Rushen United are one of the more successful teams on the Isle of Man having won the Manx top division on ten occasions and the Manx Cup on nine separate occasions. They currently play at Croit Lowey, situated in the village of Port Erin. The club’s motto is Moryn Vannin, which in Manx roughly translates as “The Pride of Mann“.
The club was founded on the 21st September 1910 following a civic meeting in the local church hall, and joined the island league that year. Their first ever league game came that year against Douglas Athletic, where they suffered a 1-2 defeat. Unfortunately initial attempts to establish a football team in the village floundered as they were expelled from the Railway and Manx Cups that season, and would not re-enter the league until after the First World War.
When they returned to competition in the 1919-20 season, it would be the start of a hugely successful period for “The Spaniards”. Two years after their return, they would win their first piece of silverware by overcoming a 0-2 deficit at half time to beat St Georges 3-2 and claiming the 1921-22 Railway Cup trophy. Rushen would successfully retain their Railway Cup the following season by defeating Castletown 4-1 in the 1923 final, before they claimed their maiden Manx Cup in the 1923-24 campaign through a 1-0 victory over Wanderers at Ramsey. This would be the first of three consecutive Manx Cup triumphs over the next three seasons.
The highlight of this interwar period would be the 1925-26 season when Rushen would achieve a historic treble-winning season. They would claim their third Manx Cup in a row, beating St Mary’s 2-1 with Rob Crellin grabbing a brace, whilst they achieved their first Hospital Cup victory.
A 6-0 defeat of Ramsey in the final was the glorious crescendo of an impressive cup campaign that saw the Spaniards not concede a goal throughout the entire tournament. However the highlight of the season was their inaugural league championship, which resulted in the team being defensively solid throughout the season and conceding only nine goals, whilst keeping fifteen clean sheets, to ensure they would win the Division One title by two points.
Rushen would win their second Hospital Cup in 1928 when goals from the Corris brothers, Wilf and Fred, ensured a 2-0 conquest over Wanderers. However shenanigans in 1929 Manx Cup final resulted in the Corris brothers, along with nine other players, being given substantial suspensions, and the club being thrown out of the league. It came about during the cup replay against St Georges when Wilf Corris swore at the referee and was sent off (no messing from the officials in those days!). In response to the dismissal, Rushen captain John Cooil ordered the team off the pitch in protest of the decision, which brought the wrath of the Manx FA upon them.
Their exile would be short spell as they would re-enter the league the following season, and it would not be long before the trophies appeared once again. Their first trophy of the 1930’s came when they beat Ramsey, after a replay, in the 1931 Hospital Cup. This would be followed up by winning their fourth Manx FA Cup in the 1933-34 campaign, beating Ramsey by the single Jack Curphey goal on the 70th minute. They would also claim an additional Hospital Cup the following season by beating fierce rivals Peel 3-1 (their fourth Hospital Cup in their history up to that point).
The triumph of 1930’s for Rushen United came in the 1935-36 campaign when they managed to claim their second league championship, having stayed undefeated all season and conceding just eight goals (one better than their first league championship). They would also complete an impressive double-winning season when they claimed the Manx Cup once again, beating rivals Peel in front of 3000 people to make the victory sweeter. The sole decider in the game coming from Wilf Corris – this time holding his tongue long enough to bring the cup back to Port Erin.
Sadly towards to end of the decade, success would start to fade for Rushen. Even though they reached two additional Manx Cup finals following their league championship, they would lose on both occasions to Peel. In addition, a lot of Rushen’s better players had moved to Castletown, with the club in serious financial debt. It would not be until after the Second World War when Rushen would be financially stable enough to win their next piece of silverware.
Post-WW2, the Spaniards initially struggled in the league campaigns, but they did managed to win the 1947-48 Railway Cup final, beating St Georges 3-0 with goals from Jack Oates, Billy Corris and Tommy Carine. An impressive achievement and a cup shock considering Rushen had not won a league game before the final was played on New Year’s Day!
Rushen had to wait until the start of the 1950’s to win another Manx Cup, by beating Bradden by two goals to one, in front of an attendance of 4000 people at the 1951 cup final. They would add another Hospital Cup that season also, by overcoming Castletown 2-1.
The majority of the 1950’s and 1960’s were a fairly barren time for Rushen as they would suffer only heartbreak and near misses. They would reach a vast number of cup finals, but would lose a considerable majority of them, often getting beaten by rivals Peel in the cup finals. Despite previous poor final results, Rushen would eventually claim two consecutive Railway Cups in 1963 and 1964.
However, Rushen suffered relegation to Division 2 in the 1954-55 season – the only time in their history they have experienced a demotion to the second tier of Manx football.
Nevertheless they returned back to Division 1 the following season, having finished runners-up to the Division 2 champions Laxey.
It was not until the mid-1970’s when Rushen re-emerged as one of the strongest sides on the Isle of Man, which started a second halcyon age for the club.
It would commence in the 1974-75 season when they completed a cup double by winning the Railway and Hospital Cups, beating Peel 5-1 and Pulrose United 2-0 respectively, to claim their first Railway and Hospital Cups in eleven years.
Rushen United would repeat the trick in the following season by successfully defending both trophies to achieve the cup ‘double-double’.
