History 3
History 3 of 4

3. History 3


Present Day
After finishing runners-up to champions Royton Town in the 2003/04 season, the 2004/05 season saw Heys finally take the major prize of their first Manchester League Premier Division title. They followed this up by retaining their crown the following season with a 2-0 victory in their penultimate game of the season at Hindsford.

In 2006/07, Heys made it a hat-trick or Premier Division titles and also lifted the Goldline Trophy after defeating Charnock Richard on penalties at the Reebok Stadium.

However, on the Eve of the 2007-08 season tragedy struck when Moran died whilst on holiday in Sri Lanka at the age of 43. It stunned the football community and left Heys reeling.

Indeed, the following four years were marked by decline and successive relegation battles before, in 2011, Heys turned to former player Jon Lyons, who had played under Moran to resurrect their fortunes. Bottom of the table they collected 25 points from the last fifteen games to again stave off relegation.

Heys have since made steady progress re-establishing themselves amongst the area’s leading clubs culminating in 2016-17's glorious record breaking season which sees Lyons lead his team back into the Hallmark Security League.

At a club with an illustrious history the clubhouse at Adie Moran Park is adorned with the names and faces of legends of Heys past.
However, the class of 2016 now sit proudly alongside those greats after delivering the most successful season in the club’s history.

A first team treble and Reserve team double brought five trophies to the club, capped by achieving the long held dream of a return to the North West Counties League after a 30-year absence.

After the disappointment of missing out in 2015, Heys took that knock on the chin and redoubled their efforts on and of the pitch.

Although goals were set, promotion as Champions the chief one, no one could have dared to believe that things would turn out as they did.

Heys won the Manchester League Premier Division by 13 points. More glory followed. The Bolton Hospital Cup was secured with a 1-0 at the Macron Stadium over Atherton Collieries.

Then, despite a weary performance, the League and Cup double was secured with a 1-0 win over Manchester Gregorians in the Gilgryst Cup Final.

It was an example of the resolve that ran though the squad throughout the season. For all the plaudits for their football, they scored 91 goals in the League, Heys had an underlying grit. They conceded only 29 goals in 30 league games and kept a club record for consecutive clean sheets when their goal was not breached in their last seven matches.

So the 2016-17 season saw Heys take their place in the North West Counties League for the first time in 30 years. For a long time it looked as if promotion was possible but a crippling fixture list and mounting injuries saw Jon Lyons side ultimately finish eighth.

However, more silverware was to arrive at the club as the Reserves won the Manchester League 1st Division title. Winning the League by six points this was quite an achievement playing against the 1st teams of other clubs. Promotion also followed to the Premier Divsion - won by the 1st team but two years ago.