2013 Arthur Moore Cup Final

THURMASTON W.M.P. 2009 0-2 ADVANCE COURIERS

Friday 12th April 2013

Alliance Football League Arthur Moore Cup Final

Leicestershire County FA Ground, Holmes Park, Dog & Gun Lane, Whetstone

A second visit to Holmes Park in the space of two weeks is start of another busy weekend football wise, with this being the first of three games, of which two are cup finals. 

The Alliance Football League runs four cup competitions along side the eight division league competition. This one, the Arthur Moore Cup is competed for by Premier Division and Division One sides only. The format of the competition is a four group round-robin stage, of which the top two in each group qualify for the quarter finals. From then on it is played on a straight knock-out basis. Thurmaston WMP 2009 were placed in Group B along side Wigston Car Breakers, NRI, Leicester Foxes Old Boys and Niffy Rangers, while Advance Couriers were in Group D with Sparta Moshdock, Glenfield Town Sunday, GT and Frolesworth United.

Group B

	TEAM	PL	WON	DRW	LST	FOR	AGA	PTS
1	Wigston Car Breakers	4	3	0	1	19	8	8
2	Thurmaston W.M.P. 2009	4	3	0	1	20	12	8 (-1)
3	N.R.I.	4	2	0	2	15	12	6
4	Leicester Foxes Old Boys	4	1	0	3	15	18	3
5	Niffy Rangers	4	1	0	3	7	26	3

Group D

	TEAM	PL	WON	DRW	LST	FOR	AGA	PTS
1	Advance Couriers	3	2	0	1	11	10	6
2	Sparta Moshdock	3	2	0	1	7	7	6
3	Glenfield Town, Sunday	3	1	0	2	7	9	3
4	G.T.	3	1	0	2	8	7	2 (1)
	Frolesworth United	Removed from competition. Record expunged.

Quarter Finals
Advance Couriers 9-0 Oscars
FC Azzurri 1-2 Thurmaston W.M.P. 2009

Semi Finals
Thurmaston W.M.P. 2009 3-2 Sparta Moshdock
Advance Couriers 2-1 Wigston Car Breakers

About the teams

Thurmaston WMP 2009 (taken from the programme)
Formally known as Syston RBL from the Leicester Sunday League (LSL), the club changed name in 2009 to the current title due to new sponsorship. In the first season under the new name they were finalists in the LSL Premier Cup competition, before transferring to the Alliance Football League for the start of the next season. At the start of this season the club merged with LSL side Syston Midland Railway under the Thurmaston WMP and formed a reserve side as a result. 

Advance Couriers (taken from the Alliance League website)
The club were formed in 1984, but since 2001 have been the most successful club in the Alliance Football League. They have been crowned Premier Division champions seven times, victors in the Billy Walton Cup winners six times, the Arthur Moore Cup final eight times plus last but not least three times winners of the Leicestershire FA Sunday Premier Cup.

The game in brief

It was a tight, close game in which Advance settled quicker and they had an effort cleared off the line. Thurmaston though got into their stride and wingers Luke Winfield and Jamie Sharmon causing problems for the Advance back line, while at the other end Thurmaston captain Ash Harris was a rock at the back, giving the Advance forwards no change all evening. It was Jamie Sharmon who came close to opening the scoring when a pass split the Advance defence, only for Sharmon's shot past the keeper to strike the base of the post. The opening goal of the game came not long before the end of the half, when following a quick break down the right, a simple finish ensued. Harsh on Thurmaston.

The second half was a more even affair but Thurmaston still caused their higher ranked opponents problems with a header from a corner hiting the crossbar, while at the other end I believe Advance had a goal ruled out for offside. The killer second goal came in the latter stages when Stuart Spencer headed home a corner.

Advance showed why they have won so many trophies in the past ten years, while Thurmaston showed that despite being a division lower can compete with the best in the Alliance League. Man of the Match was righly awarded to Luke Winfield.

Match photos
38 match photos can be viewed in the slideshow below:

Thurmaston have the keys at Scotlands

CROSS KEYS NEWBOLD 1-5 THURMASTON W.M.P. 2009
Leicestershire Sunday Intermediate Cup 1st Round
Sunday 7th October 2012
Scotlands Playing Fields, Forest Road, Coalville

For the first time since early July yesterday there was a Saturday without football. Not because of anything untoward, but that I was attending the East Midlands Food Festival in Melton Mowbray with the wife. This was a date that had been put in the diary for some time as we went to the event last year.

All was not lost as I still managed to get to a game this morning, helped with the wife working this morning as well. 

The majority of first round county cup matches under the jurisdiction of the Leicestershire & Rutland  Football Association are being played this weekend, though the county FA must be one of the worst run in this regard. The reason being is that despite knowing which clubs are to be entered in which competition they still gave the clubs less than two weeks notice. This causing problems not only for the clubs but for the fixture secretaries of the leagues themselves. Surely it is not too much to ask for the draws for the opening couple of rounds to be done before the respective leagues issue fixtures, like the Football Association do on a national scale with the FA Cup, Trophy, Vase, Youth Cup etc. I know one of the reasons given for the delay will be that of pitch shares, but if this happens then make one team play one week and the other the next. It is not difficult. Severely clutching at straws here but if anyone at the Leicestershire FA is reading this then I will be more than happy to get involved with next years draws. 

