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At the
beginning of the 1986/87 season it was decided that GPSFA would enter
the Witney Cup and commence playing teams from outside the County. The
first opponents from 'across the border' were Mid Oxfordshire and that
game marked the start of a friendly rivalry which continued for many
years to come. The season ended with a defeat by Reading in the
semi-final of the Witney Cup and the Gloucester goalkeeper displaying
his clear ball handling skills that day was the future England Rugby
Union international Phil Greening, while in midfield was a promising
young player called Neil Mustoe who was later to become an England Youth
international and professional with Manchester United and Cambridge
United. For the visitors 11- year-old Deon Burton who went on to play
for Jamaica in the World Cup Finals netted twice.
In
1987/88 the Southern Counties Cup was entered for the first time and the
fixture list grew to 16 games including the first visit by the then
Welsh Under-11 Champions Deeside, the game at Harewood ending in a 3-3
draw. The next season saw the creation of the Cotswold League which
featured encounters with many regular opponents and ended with the
runners-up spot being secured, while a share in the County Championship
made for a successful campaign. The year also saw the formation of the
city B squad meaning that more players could be given an opportunity to
play representative football, the first B Team game resulting ina2-1
defeat by Solihull.
The
1989/90 season saw the Cotswold League title being lifted for the first
time and the County Championship being won outright. Sadly the last of
the 33 games with Cheltenham was played and despite many offers of help
in reforming the town’s district set-up, there appears little hope of a
local derby in the foreseeable future. That year also saw the first
visit to the Jersey Primary Schools’ Festival of Football and at the end
of the week first place was achieved with a 2-0 win over Thurrock. Two
members of that side, Matthew Gregg (Crystal Palace) and Wayne Thomas
(Stoke City & Burnley) later moved into the professional ranks while
Scott Griffin (Cirencester Town), Will Steadman (Cinderford Town) and
Jody Bevan (Gloucester City) are all currently playing at a high
non-league level.
1990/91
saw both the Southern Counties and Witney Cup finals reached, the former
being won for the first time after a 2-0 victory over High Wycombe, but
only after needing 3 games to get past Oxford City in the semi-finals.
This highly successful side lost only 4 games all season and acquired a
considerable amount of silverware in the process. The games with
Deeside brought Shayne Bradley (Southampton and Mansfield Town) and
Michael Owen (Liverpool) into opposition for the first time and 4
seasons later they would form a striking partnership for England
Schools. By now the B team fixture list had risen to 17 games and was
operating on a ‘full time’ basis and the 90/91 campaign saw the B team
version of the County Championship being won.
The 1991/92 season, featuring current Cinderford Town player Neil
Griffiths, saw both sides retain their respective County titles with
100% records, while there followed a season of triumphs with the A team
winning the Cotswold League and Southern Counties Cup Final. The
Southern Counties victory at Palmer Park in Reading was truly remarkable
because the Newham goalscorer Amos Foyewa was a giant when compared to
the Gloucester side and the scorer of the city team’s winning goal,
Kevin Rogers, went through most of the day having forgotten that the
final was being played at all! Foyewa is currently plying his trade in
the Nationwide Conference with Woking while his strike partner that
evening, Jermaine Defoe, achieved somewhat higher levels. The B team
retained its County title, were runners-up in the Cotswold B League and
embarked upon its first tour to Devon and Cornwall.
In
1993/94 the A side, captained by Lee Mansell, now of Oxford United,
took the BP Mid-West League title for the first time while the year that
followed was one of highs and lows. It took until well into November to
achieve a first win but later in the season the team recorded 8
consecutive victories. The Southern Counties Cup Final was reached
again, third place was secured in Jersey and there was a rare win over
Flintshire, the new name for old rivals Deeside. The B team won the full
County title and entered the Webster Shield league for the first time.
By now the length of the fixtures lists had stabilised with the A team
playing about 30 games including tours and the B team about 10 less,
though their opposition included a growing number of A sides. 1995/96
was another year of triumphs and near misses. It was the year that Jade
Johnson-Manley became the first girl to play for the A side and the
first female representative goalkeeper since the formation of the ESFA
92 years previously. The BP Mid-West and Cotswold league titles were won
and the annual visit to the Jersey Festival ended with the team in first
place out of an entry of 16. Both major Cup semi-finals were also
reached. The B team continued its steady progress in the Webster Shield
and the County title was retained again. |
