The 2024/25 season was certainly a memorable one in Moneys history, as we had a successful debut season in the Isthmian League South Central Division ending the season with a seventh-placed finish.

And now it’s time to take a trip down the (short) memory lane in order to relive what was a hugely successful campaign for our Men’s First Team!

Pre-Season

The campaign all started on a warm and green summer night in North Hampshire, where a side consisting mostly of trialists were defeated 3-1 by Wick, though we were to win our first game back home at the newly-refurbished John Jenkins Stadium thanks to a 4-0 victory over US Portsmouth.

Home games against Bognor Regis Town (3-1 loss) and a Portsmouth XI (5-1 win) followed, with that Pompey side containing two players who would then go on to play for Moneys later in the season! We won at Fleetlands before a bonkers game (which remarkably was only the third-highest scoring match of the season) in the first-ever Graeme Gee Memorial Cup match, where we drew 4-4 at Chichester City.

Hamble Club were seen off on penalties in order to win the Wessex Charity Cup after a pretty drab 0-0 draw, before we were unlucky in a 3-0 loss at Havant & Waterlooville before the real action got underway.

August

The first competitive game at the John Jenkins Stadium saw us face AFC Stoneham in the FA Cup Extra-Preliminary Round. Scott Hills got the first competitive Moneys goal at the redeveloped ground, but the Purps came from behind to beat us 2-1.

Our first league game a week later was also tough, as Met Police won 4-1 on the South Coast. We won at Hythe & Dibden in the Hampshire Senior Cup First Round, before Hayes & Yeading United knocked us out of the FA Trophy at the Preliminary Round stage on the Bank Holiday weekend.

Farnham Town, who were of course eventual champions, were only our second league opponents on the final day of the month, and they came away from PO3 with all three points as five different scorers earned a 5-0 win for Town.

September

The second month of the competitive season started in emphatic style, as Liss Athletic were seen off 6-1 in the first round of our successful Portsmouth Senior Cup campaign. It was then a trip to North London for our first away league match, as we took on Rayners Lane.

We got our first point on the board at Tithe Farm, as Jack Lee and Eric Dellaud were on target in a 2-2 draw. Heavy cup defeats at Basingstoke Town (Hampshire Senior Cup) and Hayes & Yeading United (Velocity Cup) arrived in mid-September, before we ended the month with strong draws at Raynes Park Vale and Hanworth Villa in order to complete an unbeaten league September.

That game at the Villains also saw a Moneys debut for 16-year-old Ciaran Martin, who has only gone from strength to strength this season since arriving from Portsmouth on loan.

October

Our first league win finally arrived on a memorable Tuesday night, as Ian Selley saw his Leatherhead side beaten 2-1 by ‘pub team’ Moneys at the JJ.

And, just like London buses, another side from around the capital were seen off a couple of days later when Westfield were beaten 2-0 at the same venue.

Defeats at Ascot United and at home to Kingstonian followed, before a credible home draw with Hayes & Yeading United, 2-2 that one finished.

The month finished via disappointing defeats at South Park (Reigate) and Harrow Borough, the latter of which saw the game nearly postponed due to the team minibus momentarily breaking down on the way there!

November

Bottom side Badshot Lea visited the South Coast to kick off the penultimate month of an amazing 2024, but the league table didn’t do them justice as they put out a strong showing in a 2-2 draw. A narrow defeat at Kingstonian was followed by revenge on South Park, with a 2-0 victory over the side from Reigate.

It was then back on the road to face our old foes Leatherhead, and Fetcham Grove was the location of our first league victory away from home, with James Franklyn’s effort earning a 1-0 win.

Arguably, that was the moment where the ignition really kicked in for the season, as Moneys were to only lose five more league games throughout the rest of the campaign.

One of them was the next league encounter though, where Hanworth Villa came away controversial 3-2 victors at the JJ in a fiery affair.

That was sandwiched, though, in between convincing home cup victories over a Portsmouth XI (Portsmouth Senior Cup) and Baffins Milton Rovers (Russell Cotes Cup), before we ended the month in what we hoped would be a relaxing afternoon in Guernsey.

Instead, it turned out to be anything but, as James Franklyn scored a last minute winner in one of the most bonkers games of football anyone attending had ever seen, 5-4 victors Moneys were at Footes Lane.

