Issuu

minster football club

CLUBOFFICIALS

Chairman

Colin Holden

Secretary

Steve Farbrace

1stTeamManager

Ian Wallace

1stTeamAssistantManager

Liam Morris

ReserveTeamManager

Elliot Austin

ReserveTeamCoach

Darryl Farley

3rdTeam(1911)Manager

Colin Holden

WomensTeamManager

Steph Meeks

WomensTeamAssistantManager

Andy Long

VeteransTeamManager

Steve Farbrace

U18KYLYouthTeamManager

Russell Wilson

U16FDYFLYouthTeamManager

Nelson Were

U16EKYFLYouthTeamManager

James Wells

MEMBERS

OF:

Kent & County Football League

Canterbury & District Football League

South East Counties Womens Football League

Len Martin Thanet & District Football League

Kent Youth League

East Kent Youth Football League

U15FDYFLYouthTeamManager Together

Faversham & District Youth Football League

from the chair

We are back at Hartsdown Park now for two Saturdays in a row .. starting today with the visit of last season’s champions New Romney. You will see on the following pages our manager’s respectful comments on our opponents today who we battled with last season but in the right spirit – both clubs and both sets of players happy to fight for the title but also showing great respect for each other along the way. By their own admission, New Romney have not had the follow-up season they wanted but we know there will be a battle today and it will be followed by the same respect that our clubs have shown each other in recent years.

We also welcome our referee Alan who not only oversees matches from the middle each weekend but also contributes on committees for both adults and youth football across the county – a fantastic contribution to grassroots football for many years. His assistants Thomas and James are also familiar faces, and we welcome them to Hartsdown Park and hope it’s an enjoyable afternoon all round.

This week I have represented the club and have paid our respects at the funeral of ex-Minster FC goalkeeper Derek Hards who sadly passed away in early February. The photo here shows him with his Minster U18 Junior team in 1956 in front of the old Minster Pavilion with many other players who went on to make many appearances for Minster FC adults’ teams in the 60s and 70s.

It is fitting that Derek’s grandson plays for our current U18 team – Derek would often be seen cheering the lads on from the “new” pavilion end. At times like this you start to realise the many family connections across this club and how Minster FC has become something more than just a place to play football. Derek will be missed and I know he had enjoyed what we have been up to these last few years – especially with the growth in the youth setup.

Enjoy the game everyone and hope to see younextweekaswell!

from the boss

Good afternoon and welcome to Hartsdown Park for today’s game against New Romney FC. New Romney are reigning champions of the KCFL Premier Division, having last year beaten us to the title by two points. New Romney are familiar opponents to us and prior to our entry into the KCFL we had been playing friendlies against them for a number of years, as well as many league fixtures against them in recent years, a well run club with a loyal fanbase, they are always provide a difficult opposition and with two games to play against them in the run in, we know we will need to be ready to compete to get the wins we want. New Romney’s title defense has seen them accumulate 9 wins, 1 draw and 12 defeats on their way to 28 points so far this season, the tally seeing them currently sit in the bottom four but with 6 games in hand on their nearest rivals I am sure they will get the points required to see them safe. Today though our job is to take the three points that we need and we will need to be at our best to do so.

Our last home game saw us eventually pull away from a stubborn Long Lane side, a team that had beaten us in our last two outings against them, indeed, Long Lane away was our last league defeat. With the score level at half time we had work to do in the second half, although we were happy with the control we had shown in the game and having struck the bar and post, we felt we could have gone into half time in a much more comfortable position. Ten minutes into the second half a poor challenge on Lewis Ray saw Long Lane reduced to 10 men, a position we have experienced a fair few times this season and one we were determined to exploit. Soon after this an excellent diagonal ball from Curt Jordan released Zack Jobe to fire across goal into the top corner, his first goal for the club on his first start. Ollie Harris made it two just before the hour, Ollie reacting quickest to a Zack Jobe cross to nudge us into a two goal lead. Jake Munday then reacted to the Long Lane keeper spilling a shot to make it three. The pick of the goals came from Todd Jordan, a flowing team move seeing him volley home from the edge of the box to make it 4-0 before the two centerbacks combined from a set piece to make it five; Tom Coyne heading down for Matt Weatherley to swivel and fire into the roof of the net. A five quality of play overall. This ames heading into the

