Cheshire Senior Cup

Cheshire Senior Cup
Organising body	Cheshire FA
Founded	1879; 146 years ago
Region	Cheshire
Number of teams	27 (2023–24)
Current champions	Hyde United; (7th title)
Most successful club(s)	Macclesfield Town; (21 titles)
Website	Cheshire FA

The Cheshire County Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Cheshire Senior Cup, is a football knockout tournament founded in the 1879–80 season and involves teams from Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside, England. It is the County Cup competition of the Cheshire FA and currently involves teams from the Football League and non-league clubs. However, while non-league clubs often field their first team in the competition, professional clubs often field their reserve teams. The inaugural winners of the cup were Northwich Victoria in 1880 and the record winners of the trophy are Macclesfield Town.

Inaugural season (1879–80)

There were just six clubs who participated in the first season of the Cheshire Senior Cup. The draw for the first round was made on 3 February 1880, with the ties played on 14 February 1880.^[1]

First round	Birkenhead	Awarded	Macclesfield
		Report

First round	Hurdsfield	1–8	Hartford St John's
		Report

First round	Northwich Victoria	3–0	Crewe Alexandra
		Report

Semi-finals	Northwich Victoria	3–1	Birkenhead
		Report

Semi-finals	Hartford St John's	Bye
		Report

Final	Hartford St John's	0–2	Northwich Victoria	Crewe
		Report		Stadium: Nantwich Road

The original Cheshire Football Association Challenge Cup, which was presented to Northwich Victoria in 1885 following their success in the competition for 6 consecutive seasons. The engraving says 'Presented to Northwich Victoria Football Club by the Cheshire Football Association 23 June 1885 As a mark of appreciation for their having won it six seasons in succession'.

Current participants (2023-24)

Team	Stadium	League
1874 Northwich	Townfield	NPL West
Alsager Town	Wood Park Stadium	NWCFL Division One South
Altrincham	Moss Lane	National League
Ashville	Villa Park	NWCFL Division One South
Barnton	Townfield	NWCFL Division One South
Cammell Laird 1907	Kirklands Stadium	NWCFL Division One South
Cheadle Heath Nomads	The Heath	NWCFL Division One South
Cheadle Town	Park Road	NWCFL Premier Division
Chester	Deva Stadium	National League North
Congleton Town	Cleric Stadium	MFL Premier Division
Crewe Alexandra	Alexandra Stadium	EFL League Two
Hyde United	Ewen Fields	NPL Premier Division
Macclesfield	Leasing.com Stadium	NPL Premier Division
Nantwich Town	Weaver Stadium	NPL West
Northwich Victoria	Wincham Park	MFL Premier Division
Runcorn Linnets	Millbank Linnets Stadium	NPL West
Runcorn Town	Pavilions Sports Complex	NWCFL Division One North
Sandbach United	Sandbach Football Centre	NWCFL Division One South
Stalybridge Celtic	Bower Fold	NPL West
Stockport County	Edgeley Park	EFL League Two
Stockport Georgians	Cromley Road	NWCFL Division One South
Stockport Town	Stockport Sports Village	NWCFL Division One South
Tranmere Rovers	Prenton Park	EFL League Two
Vauxhall Motors	Rivacre Park	NPL West
Warrington Town	Cantilever Park	National League North
Winsford United	Barton Stadium	NWCFL Division One South
Witton Albion	Wincham Park	NPL West

[1]

Finals

A full list of finals appears on the Silkmen Archives website. Results of Finals since the 1879–80 season are:

Key

	Match went to a replay
	Match went to extra time
	Match decided by a penalty shootout after extra time
	Shared trophy

