PORTLAND UNITED FC
“The Blues”
Portland United Football Club History
The Blues, as they are more popularly known, were formed in 1921. From 1921 to 1939 they were a very successful amateur club. They won the Dorset Senior Cup four times, were Western League Division Two Champions twice and won the Dorset Amateur Cup three times. They had great success in winning the A"Court Shield on four occasions and the Hospital Cup three times.
Portland United Reserves had their own success, being champions of the Dorset League on four occasions.
During the 1920's and 1930's The Blues regularly played in front of crowds of two and three thousand and were virtually unbeatable at Grove Corner, and anywhere else for that matter.
After the second World War, they became a semi-professional club and joined the Western League. Success continued, winning the Dorset Senior Cup on another six occasions..
The attendance record at Grove Corner was set on January 27th, 1949 when 4,127 saw The Blues defeat Weymouth 4-1 in a Western League Division One match.
The most successful season in the club's history was in 1965-66 when they finished runner's-up in the Western League Division One and progressed to the 4th qualifying round of the FA Cup when on Saturday 16th October they held those famous cup giant-killers, Yeovil Town, to a 1-1 draw at Grove Corner in front of a crowd of 3,069. They went down bravely 3-1 at Huish the following Wednesday in front of a 6,005 crowd.
At the end of the 1969-70 season The Blues sadly withdrew from the Western League to join the Dorset Combination League the following season, winning the Combination League at the first attempt in 1970-71. In the following few years appearing in the Dorset Senior Cup and on three occasions the final of the Combination League Cup.
The 1993-94 season marked a watershed in the history of Portland United Football Club, for it was to be the last season that The Blues were to play on their infamous sloping pitch at Grove Corner. The Crown required the ground for mineral extraction, and so The Blues were provided with a new ground a couple of hundred yards along Grove Road. The old ground was formally closed on 9th May with a celebratory game against their old rivals Weymouth F.C. in front of a crowd in excess of 500, with The Blues taking possession of their new ground in June 1994.
The 1997-98 season saw The Blues finish second in the Dorset Combination League and and win the Combination Cup for the first time. It was also the second year running that Portland United were awarded the Trevor Williams Fair Play Trophy.
1998-99 and The Blues went one better, achieving the double, winning the Dorset Combination League and the Combination Cup at Swanage by 3 goals to 0 against Parley Sports.
Season 1999-2000 was another landmark in the club's history, marking the introduction of floodlights. On the pitch The Blues continued where they left off last season, again achieving the double, winning the Dorset Combination League and the Combination Cup at Day's Park, Swanage and this time defeating Gillingham Town in a thrilling final, 4-3 after extra time!
Season 2000-2001 saw The Blues lose only one match in the League, score over 100 goals, but having to be content with second place behind Hamworthy United, going out of the Combination Cup in the semi-finals to Hamworthy United at the County Ground.
2001-2002 saw The Blues promoted from the Dorset Combination League to the Wessex Jewson League, and in their first season finish a very respecatable 14th place. It also saw us reach the 2nd round proper of the FA Vase, losing to Moneyfields 2-1 after extra time. The Blues also finished the season heading the attendance chart with an average gate of 160.
2002-2003 and 2003-2004 saw the blues finish 8th and 15th respectively. In latter years the Blues have been strengthened by the introduction of a Youth set up which has almost 200 children registered, some of which have already made their debut for the reserve team. In the summer of 2003, Portland Youth were awarded thr F.A.Charter Standard Award.
At the end of season 2005/2006 Portland United reluctantly withdrew from the Sydenhams Wessex League and successfully applied for entry into the Dorset Premier League.
Season 2006/2007 saw Portland Utd finish third in the Dorset Premier League and runners-up in the League Cup, whilst the Reserves won the inaugural Dorset Reserve League