Ashes FC History
Ashes FC started life in January 2000 as a group of lads who worked at Rolls Royce on the Vulcan site kicking a ball around to keep fit.
As more and more players turned up for the weekly kick around an idea was mooted for them to join the local seven a side league starting in September of that year. Ian Nicol (current manager) approached the Weigh Inn hotel to see if they would provide strips as a form of sponsorship and the Ashes Sports Bar FC were born.
The 2000/2001 campaign kicked off and the first few games were a lesson to Ashes as they struggled to find the pace of the sevens league. Defeat followed defeat until the lads played Keiss and recorded a 5-2 victory. This started an unbeaten run of 14 league matches that saw them finish second in the league and losing cup finalists after a penalty shoot out. Not bad for a first season.
Changes were made for the 2001/2002 season as the Sevens league applied for and received affiliation to the SAFA. A name change from Ashes Sports bar to Ashes FC was made. Ashes FC were properly constituted as a football team in July 2001 with Paul Curwen taking the chair. The first committee members that year were Paul Curwen, chairman, Jo Fisher, vice chairperson, David Stockan, treasurer, Ian Nicol, secretary/player manager. Training was stepped up as the club looked forward to the new season. No one could ever have foreseen the season Ashes was to have. They went through the entire league campaign undefeated winning 14 and drawing 4 as they finished champions in only their second season. The season culminated in Ashes taking part in a televised challenge match which was shown on a BBC Scotland programme about Thurso. Ashes ran out comfortable winners beating Sharks 7-1 to win the RMC challenge trophy.
In 2002 as Ashes FC grew they decided to apply for membership to the Caithness Amateur Football Association to play in the 11 a side summer league and were accepted. Further sponsorship was received when RWE Nukem supplied another set of strips. New players were brought in to bolster the squad and Ashes started their first league campaign. Once again Ashes struggled to adapt to the pace of 11-a-sides and lost 2 and drew 2 of their first 4 matches. A win was just around the corner though and once again Ashes went on an unbeaten run that saw them miss out on promotion by just 2 points.
The 2002/2003 seven-a-side season was a disappointment with Ashes finishing only third but they did however win a trophy, the Atlanta Sports shield.
For the 2003 league campaign Ashes once again strengthened their squad with a new goalkeeper (Graham Brown), midfielder (Paul Malone) and centre forward (Dougie MacKay). The new faces brought in were to prove decisive as Ashes went on to finish second and gain promotion to the first division in only their second season. There was however to be some disappointment with Ashes losing the final of the Steven cup and the semi final of the David Allan Shield. The Weigh Inn once again dug deep and kitted the team out with new strips care of their sister company Scotscoup the Bookies.
2003/2004 sevens season ended with Ashes being relegated after losing a play off match against Lybster. Injuries to key players and work commitments meant they were fielding sometimes only 6 players.
Further sponsorship has been received with the Weigh Inn supplying the team with training tops, a must have for the Caithness weather and Scrabster Seafoods supplying new water bottles and match footballs.
For season 2004 Ashes signed a number of younger players to augment the squad including Marc Keith, Daniel Mackay and Alan Rutherford, and after losing the first three games heavily, Ashes went on to record a run of 5 straight matches. However, a run of injuries and players failing to turn up meant that Ashes had to field a weakened team for the most of the remaining matches, and as a result only managed one further point from the last few games. However, the sixteen points gained were enough to secure Ashes place in the First Division for next season, finishing fifth equal in the table.
The 2004/05 sevens season saw Ashes regain their position in the top flight, finishing in second place missing out on the title by a single point to a vastly improved Sharks side. Two of Ashes' Orkney contingent Ian Brown and David Stockan finished equal top scorers this season on eleven goals apiece with Dougie Mackay a close third on ten.
2000/2001
Caithness Amateur Sevens Football League (CASFL) - Second place
Runners up in the cup
2001/2002
CASFL - Champions
Runners up in the cup
RMC Challenge Trophy - Winners
2002
Caithness Amateur Football Association (CAFA) Division 2 - Third place
2002/2003
CASFL - Third place
Atlanta Sports Shop Trophy - Winners
2003
CAFA Second Division – Second place and promotion to division 1
Thurso challenge cup – Winners of the Mieklejohn Trophy
2003/2004
CASFL First Division – Seventh place (relegated after play off)
2004
CAFA First Division - 5th equal
2004/2005
CASFL Second Division - Second place (promoted to 1st Division)