Premier 29's Mighty Pilgrims lifted the Champions Cup after a sensational 4-0 aggregate win over Inter Norwich Grand Final 2002! Fresh from their epic wins over Extrusioneers and Byron Park, Plymouth were in no mood to fall at the final hurdle and swept Inter aside in a memorable 1st leg win at Welcombe Park.

In front of 100,000 jubilant fans 'The Mighty Pilgrims' dominated the 1st leg from the start with a Sean Quatro header giving the home side a deserved lead on 16 minutes. Inter were just not in the game and it was one way traffic to the Inter goal that saw Phillip South's 25 yard shot double the lead just before half time.

In the 2nd half Quatro struck again with a diving header after 61 minutes. A finger tip save by Simon Jenkins denied Matt De Boy a minute later before Plymouth earned a penalty. Man of the match Pele Llorente swept home the 4th goal from the spot in the 63rd minute.

The 2nd leg was ended 0-0 as Inter Norwich tried bravely to attack the Plymouth defence. But The Mighty Pilgrims were just too strong and should have won the 2nd leg with a superb counter attacking display.

Grand Final 1st Leg,  16th August 2002:  

Plymouth Pilgrims   4-0   Inter Norwich

Grand Final 2nd Leg, 3rd September 2002:

Inter Norwich          0-0    Plymouth Pilgrims    AGG: 0-4

Anfield Aces Crowned Champions Of Apex Soccer 2003/04

Premier 2's Anfield Aces have won The Apex Champions League, after a hard-fought 3-2 aggregate win over Premier 1's Muckamore in the Grand Final of 2004. Wins over Craven Aces, Byron Park and Exiles in the earlier rounds resulted in Anfield Aces being the red hot favourites to win this competition.

The First-Leg in front of a 100,000 capacity crowd at Anfield, meant Anfield Aces living up to their name in a 1-0 win through an 18th minute goal from an angled shot by Mike Flowers which gave the defence no chance at all. Anfield Aces should have had more if it weren't for the referee cancelling a goal in the 38th minute by Darren Staff for offside. Furthermore, Chris Trayers was a major casualty and would miss the 2nd leg tie, after a bad tackle by a defender in only the 2nd minute of this match.

Onwards to the 2nd Leg at Gray Lane with a capacity crowd of 80,000, and although Anfield Aces only required a draw, their tactics didn't reflect this as they pre-empted a match of end-to-end chances. Predictably Muckamore made a major impact with their tactics through a goal via a near post header by Gary Jobb which went in off the post after 25 minutes, and so it finished in a cagey first half 1-0 to Muckamore and 1-1 on aggregate.

The stage was set for a pulsating second half as Anfield Aces never lost their composure and exerted their superior confident style after the break, and true to form it was Anfield Aces who took the initiative through two goals in quick succession, on 59 minutes James Duke headed easily into the bottom corner of the net, and then on 61 minutes a volley by Flash Gordon was driven through the goalkeeper's legs. The aggregate score was now 3-1 to the Premier 2 giants, and with the 2 away goals meant that Muckamore had to score three goals to win it. Then with the urgency that was required Ron Gripp scored for the home side in the 72nd minute via a dipping drive into the top of the net. This was the only shot on goal that Muckamore had in the whole of the 2nd half as Anfield Aces, with 53% possession overall, controlled proceedings and should have won this match with further shots on goal by James Duke, Gary Banbury and Nicky Robins. Indeed, the Man of the Match was awarded to Muckamore's defender James Wenvoe who played extremely well to keep the score down to 2-2.

So the final whistle blew and both sets of supporters applauded the two teams off of the pitch, with the Anfield Aces supporters being most vocal for their support of the Anfield Aces Manager - John Bristow.

So they should, at the time of writing this, he has won them 8 League titles, 7 League Cups, 2 K.O. Cups with more to follow, and now he has obtained the highest accolade that the game has to offer - The Champions League.

Muckamore's Manager, Ian Latimer, commented that, "I'm really pleased to have got so far and put up a fight in the final," as he enquired when the next Champions League competition would start.

When asking John Bristow on how he would celebrate this, he said, "I'm going to get hammered tonight. I am planning to ride through my town in an open top car." He also added, "The Champions League trophy will sit proudly with my other 17 winners trophies.

Grand Final 1st Leg, 20th February 2004:

Venue: Anfield

Anfield Aces 1-0 Muckamore

Grand Final 2nd Leg, 13th March 2004:

Venue: Gray Lane

Muckamore 2-2 Anfield Aces

Match report courtesey of John Bristow, manager of Anfield Aces.

Muckmore 2004/05 Champions After Penalty Drama

P1's Muckamore won the Champions League beating the valiant Inter Norwich of P3 in a tense penalty shoot out. The 1st leg at Carrow Row had ended in a deserved 1-0 win for Inter with Steve Finney heading home the winner after 64 minutes. And it was so nearly a crucial second goal for Norwich but Robin Marsh's 86th minute goal was harshly adjudged as offside.

Inter Norwich went into the 2nd leg in great heart with a 1-0 win and crucially no away goal conceded, but they were forced onto the defensive by a fiercely attacking Muckamore. The P1 side attacked relentlessly but the Norwich defence kept Muckamore at bay until a close range effort from Posh leveled the tie after 54 minutes. Muckamore went close to scoring again in the last minute but the tie ended level 1-1 and the Champions of Apex would be decided on penalties for the first time!

Home advantage gave Muckamore a vital advantage and so it was that the Premier 1 side, who were runners up in 2004, emerged as the winners in the penalty shoot out. Muckamore manager Nigel Richards was delighted by his side's success, but also paid tribute to former manager Ian Latimer who had built the team and managed them during the group stages of the competition. But defeat was hard to take for opposing manager Ishvar Sheran and his P3 champions Inter Norwich as they became runners up for the second time having also lost in the final in 2002.

Grand Final 1st Leg, 9th June 2005:

Inter Norwich 1-0 Muckamore

Grand Final 2nd Leg, 23rd June 2005:

Muckamore    1-0 Inter Norwich   agg: 1-1 (Muckamore won on pens)