Village Manchester FC

Village Manchester Football Club aimed to pick up silverware ahead of the Easter weekend, having reached the final of the Wray Cup.  The final was played at Hollyhedge Park, home of Wythenshawe Amateurs.

Their route to the Wray Cup final had been a tough one, beginning with a hard-fought match against Stoconians Seconds, which they drew 3-3 before going through 4-1 on penalties.  This earned them an even tougher quarter final draw against Rochdalians AFC 2nds.  An extraordinary match saw them win 4-3 against opposition from a higher division, with all four goals scored by Fernando Martins.

The games didn’t get any easier, as due to complications involving eligible players VMFC were only able to field ten men for their semi final against fellow Division 3 team Chadderton Park 1sts.  Despite this, the team managed to earn an amazing 2-1 victory, with Man of the Match being awarded to all ten players on the day.

Having earned their place in the final, VMFC looked forward to their chance to win some silverware.  First XI manager Karl Storey said “This cup run has been a big deal for all of us.  We’ve played some big games to get to this final, and the players have come through for every one of them"

Sadly, it was not to be, and despite a hard fought final against a much higher ranked team, they lost just 1-0.A tremendous effort by any standards.

Village Manchester Football Club is a gay and inclusive football team founded in Manchester in 1996 by a group of friends who wanted to be able to play football in a safe and welcoming environment.  From these early beginnings they have grown to become one of the most successful LGBTQ+ teams in the country.  The First XI compete in the Lancashire and Cheshire Saturday League, gaining promotion twice in their first two years, while the Reserve XI are in their second season in the Manchester Amateur Sunday Football League.  The teams jointly compete in the Gay Football Supporters Network Cup, winning it for the second time last season.  Over the summer break in 2018 VMFC entered two teams into the 10th Gay World Championships in Paris, where the First XI reached the final, drawing 1-1 against West Hollywood before agonisingly losing out on penalties.

VMFC train every Wednesday at 7pm at Trinity High School, just behind the Universities.  Training continues until the end of April and will return for pre-season in mid-June.  For more information, Village can be found on the web via the link below.

If you want to get in touch, you can email enquiries@vmfc.co.uk or message them through facebook.com/villagemancfc.

Published: 18-Apr-2019: (5354)