December

After calming down from that, and the postponement of our home game against Uxbridge due to stormy conditions, Moneys travelled to Lymington (or what felt like the Arctic Circle) for a comfortable 4-0 Russell Cotes Cup victory.

A heavy reverse in awful conditions followed at Hartley Wintney, but Moneys were to go into Christmas with at least some festive cheer, with Sutton Common Rovers seen off 4-3 at home in what was another absolutely bonkers Moneys game of football.

Horndean were seen off comfortably (4-1) on Boxing Day, and we avenged our defeat to Met Police on the opening day with a 1-0 win at Imber Court in our final game of 2024.

January

The new year couldn’t have got off to much of a better start on the pitch, as Ashford Town (Middlesex) were seen off 5-1 at home.

This was followed by convincing victories in PO3 over Binfield (5-0) and Uxbridge (2-0), before we travelled to Burnham to take on Southall and ran out 3-0 victors. The month finished with Guernsey making the long trip across the Channel, and Moneys comfortably got the job done, beating the Green Lions 4-1.

This month also deservedly saw Glenn Turnbull pick up Manager of the Month for the Isthmian League South Central Division, with Callum Smart picking up the Goalkeeper of the Month award.

February

February arrived with the distinct possibility of Moneys closing the gap to the play-off places as they dared to dream, though two consecutive league losses were a minor setback. Firstly, we were unluckily defeated at Uxbridge, before we fell to a 2-1 defeat at Westfield on a tricky pitch. Those reverses were sandwiched in between a defeat to Hamble Club in the Russell Cotes Cup Quarter-Final, before we travelled to the runaway league leaders.

And we certainly held our own at Farnham Town, with James Franklyn’s sumptuous effort earning a 1-1 draw at the Memorial Ground. We returned home on the Saturday after for a meeting with Ascot United, though this game will be remembered by many as the game where Jafer Mahammedkier picked up his horror leg injury. Thankfully it wasn’t to be season-ending however, and Moneys picked up a 1-1 draw in that particular fixture.

Remarkably, February also saw our last league defeat of the season, when Hayes & Yeading United ran out 4-2 victors in our second trip to the SkyEx Community Stadium.

We did book our spot in the Portsmouth Senior Cup Semi-Finals though, with a win over Horndean right at the end of the month.

March

Remarkably, out of the 12 games in league and cup Moneys still had left to play from this point onwards, they won all but one of them! That started with a topsy-turvy win over Harrow Borough on the first day of the month, with Badshot Lea seen off a week later via a late winner from Cal Laycock (who won celebration of the season for his obliteration of the corner flag!)

Hartley Wintney were then comfortably seen off at home, before wins at Sutton Common Rovers and at home to Southall saw Moneys become the form team in the league yet again.

This deservedly led to another Manager of the Month Award for Turnbull, as Moneys headed into the final month of the league season knowing that the play-offs were still a very real possibility.

April

And the first game of April actually ensured that the season would extend another month, as Gosport Borough were seen off in the semi-finals of the Portsmouth Senior Cup.

A last-minute Harry Thorpe penalty earned a 1-0 win at Binfield in what was a relatively scrappy game, before we spoiled Ashford Town (Middlesex)’s homecoming party with a 3-1 win at the Robert Parker Stadium.

We then hosted Raynes Park Vale and earned a crucial 3-2 win, with Callum Smart saving a last-minute penalty, before travelling to Horndean for our final away league game of the season.

We could only muster up a 1-1 draw at the Deans though, which put paid to our play-off ambitions, although even two wins in our final two games wouldn’t have been enough to secure that final play-off berth due to results elsewhere.

That means that we went into a home game with Rayners Lane (in Glenn Turnbull‘s final league game) without too much to play for and it kind of showed, with Lewis Beale netting a hat-trick in a 6-5 win that has a strong chance of somehow displacing Guernsey away as our game of the season!

And for the second month in a row and for the third time this season, Glenn Turnbull had won the Manager of the Month award.

May

There was still to be one final game though, the Portsmouth Senior Cup final against AFC Portchester. With Moneys trailing 1-0 with moments to go, Jafer Mahammedkier bundle the ball home to send the game to penalties. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be for Moneys, as AFC Portchester won 3-2.

#UpTheMoneys