1st Team Manager IanWallace

Metrogas away is a tough proposition, a team with ambitions of promotion and a late run into the top 5, they have had cup successes in recent years and our two games against them last season were very competitive. Playing at the Erith Leisure Centre stadium and a pitch full of shot put induced pot holes provided a unique challenge and one where we had to show our very core attributes of resilience and character to be successful. The first half was very much a defensive effort as we found it hard to get out, against the wind and with lots of balls into our wide channels forcing us back. Some excellent defending as a team and individually would see us reach the half at 0-0. The second half saw us take advantage of the same conditions as Metrogas were pinned back. With 15 minutes to go Jake Munday released Ollie Harris, playing off the left in this game who cut inside the defender and smashed an excellent finish across the face of goal for the decisive moment in the game. Shortly after the Metrogas goalkeeper was dismissed following a foul on Ollie Harris but Metrogas showed their resilience and forced us into defensive action as the game closed out, a 1-0 win full of character and spirit, the fundamentals of the game, to make it ten wins and a draw in the last eleven games and a pleasing away trip to London.

With eleven games remaining for us in the league we now move onto New Romney today. Over those eleven games we will need to draw on all aspects of the game, as we have shown in recent weeks, quality of performance, endeavour, character and resilience will all be required, we approach each game as an individual opportunity to experience the winning feeling and let the rest look after itself, one game at a time, one performance at a time.

Wehopetoseeyouherenextweekforourgameagainst TenterdenbeforewetraveltoFalconwoodtheweekafter. Thankyouaseverforyoursupportandenjoythegametoday!

our main sponsors

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Elliot is no stranger to the football club having played for them as part of his introduction into adult football. He would go onto play in the KCFL for East Kent College Bears under our 1 Team assistant manager, Liam Morris. Elliot is also a registered player for the Minster Old Boys (Vets) side.

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our club partners

Youngs Timber & Builders Merchants is a Kent‑based family‑run builders’ merchant operating from branches in Biddenden, Folkestone, and Dymchurch.

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THISSEASONWEARETEAMING UPWITHTFMWHOWILLHOST THEDIGITALVERSIONSOF THESEPROGRAMMESONLINE

“Thank you to Russel and the Thanet Football Magazine team for your ongoing support—not just for our club, but for the entire local football community.”

ColinHolden Minster FC Chairman

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first team

AC Ashford

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Borden Village Chilham FC Cinque Ports Cuxton 1991 Res Kings Hill Res Rochester City 2-3 P-P 2-2 0-3 P-P 1-3 AC Ashford Woodnesborough Ramsgate Ath Bocca Juniors Cuxton 1991 Res FC Revo

1911 team

DIVISION

welcome to minster fc

You will have seen from the club crest that we are over 100 years old with only World Wars getting in the way of continued existence – a matter not taken lightly as club players and staff fought for their country during these difficult times. If you get a chance take a look at the club photos at our pavilion main hall that reminds us of our history and the generations of players that have represented our club.

Throughout these years there have been successful teams – most notably in the 1960s – that have played the game in the right spirit and have set the foundations for future generations to continue. A difficult time in the early 1980s saw the club – with only a single team at the time - almost fail to finish a season in the Thanet League due to lack of players and support.

My father Ralph (also known locally as Colin) stepped in to gather as many eligible youngsters – including myself – to register and play those final matches to keep the club alive. The results didn’t matter – there was a much larger motive to keep the continuity of the club. For us 16/17 year old lads at the time we were finally playing for Minster – a team we had watched from the sidelines for many years. The following seasons saw the club continue to build from the very bottom upwards.

Our club has now grown very quickly in these last 11-12 years as we have built on the success of a very young team – managed by Ian Wallace - that have progressed through the Canterbury & District League and further into the Kent County Football League to the Premier Division where we have consolidated our standing in this division. Two further adult teams were added in 2019/2020 and during these last 5 years we have seen our club develop a pathway for young players within the area to progress with their football. Our veterans team continue to enjoy their football in the local len Martin Thanet & District League. We are also really happy to now have four youth teams represent Minster from U15 to U18 age groups and our previous youth teams have provided players into our adults squads. This season also sees the club develop a women's football team for the first time since the 1960s when Minster were one of the original female teams in the area.

Whilst we have had good fortune on the pitch these last few years backed by a huge amount of effort away from match days, we continue to be a club that see long term friendships and a sense of community spirit as being the real “winning.”

Avillageteamthatwillcontinuetousefootballtobuild competitivespiritalongsidefriendships thatwilllastalifetime.

ColinHolden Chairman

sponsors & community

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