MFC PROG 2526-07 SCT (TFM digital) by tracecreative

from the chair

Wellit’saquickturnaroundfollowinganexcitingTuesdayeveningatHartsdownPark and we welcome you back here again for this afternoon’s match against Sporting Club Thamesmead Reserves. We also welcome Marc and his squad who have travelledfromtheothersideofErithtodayforperhapsoneoftheirlongestjourneys oftheseason

Another welcome for today’s match officials - Aiden, who takes charge in the middle, and his assistants Will and Lee. They’re no strangers to Thanet football and it’sgoodtoseethembackheretotakechargetoday.

ItwasanothergreateveningunderthelightsonTuesday,aswerecordeda6–2win over Hawkinge Town, a result that lifts us up to third in the table. The performance was full of energy and quality - highlighted by two thunderous strikes from Charlie Sharp,whowasunluckynottocompletehishat-trickafterbeingdeniedbyboththe crossbarandthepostintheclosingstages.

Unfortunately, I’m unable to be at today’s game as I’ve recently dusted down my managerialtracksuitandtakentemporarychargeofour3 team–the1911s.Itwas nice to mark my return to the dugout with a win last weekend, but I’m hopeful my caretaker role will be short-lived as we continue the search for a new manager to leadthesideforward.I’vesneakedafewphotosintothesepagestoday(checkthe “Blast From The Past” special) – bypassing editorial checks of course. Some good memoriesfrombeforeIhandedthereinstoMrWallace/Sir/Ian/TheBosswhohas proceededtodothejobproperly!

Wehopeit’sanother great game–andI hope tokeepmymanagerialwin-ratetickingover!

from the boss

Good afternoon all and welcome to Hartsdown Park! We are pleased to welcome you this afternoon for a fixture against Sporting Club Thamesmead Reserves. Our opponents currently sit 11th in the table with 5 wins, 2 draws and 5 losses on their record this season. This is our second league game against Thamesmead this seasonwhichisaquirkofthefixturecalendarastherearestillteamsinthedivision that we have not played this season We travelled to Thamesmead in the second game of the season and emerged with a point after a 1-1 draw against a young, quick and capable team. We know that today represents a real test of our recent strongformandwewillneedtoplaywelltosecureanother3pointsafterpickingup adrawandawininthelastweek.

I write these notes less than 24 hours after our most recent game, a midweek encounter against Hawkinge Town FC. Our biggest crowd of the season saw us engage in a drama filled fixture full of attacking football and two teams trying to playtoscoregoals,ofwhichtherewereeight.

Hawkinge started the game strongly with good movement patterns and quality on the ball. A settling in period and adjustment allowed us to gain a foothold in the gameaswereactedtotheirthreatwhilstalsobeginningtoimposeourownagenda uponthegame Attentiontothebasicsisanattributewhichwillalwaysbeimportant in our game and remains so at a time where there is much talk of patterns, shape and movement with the basic aspects of the game perhaps not given the same level of attention. As we began to implement our basics with more consistency, we wereabletotakeaholdonthegame.Weopenedthescoringviaacornerthatwas delivered to the far post, Tom Coyne rose highest to head back to Lewis Ray who noddedhomefromcloserange.ThiswasquicklyfollowedbyCurtJordanconverting another far post delivery to make it 2-0. Charlie Sharp then strode forward from a deeppositiontofirealongdistanceeffortpasttheHawkingekeepertosecurea3-0 halftimescoreline.Immediatelyafterhalftimethegameandmomentumswungin thefavourofHawkingewhoscoredtwogoalsin5minutesjustaftertheinterval.We showed composure to balance ourselves in the face of their momentum and once again Charlie Sharp found himself with the opportunity to strike from distance, a drive that the Hawkinge keeper could not react to and we restored a 2 goal lead A melee following a poor challenge from a Hawkinge midflieder led to a long delay and ultimately the Hawkinge goalkeeper being sent off for an altercation with his own manager, a unique moment in my own experiences as both a player and a manager.Wewoulduseournumericaladvantageandstrongdefensivestructureto see out the remainder of the game whilst still creating chances. Two further goals would follow in injury time with Ollie Harris and John Argrides both applying close rangefinishestosecurea6-2wininadramaticandattimesfranticgame.Wewere pleased by both the quality and character of the group in achieving what is a significant victory against a team that will be challenging at the top end of the divisionsthroughouttheseason.

