The FA Inter League Cup Final was won by the Arthurian League, after a 1-0 extra-time win over West Yorkshire Association Football League at Lincoln City's Sincil Bank.
The two representative teams couldn't be separated after 90 minutes, with the Final progressing to extra time.
And it looked as though a penalty shootout could be on the cards, before Ben Hale scored in the second half of extra time to win it for the Arthurian League.
The Arthurian League will now go on to represent England at the UEFA Regions' Cup in Finland later this year.
This season has seen the return of the Inter League Cup for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign, as leagues from Step 5 and 6 entered their representative teams in the competition.
Our last winners of the competition were the Jersey Combination League who beat the West Cheshire League in the Final at St. George's Park in May 2021 following the COVID-19 lockdown.
The Arthurian League squad: Olly Bowles, Josh Banfield, Anthony Beddows, Ashley Beddows, Craig Bonnar, Peter Brooking, Ollie Catterall, Jake Fetherston, Sam Fetherston, Ben Hale, Henry Langley, Will Payne, Charlie Rolls, Gus Shaw Stewart, Sam Thomas, Nick Watts
Manager: Billy Jenkins
West Yorkshire Association Football League squad: Cameron Feather, Harjashan Bhandal, Joel Farrar, Joseph O’Neil, Reece Evans, Jack Atkinson, Ethan Walshaw, Ben Brook, Alex Stewart, Brandon Lee Miller-Hughes, Lee Bennett, Pejmam Shabankareh, Mohammed Conteh, Adam Shaw, Adam Simpson, Johny Irving, Alex Ingham, Ewan Heath, Callan Parker-Wells
Manager: Nick Johnson
Ahead of Sunday's game, we caught up with both managers to get their thoughts on the game.
Billy Jenkins - The Arthurian League
HOW DID YOU BECOME THE MANAGER?
I’d played for Old Foresters in the Arthurian League and this job just cropped up, out of the blue, at first as assistant and then I eventually took over the reins.
WHAT ARE THE ISSUES WHEN MANAGING A REP TEAM?
I think that for a team that is not drilled day in day out we’ve shown a great bond, a togetherness. One of the best things is when you see all the players in the dressing room talking together, no one was in a corner on their own little group, they‘d really bonded together. I think that is a key ingredient, especially for a rep team. You have a small window of opportunity working with the players, get some basic installed, but in many ways you have to leave it up to them.
WHAT QUALITIES HAS YOUR TEAM SHOWN?
There is a good atmosphere between them all, they are keen to represent the league, and the rest will hopefully fall into place. We now have belief in ourselves, some of the pitches have been a bit heavy, but we’ve adapted well.
DOES YOUR TEAM HAVE A PARTICULAR STYLE?
We will set up a bit aggressively in terms of stamping our game on proceedings rather than thinking too much about what they are doing. But obviously if there is a winger causing some damage for example we’d introduce some adaptations. We want to impose our game. We plan to impose ourselves, but adapt if need be, if that is not a juxtaposition!
DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE UEFA REGIONS’ CUP?
You can’t help thinking about the prize of the UEFA Regions’ Cup if you win today, it is not something that crops up every day! It’s an incredible carrot, it’s an incredible prize, so you can’t help thinking about it really, although you try not to! If we were fortunate enough to qualify I’m sure it would take a long time to settle in, let’s put it that way. But we know it’s not going to happen unless we turn up on the day.
Nick Johnson - West Yorkshire Association Football League
HOW HAVE YOU FARED IN THIS COMPETITION PREVIOUSLY?
We have traditionally done well in the competition over the last ten years or so, winning it in 2016 and going on to represent England in Romania the UEFA Regions’ Cup, then getting to the quarter-final in 2019 and again to the final today.
WHAT MADE YOU MOVE INTO MANAGEMENT?
I had a double break of my leg when I was 36 playing for Carlton Athletic so my playing career ended, but I thought I wasn’t really ready to walk away from the game so I gave management a go by managing Carlton Athletic reserves. And after all these years I still have the bug.
WHAT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT ASPECT OF MANAGING THE TEAM?
Having to have the conversation with players that you are having to leave out of the team or they are not being selected on match day, especially in the big games, as all the players want to do is play.
WHAT QUALITIES HAVE YOUR TEAM SHOWN IN ORDER TO REACH THE FINAL?
We have shown a never say die attitude, especially in the game against the York League when we went behind in the 83rd minute yet recovered to force an equaliser in the last minute. We then went on to win the tie on penalties .We have shown in all our games a strength of character and togetherness that has seen us through to where we are now. We have a great blend of youth and experience.
HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR TEAM TO PLAY?
We are not a completely possession-based team, we like to vary our play, we are strong and compact at the back, we have mobile midfield players and forwards that complement each other. We can play both into feet or in behind, a good variation I would say.
DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE OPPOSITION?
Not really as we are a league representative team and it’s a league-based competition rather than a club competition, it is hard to know about a league that is 170 miles away! But obviously I have had a good look on the Arthurian League website and on the social media networks to try and get a feel for the opposition. But we never really bother too much about the opposition and I know it’s an old football cliché but it’s what we do as team that counts
The Squad: Cameron Feather, Harjashan Bhandal, Joel Farrar, Joseph O’Neil, Reece Evans, Jack Atkinson, Ethan Walshaw, Ben Brook, Alex Stewart, Brandon Lee Miller-Hughes, Lee Bennett, Pejmam Shabankareh, Mohammed Conteh, Adam Shaw, Adam Simpson, Johny Irving, Alex Ingham, Ewan Heath, Callan Parker-Wells
Match officials
Referee: Dale Baines (Liverpool FA)
Assistant Referees: Jacob Graham (Manchester FA) & Scott Chalkley (Birmingham FA)
Fourth Official: Ruebyn Ricardo (Leicestershire & Rutland FA)
You can find all of the details for the current campaign below.
The FA Inter League Cup - Season 2023-24