Season	Winners	Result	Runner-up	Notes
1879–80	Northwich Victoria	2–0	Hartford St John's
1880–81	Northwich Victoria	1–1	Birkenhead	Awarded to Northwich Victoria after Birkenhead failed to appear for replay.
1881–82	Northwich Victoria	4–2	Witton Novelty
1882–83	Northwich Victoria	1–0	Crewe Alexandra
1883–84	Northwich Victoria	4–2	Crewe Alexandra
1884–85	Northwich Victoria	2–1	Davenham
1885–86	Davenham	2–1	Crewe Alexandra
1886–87	Crewe Alexandra	1–0	Davenham
1887–88	Crewe Alexandra	9–0	Chester
1888–89	Northwich Victoria	3–1	Crewe Alexandra
1889–90	Macclesfield	4–1	Nantwich
1890–91	Macclesfield	1–0	Crewe Hornets
1891–92	Crewe Alexandra	3–1	Northwich Victoria
1892–93	Crewe Alexandra	3–1	Chester	Replay. First match ended 0–0.
1893–94	Macclesfield	2–1	Chester	Replay. First match ended 1–1.
1894–95	Chester	2–1	Macclesfield
1895–96	Macclesfield	2–0	Crewe Alexandra
1896–97	Chester	2–1	Northwich Victoria	Replay. First match ended 1–1.
1897–98	New Brighton Tower	1–0	Nantwich
1898–99	Crewe Alexandra		New Brighton Tower	Awarded to Crewe Alexandra after New Brighton Tower failed to appear.
1899–00	Crewe Alexandra	1–0	New Brighton Tower	Replay. First match ended 1–1.
1900–01	Crewe Alexandra	4–1	Witton Albion
1901–02	Witton Albion	2–1	Sale Homfield
1902–03	Sale Homfield	2–1	Winsford United
1903–04	Chester	2–1	Nantwich	Replay. First ended 1–1.
1904–05	Altrincham	2–1	Chester
1905–06	Stockport County	2–1	Northwich Victoria
1906–07	Crewe Alexandra	2–0	Macclesfield Town
1907–08	Chester	4–2	Altrincham
1908–09	Chester	3–0	Northwich Victoria	Replay. First match ended 1–1.
1909–10	Crewe Alexandra	1–0	Macclesfield Town	Replay. First match ended 1–1.
1910–11	Macclesfield	1–0	Chester City
1911–12	Crewe Alexandra	4–2	Stalybridge Celtic	Replay. First match ended 1–1.
1912–13	Crewe Alexandra	3–1	Lostock Gralam
1913–14	Sandbach Ramblers	3–1	Nantwich Town
1914–15	Stockport County	1–0	Tranmere Rovers
1915–18	No competition due to World War I.
1918–19	Tranmere Rovers	5–1	Altrincham
1919–20	Critchtons Athletic	1–0	Crewe Alexandra
1920–21	Congleton Town	1–0	Winsford United
1921–22	Witton Albion	3–0	Barnton Victoria
1922–23	Crewe Alexandra	4–1	Altrincham
1923–24	New Brighton	1–0	Tranmere Rovers
1924–25	Runcorn	1–0	Crewe Alexandra
1925–26	Tranmere Rovers	3–1	Winsford United
1926–27	Tranmere Rovers	4–1	Winsford United
1927–28	Witton Albion	2–1	Congleton Town
1928–29	Northwich Victoria	2–0	Chester
1929–30	Macclesfield	5–4	Nantwich
1930–31	Chester	6–1	Crewe Alexandra
1931–32	Chester	1–0	Crewe Alexandra
1932–33	Nantwich	1–0	ICI Akali
1933–34	Altrincham	1–0	Congleton Town
1934–35	Macclesfield	5–2	Crewe Alexandra
1935–36	Runcorn	2–1	Macclesfield
1936–37	Northwich Victoria	2–0	Witton Albion
1937–38	Congleton Town	2–1	Crewe Alexandra
1938–39	Witton Albion	3–0	Stockport County
1939–45	No competition due to World War II.
1945–46	Hyde United	1–0	Witton Albion
1946–47	Stockport County	1–0	Hyde United
1947–48	Witton Albion	4–1	Northwich Victoria
1948–49	Stockport County	2–0	Winsford United
1949–50	Northwich Victoria	1–0	Macclesfield
1950–51	Macclesfield Town	3–2	Northwich Victoria
1951–52	Macclesfield Town	2–0	Witton Albion
1952–53	Stalybridge Celtic	2–1	Altrincham
1953–54	Macclesfield Town	1–0	Winsford United
1954–55	Northwich Victoria	3–0	Stalybridge Celtic