It would be the 1977-78 season which would be the breakthrough season for Rushen as they firstly won their seventh Manx Cup in their history, hammering Pulrose 7-1 and ending a wait of twenty-seven years since their previous Manx Cup victory.
They would also win the Railway Cup once again, beating Peel 1-0 to win two cups in one season again. However this important season would be a treble-winning season as the wait for their third league title was finally over!
After 42 years of waiting, the Isle of Man Division 1 title would be returning back to Port Erin, although it had been a very close run thing. With three teams all finishing the season with 30 points, Rushen would just take the title by having the superior goal average of the three teams. Certainly a dramatic finish considering the title winning goal came in the 84th minute of the final game of the season!
Despite Rushen clinching the title by the skin of their teeth, it started a period of domination for the Spaniards as they would claim four league titles in a row between 1978 and 1981 (you wait fourty-two years for a league title and four arrive at once)
The 1980’s would be Rushen’s decade as they would claim a further three Division 1 league titles, winning the 1984-85 and 1985-86 campaigns consecutively, as well as becoming the 1987-88 league champions. Whenever they failed to win the league between 1981 and 1988, Rushen would inevitably finish as runners-up, emphasising their dominance in Manx football. They would also win four Hospital Cups and four Railway Cups during the 80’s and would complete the decade with their eighth Manx Cup victory, beating St Georges 3-2 after a replay (drawing the first game 2-2).
Despite an encouraging start to the 1990’s due to winning the 1990 Manx Cup final, the success of the previous decade failed to materialise for Rushen. Ultimately they would only claim two trophies during the decade, with only the 1991-92 Cowell Cup (beating Douglas Royal 3-2 after a replay) and the 1992-93 Hospital Cup trophies arriving back at Croit Lowey.
However the dearth of trophies would not be through a lack of determination as they would reach a number of cup finals during the decade, but would unfortunately lose the lot. The 1998-99 season being a particularly tough season, with Rushen losing to rivals Peel in both the Manx and Railway Cup finals by the comprehensive scoreline of 0-3 on both occasions.
The new millennium resulted in new dawn for Rushen as they formed the Rushen United Ladies football team. In the 2000-01 season, a successful season saw Eleanor Gawne named as the Ladies’ Island Footballer of the Year, whilst the men’s side finally saw some success on the pitch. They would narrowly edge out Laxey to win the Hospital Cup 4-3 after extra time, with the scorers being Mark Haywood, Chris Kneen, Neil Curphey and Nicky Glover, ensuring much needed success returned to the Spaniards.
They would regain the trophy the following season, this time beating Marown 3-1, whilst the Rushen Ladies team would go from strength to strength by winning the Manx women’s league title and the HSBC Cup. Once again Eleanor Gawne was critical to her team’s ascendancy to the top, and would be selected as the Ladies’ Island Footballer of the Year for the second year running. It would be the ladies team who would be bringing in the majority of the trophies for Rushen in the first part of the 2000’s as they would win the Manx Ladies Cup on two occasions, the league title once again and the HSBC Cup between 2003 and 2007.
The 2000’s also saw a couple of milestones for the men’s side. Firstly in 2002, club stalwart Eric Nelson played his 1000th game in a home Division 1 fixture against Pulrose United, at the spritely age of 50, and was given a memento to mark the incredible landmark.
Then in 2005, the club played their highest profile game when they played in front of 3,300 people (and the Sky Sports cameras) at the National Sports Centre at Douglas against then English Premier League side Bolton Wanderers. The Bolton side included eight first-team players such as Kevin Davies (who scored four times in 28 mintes), Kevin Nolan and the late, great Gary Speed (who also scored). In the end, the Trotters won the game 10-0, but the result was unimportant for Rushen as it was organised to be a massive fund raiser for the club’s proposed new indoor facility. Overall the club managed to raise a total of £35,000 from the high profile match and a gala dinner.
Rushen United would have another purple patch of success between 2009 and 2011 when they managed to win three competitions in three years. Firstly in the 2008-09 season, the Spaniards claimed their sixteenth Railway Cup by beating Peel 1-0 through a Steve Riding goal.
Then in the 2009-10 season, they would return to the apex of Manx football by winning their tenth top flight league title when they lifted the Premier League trophy – their first league title in 22 years! Finally in the 2010-11 season, they were able earn their ninth Manx Cup of their illustrious history, ending a 21 year wait since their previous Manx Cup triumph in 1990.
After a few uneventful years in the Isle of Man Premier League, where St Georges have been the dominant team on the island, last season was Rushen’s best league finish since they last won the league in 2010 when they finished in third position on the table.
Even though they would make an early exit in the Manx Cup, they would provide better performances in the other senior cup competitions by reaching the semi-finals of both the Hospital Cup and Railway Cup.
Locally, the club’s biggest game each year is against Peel. The rivalry is believed to have begun as many of Peel’s players were fishermen. Whilst Port Erin and nearby Port St Mary both had teams prior to the formation of Rushen United, many of the players in these teams also went to sea. Also, both clubs are overlooked by “Towers”.
Peel have Corrins Folly and Rushen have Milners Tower, which stands sentry to Port Erin Bay.
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