Histon Football Club has enjoyed a meteoric rise up the football pyramid-00-1067

Formed in 1904, the side, originally known as Histon Institute FC, was plying its trade in the relatively low-key Division One of the Eastern Counties League in 1995.

National recognition and success was a distant dream for the fans and players of the team whose twin villages of Histon and Impington are, with a combined population of around 8,500, unknown for their sporting pedigree.

However the arrival of a certain Steve Fallon as Histon's new manager in 1999 proved to be the catalyst behind Histon's upturn in fortunes. With Fallon at the helm the Stutes immediately secured promotion to the Southern Football League with a final-day victory over Gorleston.

It took Histon three seasons to find its feet in the Southern League's Eastern Division, but it was fourth-time lucky for the side when Fallon masterminded promotion to the Premier Division in the 2003-04 campaign.

The Stutes needed less time to adapt to the rigours of the Premier Division in fact they crushed the competition to secure promotion as champions at the first time of asking. The season was made even more remarkable when they claimed the shock scalp of League Two side Shrewsbury in the FA Cup with an impressive 2-0 victory.

And the momentum of Fallon's side showed no sign of faltering as, once again, they adjusted to life in a higher division with ease by securing fifth place and a shot at another quick-fire promotion via the play-offs.

But a 2-0 defeat to St Albans in the final put pay to hopes of another fairy tale finale, but the team's exploits throughout the season were impressive enough. Histon met Cambridge United in the first round of the FA Trophy the side seen as Cambridgeshire's big club as well as the team Fallon amassed over 400 appearances for during his playing career.

Yet tradition and sentiment counted for nothing as Histon thumped their rivals 5-0 to signal the start of a shift in power within the county.

There was no doubting the potential of the Stutes and, sure enough, the following season, they clinched their fourth promotion in just seven years on 14 April 2007 with a 1-0 win over Welling United to secure promotion to the Conference National.

After a solid seventh place in their inaugural season in the Conference, Histon certainly upped the ante for the 2008/09 campaign. They were top of the table by November and also recorded the best result in their history by battling to a 1-0 victory over the mighty Leeds United in the FA Cup second round.

In a match made memorable by Histon's dogged determination and the horrendous playing conditions, postman Matthew Langston wrote his name into the club's history books with the headed winner.

At the end of another Roy of the Rovers season, Fallon's men claimed third place and narrowly missed out on the opportunity to celebrate his tenth season in charge in style with another promotion after losing to Torquay United in the play-offs.

Since the days of the Eastern Counties League it really has been a rollercoaster ride for the Stutes.

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