1955–56	Witton Albion	1–0	Altrincham
1956–57	Ellesmere Port Town	3–2	Hyde United
1957–58	Tranmere Rovers	6–2	Stockport County	On aggregate.
1958–59	Winsford United	1–0	Ellesmere Port Town
1959–60	Macclesfield Town	2–1	Hyde United
1960–61	Witton Albion	2–1	Hyde United
1961–62	Runcorn	2–1	Hyde United
1962–63	Hyde United	3–1	Runcorn
1963–64	Macclesfield Town	1–0	Northwich Victoria
1964–65	Runcorn	3–2	Tranmere Rovers
1965–66	Stockport County	2–0	Northwich Victoria
1966–67	Altrincham	3–2	Witton Albion	On aggregate.
1967–68	Runcorn	1–0	Crewe Alexandra	On aggregate.
1968–69	Macclesfield Town	3–1	Northwich Victoria	On aggregate.
1969–70	Hyde United	3–2	Altrincham
1970–71	Macclesfield Town	2–1	Northwich Victoria
1971–72	Northwich Victoria	3–1	Ellesmere Port Town
1972–73	Macclesfield Town	2–1	Winsford United
1973–74	Runcorn	1–0	Macclesfield Town
1974–75	Runcorn	3–2	Altrincham
1975–76	Nantwich Town	4–3	Runcorn
1976–77	Northwich Victoria	4–1	Macclesfield Town
1977–78	Witton Albion	1–0	Northwich Victoria
1978–79	Northwich Victoria	3–1	Runcorn
1979–80	Winsford United	4–1	Witton Albion
1980–81	Hyde United	4–3	Stalybridge Celtic
1981–82	Altrincham	1–0	Runcorn
1982–83	Macclesfield Town	2–1	Congleton Town
1983–84	Northwich Victoria	3–0	Runcorn
1984–85	Runcorn	2–0	Altrincham
1985–86	Runcorn	3–1	Northwich Victoria
1986–87	Runcorn	3–1	Altrincham
1987–88	Runcorn	2–1	Macclesfield Town
1988–89	Runcorn	3–1	Macclesfield Town
1989–90	Hyde United	1–0	Macclesfield Town
1990–91	Macclesfield Town	2–0	Witton Albion
1991–92	Macclesfield Town	2–0	Witton Albion
1992–93	Winsford United	3–0	Witton Albion
1993–94	Northwich Victoria	1–0	Runcorn
1994–95	Witton Albion	2–1	Altrincham
1995–96	Witton Albion	3–1	Hyde United
1996–97	Hyde United	3–0	Macclesfield Town
1997–98	Macclesfield Town	1–0	Runcorn
1998–99	Altrincham	1–0	Northwich Victoria
1999–00	Macclesfield Town	2–1	Altrincham
2000–01	Stalybridge Celtic	5–1	Stockport County
2001–02	Crewe Alexandra	4–1	Altrincham	After extra-time.
2002–03	Crewe Alexandra	2–1	Northwich Victoria
2003–04	Woodley Sports	2–1	Witton Albion	After extra-time.
2004–05	Altrincham	2–0	Crewe Alexandra
2005–06	Witton Albion	2–0	Stalybridge Celtic
2006–07	Cammell Laird	3–0	Northwich Victoria
2007–08	Nantwich Town	3–3	Altrincham	Nantwich Town won 5–3 on penalties.
2008–09	Altrincham	3–0	Nantwich Town
2009–10	Northwich Victoria	1–1	Woodley Sports	Northwich Victoria won 5–4 on penalties.
2010–11	Northwich Victoria	2–0	Altrincham
2011–12	Nantwich Town	1–0	Stalybridge Celtic
2012–13	Chester	2–1	Stalybridge Celtic
2013–14	Northwich Victoria	2–1	Tranmere Rovers reserves
2014–15	Macclesfield Town reserves	3–2	Northwich Victoria
2015–16	Stockport County	2–1	Tranmere Rovers reserves	After extra-time.
2016–17	Crewe Alexandra reserves	3–2	Nantwich Town
2017–18	Nantwich Town	3–0	Stockport Town
2018–19	Nantwich Town	5–2	Cammell Laird 1907
2019–20	Competition abandoned due to COVID-19 pandemic. Chester, Hyde United, Nantwich Town & Warrington Town in the semi-finals.
2020–21	Competition abandoned due to COVID-19 pandemic.
2021–22	Stockport County reserves	5–0	Vauxhall Motors
2022–23	Congleton Town	2–2	Altrincham	Congleton Town won 4–2 on penalties.
2023–24	Hyde United	2–2	Crewe Alexandra reserves	Hyde United won 5–2 on penalties.

