Craghead United F.C. was an English association football club based in the village of Craghead, County Durham. The team initially competed in the Chester-le-Street & District Football League. They unsuccessfully applied to enter the Northern Football Alliance in 1908—receiving no votes from the member clubs—before joining the Northern League in 1912. They finished fifth in both their seasons in the division before leaving the league at the end of the 1913–14 season. Craghead United subsequently submitted another application to the Northern Alliance in 1920 and were accepted into the league along with Backworth United and Hexham Comrades, and the reserve teams of Ashington and Durham City.
Craghead United entered the FA Cup for the first time in the 1907–08 season, but were defeated in the preliminary round by Leadgate Park. The club enjoyed their best run in the Cup during the 1909–10 campaign, defeating Crook Town and Stanley United before losing to Seaham Harbour in the third qualifying round. Craghead United were knocked out in the second qualifying round on two occasions, but generally struggled to progress past the preliminary stage. During their last five seasons in the FA Cup between 1924 and 1929, the team failed to win a single match.
Despite being an amateur team, Craghead United were represented by several players who also played professional football. Walter Coates, who went on to play for Fulham and Leeds United, and Arthur Thomson, who had a spell at Manchester United, both spent some of their early careers at the club. Harry Pringle and Jack Small, who both went on to play in the Football League, both started their careers with Craghead United.
FA Cup history
| Season | Round | Date | Opponents | H/A | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1907–08 | Preliminary round | 21 September 1907 | Leadgate Park | Away | 1–2 |
| 1908–09 | First qualifying round | 3 October 1908 | Annfield Plain | Away | 4–1 |
| Second qualifying round | 17 October 1908 | Leadgate Park | Away | 2–3 | |
| 1909–10 | Preliminary round | 18 September 1909 | Sunderland West End | Home | 4–2 |
| First qualifying round | 2 October 1909 | Crook Town | Home | 3–2 | |
| Second qualifying round | 16 October 1909 | Stanley United | Away | 1–0 | |
| Third qualifying round | 6 November 1909 | Seaham Harbour | Away | 1–5 | |
| 1910–11 | Preliminary round | 17 September 1910 | Spennymoor United | Away | 0–0 |
| 21 September 1910 | Spennymoor United | Home | 1–2 | ||
| 1911–12 | Extra preliminary round | 9 September 1911 | Grangetown | Away | 7–1 |
| Preliminary round | 16 September 1911 | Haswell | Away | 0–1 | |
| 1912–13 | Preliminary round | 28 September 1913 | Sunderland Rovers | Away | 1–1 |
| 2 October 1911 | Sunderland Rovers | Home | 2–3 | ||
| 1913–14 | Preliminary round | 27 September 1913 | Leadgate Park | Away | 2–1 |
| First qualifying round | 11 October 1913 | Langley Park | Home | 2–1 | |
| Second qualifying round | 1 November 1913 | Horden Athletic | Home | 0–0 | |
| 5 November 1913 | Horden Athletic | Away | 0–4 | ||
| 1914–15 | Preliminary round | 26 September 1914 | Dipton United | Home | 2–1 |
| First qualifying round | 10 October 1914 | Birtley | Away | 2–3 | |
| 1919–20 | Preliminary round | 27 September 1908 | Boldon Colliery | Away | 0–1 |
| 1920–21 | Extra preliminary round | 11 September 1920 | Wingate Albion Comrades | Home | 0–0 |
| 15 September 1920 | Wingate Albion Comrades | Away | 4–0 | ||
| Preliminary round | 25 September 1920 | Birtley | Away | 0–1 | |
| 1921–22 | Preliminary round | 24 September 1921 | Wingate Albion Comrades | Home | 1–0 |
| First qualifying round | 8 October 1921 | Esh Winning | Home | 1–2 | |
| 1922–23 | Extra preliminary round | 9 September 1922 | Consett Swifts | Home | 2–1 |
| Preliminary round | 23 September 1922 | Horden Athletic | Away | 1–2 | |
| 1923–24 | Preliminary round | 22 September 1923 | Annfield Plain | Home | 3–0 |
| First qualifying round | 6 October 1923 | Birtley | Away | 1–1 | |
| 10 October 1923 | Birtley | Home | 4–0 | ||
| Second qualifying round | 20 October 1923 | Leadgate Park | Away | 1–3 | |
| 1924–25 | Preliminary round | 20 September 1924 | Crook Town | Away | 1–1 |
| 24 September 1924 | Crook Town | Home | 0–2 | ||
| 1925–26 | Preliminary round | 19 September 1925 | Horden Athletic | Home | 2–2 |
| 23 September 1925 | Horden Athletic | Away | 0–4 | ||
| 1926–27 | Extra preliminary round | 4 September 1926 | Thornley Albion | Home | 0–0 |
| 8 September 1926 | Thornley Albion | Away | 1–2 | ||
| 1927–28 | Extra preliminary round | 3 September 1927 | Chopwell Institute | Away | 3–4 |
| 1928–29 | Extra preliminary round | 1 September 1928 | Ferryhill Athletic | Home | 4–4 |
| 5 September 1928 | Ferryhill Athletic | Away | 3–4 |
References
- Craghead United at the Football Club History Database
- History of the Northern Football Alliance at donmouth.co.uk
- The FA Cup results archive at thefa.com