History & Honours
30 Sep 2011

Buckland Athletic 1^st team started senior football in the 1987-88 season, when they joined the Devon and Exeter League, starting in Senior Division Three, winning the league title in that first season.  Premier Division status was achieved when promoted in 1992, playing their home games at Homers Lane.  We won our first premier Division title in the 1994-95 season under managers Nigel Holmes and Roger Madge.  A second title followed in the 1999-2000 season, with Shaun Bartlett and Phil Bayliss in charge, with this the club earned promotion to the Devon League.  We only lost three games this season winning the title by 14 points scoring 108 whilst only conceding 16 in 18 league games a record to be proud of. Now in our first season in the Devon League Shaun stepped down at the start of the season and Phil was joined by Gary Taylor as his assistant, we had been knocked out of the Devon Premier Cup at the semi-final stage and we finished runners-up in the league. For the 2005-06 season we started life playing our games at our new permanent home, Homers Heath on the Kingskerswell Road.  The move went very well, and the ground was opened on Saturday 13^th July when an estimated 300 + people turned out to see Steve Perryman cut the ribbon to open the pitch.  Plymouth Argyle bringing a team up on Wednesday 13th July followed this up. And Argyle Chairman Mr Stapleton officially opened the clubhouse. 

In the 2006-07 season all the talk was about the re-structuring of the Devon League and South Western League.  One League with three Divisions was being formed called the South West Peninsula League.  We managed to finish the season in 12^th place under the leadership of Phil Bayliss and Gary Taylor and we had done just enough to meet our goal of qualifying for the SWPL Premier Division alongside the topsides in both the South Western and Devon Leagues.  Buckland had a phenomenal season in 2009-10, the 1st team did the double, winning the SWPL Premier Division title and the Throgmorton Cup pipping Bodmin Town to both, in what was manager Phil Bayliss’ last season in charge.  They lost just three times in the league and were unbeaten in all their 19 home games.  The club also played in the famous FA Cup competition for the first time in the club’s history.  They actually won the league on goal difference from Bodmin Town and they also beat them 2-1 after extra time in the Throgmorton Cup final played at Cullompton’s Speed Meadow.  This was a wonderful way for Phil to hand over control to new manager Steve Massey for the 2010-11 season, however, the club parted company with Steve early in this season, and up stepped Antony Lynch who became player-manager and  the success kept coming in the 2010-11 season, the 1st Team retained the SWPL Premier Division title, by a eight point margin, they also became the lowest ranked club to win the Devon St Lukes Bowl when they defeated Tiverton Town on penalties in that final.

HONOURS

SWPL Premier Division Champions 2009-10, 2010-11
Devon St Lukes Bowl Winners 2010-11
SWPL Charity Bowl Winners 2010, 2011
Devon League Runners-up 2000-01
Throgmorton Cup Winners 2009-10
Throgmorton Cup Runners-up 2001-02
Devon League Sportsmanship Cup 2000-01
Devon & Exeter Premier Division Champions 94-95, 99-00
Devon & Exeter Premier Division Runners-up 1998-99
Devon & Exeter Premier Division Cup Winners 97-98, 98-99
East Devon Senior Cup Winners 1995-96
Devon League Programme Award Winners 2000-01, 2002-03, 2004-05, 2005-06
SWPL Programme Winners 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11
SWPL Ground Award Winners 2007-08, 2008-09
SWPL Ground Award Runners-up 2009-10, 2010-11