Wins by teams

Teams shown in italics † are no longer in existence.^[2]

Club	Wins	First final won	Last final won	Runner-up	Last final lost	Total final apps.	Notes
Macclesfield Town †	21	1889–90	2014–15	11	1996–97	32	^[a]
Northwich Victoria	19	1879–80	2013–14	16	2014–15	35
Crewe Alexandra	15	1886–87	2016–17	14	2023–24	29	^[b]
Runcorn †	12	1924–25	1988–89	7	1997–98	19
Witton Albion	11	1901–02	2005–06	10	2003–04	21
Altrincham	7	1904–05	2008–09	15	2022–23	22
Chester City †	7	1894–95	1931–32	6	1928–29	13	^[c]
Hyde United	7	1945–46	2023–24	6	1995–96	13
Stockport County	7	1905–06	2021–22	3	2000–01	10	^[d]
Nantwich Town	6	1932–33	2018–19	7	2016–17	13	^[e]
Tranmere Rovers	4	1918–19	1957–58	5	2015–16	9
Winsford United	3	1958–59	1992–93	7	1972–73	10
Congleton Town	3	1920–21	2022–23	3	1982–83	6
Stalybridge Celtic	2	1952–53	2000–01	6	2012–13	8
Davenham †	1	1885–86	1885–86	2	1886–87	3	^[f]
Ellesmere Port Town	1	1956–57	1956–57	2	1971–72	3
New Brighton Tower †	1	1897–98	1897–98	2	1899–00	3	^[g]
Sale Homfield †	1	1902–03	1902–03	1	1901–02	2	^[h]
Woodley Sports †	1	2003–04	2003–04	1	2009–10	2	^[i]
Cammell Laird 1907	1	2006–07	2006–07	0	–	1	^[j]
Chester	1	2012–13	2012–13	0	–	1
Critchtons Athletic †	1	1919–20	1919–20	0	–	1	^[k]
Sandbach Ramblers †	1	1913–14	1913–14	0	–	1	^[l]

Win by cities or towns

City	County	Titles	Teams
Northwich	Cheshire	30	Northwich Victoria (19), Witton Albion (11)
Macclesfield	Cheshire	21	Macclesfield Town (21)
Crewe	Cheshire	15	Crewe Alexandra (15)
Runcorn	Cheshire	12	Runcorn (12)
Chester	Cheshire	8	Chester City (7), Chester (1)
Stockport	Greater Manchester	8	Stockport County (7), Woodley Sports (1)
Altrincham	Greater Manchester	7	Altrincham (7)
Hyde	Greater Manchester	7	Hyde United (7)
Nantwich	Cheshire	6	Nantwich Town (6)
Birkenhead	Merseyside	5	Tranmere Rovers (4), Cammell Laird 1907 (1)
Winsford	Cheshire	3	Winsford United (3)
Congleton	Cheshire	3	Congleton Town (3)
Stalybridge	Greater Manchester	2	Stalybridge Celtic (2)
New Brighton	Merseyside	2	New Brighton (1), New Brighton Tower (1)
Davenham	Cheshire	1	Davenham (1)
Ellesmere Port	Cheshire	1	Ellesmere Port Town (1)
Sale	Greater Manchester	1	Sale Homfield (1)
Liverpool	Merseyside	1	Critchtons Athletic (1)
Sandbach	Cheshire	1	Sandbach Ramblers (1)

Notes

^ Dissolved in 2020. Won 7 titles as Macclesfield and 1 as reserves.
^ Won 1 title as reserves.
^ Dissolved in 2010. Won 7 titles as Chester.
^ Won 1 title as reserves.
^ Won 1 title as Nantwich.
^ Dissolved in 1890.
^ Dissolved in 1901.
^ Dissolved.
^ Dissolved in 2015.
^ Won as Cammell Laird.
^ Dissolved in 1958.
^ Dissolved.

References

^ Clayton, Keith (2010). Cheshire Senior Cup, 1880 to 1915. Kenilworth: Clayton Family Press. ISBN 978-0-9564461-0-7. OCLC 751622759.
^ "Cheshire Senior Cup" (PDF). silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2023.

External links

Cheshire FA Page

[3] Dissolved in 2020. Won 7 titles as Macclesfield and 1 as reserves.

[4] Won 1 title as reserves.

[5] Dissolved in 2010. Won 7 titles as Chester.

[6] Won 1 title as reserves.

[7] Won 1 title as Nantwich.

[8] Dissolved in 1890.

[9] Dissolved in 1901.

[10] Dissolved.

[11] Dissolved in 2015.

[12] Won as Cammell Laird.

[13] Dissolved in 1958.

[14] Dissolved.

[1] Clayton, Keith (2010). Cheshire Senior Cup, 1880 to 1915. Kenilworth: Clayton Family Press. ISBN 978-0-9564461-0-7. OCLC 751622759.

[2] "Cheshire Senior Cup" (PDF). silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2023.

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