Cricket Press London 139 it never played competitively again. thumb|First Surrey Rifles football club, 1885–86 Colours The club's colours, according to the Charles Alcock annuals, were as follows: 1870–75: scarlet cap, blue jersey (with a gold bugle specified from 1872) 1875–76: red and black 1876–78: red and black cap, white shirt, white knickers, red and black stockings 1884–87: red and blackPhotographic evidence suggests that this was in halves. Ground The club originally played home games at its barracks in Brunswick Road, Camberwell.Alcock Charles Football Annual 1872 Virtue London 61 By 1877, the club was playing at Flodden Road.report The Referee 11 November 1877 6Alcock Charles Football Annual 1886 Cricket Press London 189 Notable players W. J. (John) Maynard, who played in the first-ever official football international and earned two caps while with the Riflemen.John Maynard http://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamPlyrsBios/PlayersM/BioMaynardWJ.html England Players Online 22 July 2022 References Category:Association football clubs established in 1869 Surrey Rifles Category:Defunct football clubs in London Category:Defunct football clubs in Surrey Category:Association football clubs disestablished in 1887