Match Preview

Preview courtesy of Adrian Lynn

The Fenmen face lower league opposition when they entertain Whitton United in the FA Vase second preliminary round at Fountain Fresh Park on Saturday.
Whitton, a suburb of Ipswich in Suffolk, are struggling in the Thurlow Nunn Eastern Counties League Division One North (Step 6).
They are currently 18th having won two and drawn one of their 12 league fixtures. They lost 5-0 at leaders Holland FC last Saturday but produced arguably their best performance of the season on Tuesday, going down by the only goal at high-scoring Stanway Pegasus. One of their victories was a 2-1 success against Whittlesey Athletic on August 20.
Whitton, nicknamed The Greens, received a bye in the FA Vase first preliminary round. Last season they lost on penalties to Newbury Forest in the first preliminary round after the match finished 1-1.

Club History
Although a Whitton United existed in the late 19th century, the modern club was established in 1926 and initially played on a pitch behind the Whitton Crown pub. They won the Suffolk Minor Cup in their first season. After two seasons they moved to another ground behind the Whitton Maypole pub, and later to the King George V playing fields which remains their home.
In 1948 Whitton faced Lowestoft Town in the Suffolk Senior Cup Final at Portman Road, when over 8,000 fans saw them lose 3-1.
Whitton had to wait a further 11 years before they reached the final again and they lifted the trophy in consecutive years, 1959 and 1960. In 1992 the club’s last Senior Cup Final resulted in a 2-0 win against Long Melford.
The Greens had a bad spell in the 1970s both on and off the pitch, eventually being relegated to the Division Two of the Ipswich District League.
But better times returned and Whitton regained their senior status in 1991. The club won the Suffolk and Ipswich League championship in 1993 and again in 1995. They joined the Eastern Counties League in the 1995/96 season, finishing sixth in their first season and third in 2002.
With the loss of many players at the start of the 2005/06 season a rebuilding programme was put in place. They gained promotion to the Premier Division in 2007/08.. However, in January 2009 the club said they would be unable to fulfil their first team fixtures and would be withdrawing from the league. They rejoined in Division One the following season and in 2010/11 finished second, but were not promoted due to ground grading issues.
In 2013/14 they were promoted to the Premier Division after winning the Division One title, but were relegated after finishing bottom in 2015/16 and have remained in Division One since then.