Popular charity tournament kicks-off in style

A long-running popular local charity football tournament based in Gobowen near Oswestry which raises money for Leukaemia Research saw its 51st anniversary year is underway.

The Graham Edwards Memorial Trophy is named in memory of a promising young footballer from Gobowen who sadly died of Leukaemia aged just 21 in 1974.

Last Sunday’s 11.00am kick off saw last year’s beaten finalists Gobowen Celtic get off to a winning start this time round with a 2-1 win over Ellesmere United in Group A.

Gobowen went 2-0 up early in the second half through Lewis Jones (47) and Charlie Morris (51) and although Ellesmere pulled a goal back through Ross Thedans in the 2nd minute of added time at the end, Gobowen held on to take the 3 points.

The 3.00pm kick off saw Whitchurch Alport 1946 beat AFC Weston Rhyn 3-1 in the other game in Group A.

Adam Heath gave Alport the lead in the 31st minute and after half time sub Jamie Parry had doubled their lead just into the 55th minute, fellow half time sub Luke Parry made it 3-0 just into the 87th minute.

Rhyn player-manager Kyle Brazier had brought himself on in the 63rd minute and he pulled a goal back in the 89th minute but it was too little, too late as Alport held on to take the 3 points and lead the table on goal difference from Gobowen after the first round of fixtures.

The Tuesday night (8th July) game saw St Martins draw 1-1 with West Felton in the opening game in Group B.

Jordan Gerrard gave West Felton the lead in the 6th minute before Shin Miah equalised in the 13th minute and that was the end of the scoring as both sides took a point.

Then on Thursday night (10th July), Llangollen Town Reserves played out a 2-2.draw with Llanymynech in a proverbial game of 2 halves in Group B.

Llangollen went 2-0 up through Rob Cooper’s quickfire brace (22 and 26) and after Elijah Richards pulled one back for Llanymynech in the 73rd minute, Richards scored a dramatic late equaliser in the 84th minute to complete his side’s comeback.

A busy first week continued on Friday night (11th July) with Ellesmere United coming back from 0-2 to win 3-2 against Whitchurch Alport 1946 in Group A on a night of high drama.

Adam Heath got Whitchurch off to a flying start in the 6th minute and when Chris Owen doubled their lead in the 47th minute, they seemed to be cruising to the 3 points.

However, Ellesmere had other ideas and after Connor Jones pulled one back in the 60th minute, Alex Williams equalised in the 72nd minute before Shawn Melusi scored what proved to be a dramatic late winner in the 80th minute to complete the most unlikely of comebacks.

GROUP A – UP TO AND INCLUDING FRIDAY 11TH JULY 2025

TEAM                                                       Pl        W       D       L           For     Agst      DIFF     Pts

Whitchurch Alport 1946                 2         1         0        1            5          4          +1           3

Gobowen Celtic                                 1         1         0        0            2          1           +1          3

Ellesmere United                               2         1         0        1            4          4            0           3

AFC Weston Rhyn                              1         0         0        1            1          3           -2           0

GROUP B – UP TO AND INCLUDING FRIDAY 11TH JULY 2025

TEAM                                                        Pl        W        D        L          For    Agst       DIFF    Pts

Llangollen Town Reserves              1          0         1        0            2         2              0           1

Llanymynech                                        1          0         1        0            2         2              0           1

St Martins                                               1          0         1        0            1         1              0           1

West Felton                                           1           0         1        0            1         1             0           1

The busy schedule continues on Sunday, July 13 with a double header.  First of all with a 12.00 kick off, last year’s beaten finalists Gobowen Celtic play AFC Weston Rhyn in Group A before Llanymynech play St Martins in Group B at 4.00pm.

Then this coming Tuesday (15th July), Llangollen Town Reserves play West Felton in Group B (6.30pm kick off) and that is followed on Wednesday (16th July) by Ellesmere United v AFC Weston Rhyn in Group A (6.30pm kick off).

Then on Thursday 17th July, it’s Gobowen Celtic v Whitchurch Alport 1946 in Group A (6.30pm kick off).

The final group games are both on Sunday 20th July with Llangollen Town Reserves v St Martins in Group B at 11.00am and Llanymynech v West Felton (also in Group B) with a 3.00pm kick off.

The first semi final between the Group A winners and the runners up in Group B is on Tuesday 22nd July with the second semi final between the Group B winners and the Group A runners up being played on Thursday 24th July.  Both semi finals have a 6.30pm kick off.

The final is on Sunday with 27th July with a 3.00pm kick off although at the time of going to press, it is still not known who will be presenting the trophy.

A reminder that all the games are played at Gobowen Playing Field on the B5069 St Martins Road in Gobowen and that all the money raised from the tournament goes to Leukaemia Research.