The Sunday Intermediate Cup is one of five competitions organised by the county FA for open age Sunday footballers. The others being Premier, Shield, Trophy and Vase. The draw for round 1 is as follows:

Cross Keys Newbold (H) v Thurmaston WMP 2009 (A)

FC Union (H) v Birstall Stamford Reserves (C)

Market Bosworth 2000 (H) v Duke of Rutland Reserves (H)

Kirby Muxloe Rangers (A) v Westfield Wanderers (L)

Tin Hat (H) v Leicester Echos (L)

Enderby & District Social (H) v Sileby Athletic (C)

FC Hoskins (A) v Thurlaston Magpies [Sunday] (H)

Key: A - Alliance Football League; C - Charnwood Sunday League; L - Leicester Sunday League; H - Hinckley & District Sunday League


Before a ball had been kicked this morning Westfield Wanderers went through to round 2 following Kirby Muxloe Rangers folding a couple of days ago.

The Scotlands Playing Fields are literally just that - playing fields. Entrance is via drive on Forest Road on the south side of Coalville. If coming from Leicester go past the Bardon Quarry and Bardon Sports Club, and when at the 1st island take the first exit into Coalville. Forest Road is the first turning on the left, with the entrance to the playing fields on the left hand side before you cross the railway line. 

Thurmaston started this game as favourites, having a 100% record in all competitions so far this season. This includes four league games and a match in the Arthur Moore Cup. Cross Keys meanwhile sit third in division one of the Charnwood Sunday League.

The home side came out of the blocks quicker and looked the better side early on, but with ten minutes on the clock found themselves a goal down. After good work down the inside right channel, the ball fell to Ant Morris who poked the ball home from a yard out. A couple of minutes later and it should have been all square, only for a Keys shot to strike the bottom of the left hand upright. This was the closest the home side came in the first half, and by the end of it were three down. Jamie Sharman (24 minutes) and a superbly struck free kick from Connor Packwood on 34 minutes giving Thurmaston a comfortable lead.

It should be said that players from both sides struggled with the autumn sun and clash of kits, with Cross Keys playing in red and Thurmaston in orange.

The second half was pretty much a non-event with Cross Keys unable to break the visitors  defence down, while Thurmaston did not have to get out of second gear to secure the victory and a place in round 2. Luke Winfield made it 0-4 on 54 minutes with a shot across the Cross Keys keeper. The hosts got a deserved consolation goal with fifteen minutes left on the clock, only for Packwood to get his second of the game on 89 minutes to round off the scoring.

37 photos taken at the game can be viewed in the slideshow below:

The L&R 100

THURMASTON W.M.P. 2009 4-3 F.C. HOSKINS
Friday 31st August 2012
Alliance Football League Division 1
Garden Street, Thurmaston, Leicestershire

Sunday League football on a Friday night!!!

After a busy weekend a week ago with two games in Somerset and a further one in Birmingham, a quiet one is one the cards with less travelling involved. First up is a game in the Leicestershire based Alliance Football League between Thurmaston WMP 2009 and FC Hoskins.

I don't know a lot about either side but a number of the Thurmaston players played for (the now defunct) Syston Midland Railway last season in the Leicester Sunday League (LSL. I saw Syston four times and they won all of them including the final of the LSL Premier Cup final @ Hinckley United FC. This was a game that saw me witness one of (if not) the worst challenge / foul / assault I have ever seen at a football game, which saw the opponents (Wigston Car Breakers) goalkeeper break the leg of Syston forward  Troy Buccolossi  in two places. All is know about Hoskins is that they are ran from the Tom Hoskins pub on Beaumanor Road in Leicester and they play their home games at the Mowmacre Sports Ground on Thurcaston Road.

The pitch on Garden Street is located in the middle of Thurmaston, set back from the main Melton Road that runs through the village. It is in a nutshell a recreation ground - end of with their being no facilities pitchside. The players change in the nearby Thurmaston Progressive Working Mens Club.

A cracking game of Sunday League football that was played on a Friday night on a village rec. 

A deserved win for Thurmaston against one of the division favourites. 

Seven goals, two penalties, a sending off and a very poor ref. 

Thurmaston (playing in the black and white stripes) opened the scoring inside sixty seconds, only for Hoskins to be awarded a very soft penalty some thirty seconds later. Penalty scored - game all square. Fifteen minutes and Thurmaston re-took the lead, only for a f**k up between their gk and defender resulted in a gift of a second equaliser within ninety seconds. Thurmaston were then awarded a very dubious penalty themselves around the midway point of the half - penalty scored and it became 3-2. Towards the end of the half and Thurmaston doubled their advantage to go in at half time 4-2. 

The second half saw Thurmaston dominate the opening exchanges but could not put the game to bed. Hoskins then took control and got a goal back with a header at the far post - game on. The game was end to end but Thurmaston looked very dangerous on the counter but failed to kill of Hoskins. Around five minutes fro

m the end Thurmaston should have been awarded another penalty but the ref turned it down. In contrast to the two given harshly in the first half, this one was clear cut with Jamie Sharman being brought down from behind - no consistency. The ref then sent off Ryan Whatley for presumably foul and abusive language due to protesting the decision, though this was an over the top reaction. More chances came and went in the final few minutes for either side, but Thurmaston get the three points in the opening game of the season. 

Finally a reference to the title - this was my 100th venue that I have seen football at in Leicestershire and Rutland.

A slideshow of 27 photos taken during the 1st half can be viewed below: