Shaun Foster
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Welcome to the 5th a final United Review, AMATEUR CUP WINNERS obviously as its April the Amateur Cup is well celebrated, with reports and pictures HONOURS BOARD from both 67 and more importantly 71 when we, if anyone didn’t know, picked up the famous silverware. Amateur Cup Winners 1970-71 To the players and staff from that momentous day Amateur Cup Runners up 50 years ago on April 24th 1971, we salute you. 1966-67 Amateur Cup Semi Finalist You put Skelmersdale United on the footballing 1968-1969, 1969-70 map, since then there have been some good times as we see in “Cup Finals”, How many have you Liverpool County Combination been to ? League Winners 10 Occasions Alan Mansley is a name to conjure up some fond Liverpool Challenge Cup Winners 8 Occasions memories, he was a star for us and also Brentford FC, we look back at his career and share some Lancashire Junior Cup Winners thoughts with supporters of the South London club. 1914-15 Lancashire Combination Division One player from not so long ago, Shaun Foster Two Winners 1955-56 made a name for himself in the “Good Ol US of A” we take a look a what the lad has been doing whilst Cheshire League Champions on distance shores. 1968-1969, 1969-70 Lancashire Challenge Cup Winners Groundhopper “The Travelling Fan” was at Luton 1969-1970, 1970-1971, 2008-09 in 2013, for the FA Trophy game, we catch up with him and his report from that great day out “Darn Lancashire Floodlite Cup Winners 1969-70 Sarf”, good read it is to. FA Cup 1st Round Proper Plus there are bits and pieces dotted about for your 1966-67, 1968-69, 1971-72, amusement, if you have time then please read and 2020-21 listen to some of the tracks highlighted in “Football European Amateur Cup Clips you wont have heard” Some are Barmy to say Winners 1971-72 the least and you will no doubt have a few spinning in your head for days on end. Don’t say I didn’t warn North West Counties League Cup Winners 1999-2000 you North West Counties League Well that’s it from me, we have some football back Cup runners-up 1982-1983, 2004-05 with the St Luke’s Cup games, supporters still not allowed so enjoy the United Review and I will North West Counties Division Two runners up. 1997-1998 hopefully see you all, come the end of July when the North West Counties League Northern Premier League (North) resumes…………Hopefully Champions 2012-13 Cheers Kev Liverpool Senior Cup Winners 2014-15 Oh and the issue is interactive, so interact, you never know what you might find. WEMBLEY 1971 SKEMTASTIC DICKEN JOINS WEMBLEY IMMORTALS Skelmersdale Utd 4 Dagenham 1 FA Amateur Cup Final April 24th 1971. Not bad for a man whom Skelmersdale manager Roy Rees admitted after the game, is probably a better full back than a forward!!. Ted Dicken whose 1971 diet of Cheshire League goals has been at starvation level “came good” in the big game that really mattered and joined such Wembley immortals as Geoff Hurst and Stan Mortensen with three goals, which earned him an illuminated congratulations on the scoreboard “Well done Ted Dicken. A fine hat trick” writes Geoff Howard. Skelmersdale the more professional, the better prepared the more determined after one final and two semi final defeats, the more composed in the stress of pre match preliminaries, astutely guided from the touchline in perfectly timed decision by their manager, erased the scar of that 1967 defeat with a throttle hold on the game which only for two short periods looked anything like being snapped. Any goal coming after only five minutes is enough to set the opposition off on the wrong foot, Turner’s superbly flighted 40 yards ball to where Dicken and Dagenham captain Denis Moore were alone in the middle. By any standards he did well to beat Moore to the cross and Ian Huttley three or four yards of his line, saw the ball sail over his outstretched hands. Click on the Match Day programme cover to view the Final Skelmersdale were to open the second half as they had the first, with an early goal, Turner swung a long centre in the middle. It dropped behind the Dagenham defence, Dicken, who had raced 15 yards hurtled full length in a horizontal dive which sent the ball flashing past Huttley. There was no answer to brilliance like that. Dicken’s goal was compared with the best seen at Wembley in recent years. That goal came after 12 minutes, just five minutes later Windsor replaced Swift and almost immediately Bass took a short pass and with plenty of space in which to move hit a magnificent low shot into the corner of the net. Frankish had no chance.. 2-1 Clements’ centre dropped between two defenders, was only a half chance for Windsor but he made a courageous dive between them and saw his header bulge the netting For Windsor it was far from over as it was Windsor who set up Dicken’s third, collecting the ball near the halfway line, and still comparatively fresh, raced 45 yards with the Dagenham defenders trailing in his wake. He drew Huttley before slipping the ball across the face of the goal to Dicken. Dicken in fact seemed to have to have left it too late as he turned and lined up the ball for the shot, but when it left his boot it flew with absolute accuracy into the net. The closing stages saw Skelmersdale’s best football, partly because of the confidence of a commanding lead; they relaxed and began to stroke the ball around really effectively. United lined up, Frankish, Allen, Poole, Turner, Bennett, Mcdermott, Swift, Wolfe, Dicken, Hardcastle, Clements; Sub Windsor. CELEBRATION EVENING 17th July 2021 @JMO Welcome Home to the lads who won the Cup The celebrations that began at Wembley at 4.40pm on Saturday had been carried on all through Saturday night, Sunday saw little let up and the climax came when United appeared in front of the Town Hall in an open top coach. Fans who had waited a couple of hours at the corner of Sandy Lane and Clayton Street broke into a tremendous cheer as the coach went past to begin the team’s triumphant victory lap of the New Town and “Old” Skelmersdale. Once the circular tour of the town had been completed, Skelmersdale United stopped outside the Town Hall and let their fans roar their welcome. Players held the Cup aloft for the fans to see, it was a proud moment for United, and a tremendous occasion for their fans. Shortly after being appointed manager of Skelmersdale United, Roy Rees promised that he would bring the Amateur Cup to Skelmersdale within four years….he went one better and did it in three, chairman Bill Gregson told a room packed with players, officials, guests and supporters at the Wembley celebration dinner in London on Saturday night. “We have won the FA Amateur Cup, something which I’m sure the entire population of Skelmersdale and district would ten years ago never have believed possible”, said the delighted Skem chairman, pointing to the magnificent trophy which had the place of honour at the top table. Mr Gregson, who was proposing the toast to the United players and managerial staff, paid tribute to them for the feat that had been achieved by teamwork. “What has resulted today has been Skelmersdale United’s greatest victory. I want to say a big thank you to the coach Tony Sanders for the wonderful job he has done and to our trainer Ted Williams for the part he has played. I must thank our groundsman and gatekeeper, supporters club and my directors for all their efforts they have each put into making this victory possible”. CUP FINALS How many Cup Finals have you been to? As a Liverpool supporter probably quite a few, Everton fans not as many but as a Skem supporter how many times have you seen the team walk out at a Cup Final. I had to think long and hard about this, back in 1971 & 72 there were two Lancashire Cup victories over Wigan Athletic at Chorley both won by United and the memories are of travelling with Fletchers Coaches, there being a bit of “bother” around the ground and lots of singing in the shed at Victory Park. You can also add a European Final to the list as United beat Monte Belluna back in 1971.Famous for the Teddy Bears picnic, I don’t recall much of the game at all, probably did not realise the importance of the match. I missed the 1982 North West Counties Cup Final so it took a while before the next for the “Boys in Blue” and the North West Counties League Cup again, Robbie Holcroft the hero of the night as we beat Newcastle Town on pens in 2000 (team above) and in the same competition five years later losing to Cammell Lairds 2-0, United after playing every other day for two weeks were well of the pace. We reached the NPL Cup Final in 2008 only to be undone by a very good Eastwood Town team who roared into a 3 goal lead and never looked back, whilst victory was achieved in the Lancashire Cup at Leyland, (below) in a thriller against Radcliffe Boro, Whitey opened the scoring only to be pulled level within minutes.