A RALLYING cry from the town’s only senior football team has been made after years of dwindling support and financial problems saw six players turn up to a match before the new year.

Recent years have been difficult for Epping Football Club.

Having formed at the end of WWII, the club reached the heights of what was then Isthmian League Division 2 before collapsing due to financial issues in 1985.

The remaining Coopersale FC adopted the name and began playing on Epping Forest’s Stonards Hill pitch until January 2017, when they failed to fulfil fixtures and dropped out of the league.

The team reformed last summer with the backing of individuals, VIP Grooming and Jennings the Bookmakers, but now the future looks uncertain once again.

Graham Sly, club treasurer, said: “It’s a town of 12,000 people and I doubt we get 20 people up to watch a game, and half of those are friends of the players.

“A lot of people don’t know it is there. The best turn out we had was to an FA cup game, with about 1,000 supporters, but since then it has gone down hill.

“It seems a waste of effort on our part to put on matches no one goes to see. I think that relates to some of the players when they don’t turn up to matches.”

This vicious cycle of declining support and lack of momentum came to a head on December 30 last year, when six players turned out to a game at Southend.

But, Mr Sly believes, there is hope for the small club yet.

He said: “The group of players we have at the moment are good enough to get themselves promoted this year.

“The lack of players led us to lose two games on the trot, but we are hoping to bring in four players from Tower Hamlets.”

One supporter who is hoping the team can turn its fortunes around is Robert Harvey, an HR manager who travels from Surrey to his birth town to watch Saturday matches.

The 48 year-old said: “A lot of people have moved away from Epping, but there’s still a big attraction to the town and part of that is to the football club.

“It’s a football town. There’s a lot of people there who play quite seriously and there is no reason why they can’t play at a high level in the future.

“We just need to get a bit of support.”

To find out about upcoming fixtures, go to www.eppingfc.co.uk