Wehaveachievedadegreeofconsistencyinrecentweeksandhavesecured4wins and a draw in our last 5 games which has lifted us to 3rd in the league and progressionintheKentCup.Thechallengenowisforustomaintainour levelsofperformancethroughoutNovember,startingwithtoday'sfixture. Wehavehadacupfixtureaddedagainstanoldfoeintheformof BordenVillageon15thNovemberandamidweekgameonthe18th November,alocalderbyagainstCanterburyCity.Ourattendances hereatHartsdownParkareincreasingweekbyweekandwehopeto seeyouatthesegames,ourrecentdisplayssuggestyoucould witnesshighscoringandcompetitivegamesasweseektosecure ourpositionatthehigherendofthetableandintothenextround oftheKentCup.

Thankyouforyoursupportandenjoythegame!

our main sponsors

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With a focus on providing bespoke, high-impact talent strategies across Europe and America, they partner with leading organisations to meet their staffing needsthroughanefficient,flexible,andinsight-drivenapproach.

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 registeredplayerfortheMinsterOldBoys(Vets)side. st

Tradefit4U are a family run company with a name synonymous with local football. FatherandsonduoTonyandJaymeWisker

our club partners

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and storyteller), the team crafts tailored solutions for small businesses in the UK Theirservicescover‘BetterAccounting’-tax,forecasting,digitalfinancesystems - and creative ‘Shapes Marketing’, offering branding, websites, graphic design, video, and digital strategy. With values of simplicity, integrity, transparency, energy, and space, they aim to bring freedom, relief, and delight to clients. Shapes feels friendly, values-driven, and imaginatively practical - a local partnerthatmakesrunningabusinessfeeleffortlessandinspired. prioritises honesty, transparency and individualised care for both schools and candidates. They place teachers, teaching assistants, SEN specialists and support staff in permanent, fixed‑term and supply roles across primary, secondary and special schools. Their Teaching Assistant Academy offers a two week training course for newcomers. With a friendly, responsive team and strong candidate feedback, Twenty4Seven feels supportive, professional and genuinelyinvestedinhelpingeducatorsthrive.

team

1911 team

welcome to minster fc

Youwillhaveseenfromtheclubcrestthatweareover100yearsoldwithonlyWorld 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 ourhistoryandthegenerationsofplayersthathaverepresentedourclub

Throughouttheseyearstherehavebeensuccessful teams – most notably in the 1960s – that have playedthegameintherightspiritandhavesetthe foundations for future generations to continue A difficult time in the early 1980s saw the club – with onlyasingleteamatthetime-almostfailtofinish a season in the Thanet League due to lack of playersandsupport.

My father Ralph (also known locally as Colin) stepped in to gather as many eligible youngsters–includingmyself–toregisterand playthosefinalmatchestokeeptheclubalive.

The results didn’t matter – there was a much largermotivetokeepthecontinuityoftheclub.

For us 16/17 year old lads at the time we were finally playing for Minster – a team we had watchedfromthesidelinesformanyyears The following seasons saw the club continue to buildfromtheverybottomupwards.

Ourclubhasnowgrownveryquicklyintheselast11-12yearsaswehavebuiltonthe 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 yearswehaveseenourclubdevelopapathwayforyoungplayerswithintheareato progresswiththeirfootball.Ourveteransteamcontinuetoenjoytheirfootballinthe locallenMartinThanet&DistrictLeague.Wearealsoreallyhappytonowhavefour youth teams represent Minster from U15 to U18 age groups and our previous youth teamshaveprovidedplayersintoouradultssquads.Thisseasonalsosees theclubdevelopawomen'sfootballteamforthefirsttimesincethe1960s whenMinsterwereoneoftheoriginalfemaleteamsinthearea.

Whilstwehavehadgoodfortuneonthepitchtheselastfewyearsbacked byahugeamountofeffortawayfrommatchdays,wecontinuetobea clubthatseelongtermfriendshipsandasenseofcommunityspiritas beingthereal“winning.”

Avillageteamthatwillcontinuetousefootballtobuild competitivespiritalongsidefriendships thatwilllastalifetime.

sponsors & community

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Our commercial services are designed to offer a comprehensive and all-inclusive range of solutions for any property requiring refurbishment, renovation or maintenance Our team’s versatile skills base ensures that we are able to provide you with every trade you require from groundworkprojectstoextensionsandcompletecommercialinteriorfit-out WealsoholdFIRAS registrationforFireProtectionworks.

Nomatterifasmallbuildingmaintenanceprojectorafullcommercialofficerefurbishment,our extensive and unrivalled experience and broad skills base mean we deliver quality projects on timeandtobudget.

If you would like to speak to one of our commercial contract managers with regards to our full rangeofcommercialservices,pleasedonothesitatetogiveusacallon01303274902