1970-71 3rd
A great start to the decade, Ferryhill finished in 3rd place behind Evenwood Town and Durham City, after being bottom in 1969-70. This was their best finish for 10 years.
Ferryhill had to play the eventual champions Evenwood in the first game at Darlington Road, losing 3-0. Four days later, Ferryhill were beaten 6-2 at Durham City. Wilkinson and an og. off Walton spared Ferryhill’s blushes. Ferryhill got their revenge on Evenwood later in the season, winning 2-1 away from home. They also got even against Durham, beating them comprehensively by a 4-0 scoreline at Darlington Road.
Athletic did well in the FA Cup, reaching the 4th qualifying round. They eventually lost 3-0 at Scarborough, due to a Barmby hat-trick.
1971-72 11th
Ferryhill Athletic were victorious at last in the Durham Challenge Cup, beating the holders Evenwood 3-1 at the Brewery Field, Spennymoor after the first game at Feethams, Darlington finished level (2-2).
The league form wasn’t as impressive, finishing 11th.
1972-73 6th
Ferryhill made good progress in the FA Cup, reaching the 3rd Qualifying Round before losing 5-1 at home to Willington. The cup was eventually won on 5th May 1973 by Sunderland AFC with a historic win over Leeds United who were a league above them.
1973-74 14th
Seven fewer wins and thirteen fewer goals resulted in a slip to 14th place.
1974-75 13th
Ferryhill became draw specialists in the 74-75 season. They finished even-stevens on 12 occasions, with only 9 wins.
1975-76 18th
Third bottom again. A few of the draws from the previous campaign turned into losses, and only South Bank and West Auckland Town had worse records by the end.
1976-77 14th
A slight improvement (more goals scored and less conceded, resulted in a better, less precarious league position.
1977-78 18th
Another 3rd bottom finish! Ferryhill certainly diced with death in the 1970s at times. Goals were again the problem. Athletic scored only 30 in the entire campaign, a figure only beaten by Penrith (25) who finished bottom of the pile. Ferryhill’s defence was notably better than the clubs around them though.
1978-79 17th
Fourth bottom, with 23 losses. Willington, Penrith and Evenwood Town propped them up.
1979-80 17th
Little change in Ferryhill’s fortunes this season. They again perfeormed a Houdini act, avoiding the drop narrowly for the 3rd consecutive year. The three teams with worse records were Durham City, Willington and Whitley Bay.
