Tranmere booked their place in the 2005 FA Futsal Cup finishing top of the Wirral Futsal League and maintaining their 2 year unbeaten record in the competition.

The standard of Futsal on the Wirral has been improving steadily since Tranmere first introduced the game to the region over 10 years ago and this years competitions was the strongest yet. The 2005 league saw a number of new teams enter with some exciting young players making their debut on the Futsal Court.

"The new teams and players have adapted quickly but once again Tranmere have shown us all how Futsal should be played"
- Bryan Jackson, FC Vaults manager and Wirral Futsal League organiser.

The league concluded with Tranmere's first team having scored 54 goals and conceded only 6. One of Tranmere's leading goal scorers Eddie Bryers, was happy with the teams performance in the qualifiers but remained level-headed about the nationals in July:

'The team have performed well in the qualifiers but we know that we're going to have to step up another gear for when we play in the nationals as the quality of the teams coming out some of the other regional qualifiers will be very high"

Club captain Mike Corran added:

"We have brought in new players at the start of the year to replace more experienced players that have left the club. These players are new to Futsal and are learning the intricacies of the game fast."

"However, we are under no illusions that we have a lot of hard work ahead of us if we want to be playing the level of Futsal that will be required to compete with the best in England and Europe. Although we will be competitive in the nationals this year our sights our firmly set on a UEFA Futsal Cup place in 2007".

The Tranmere second team also put in some excellent performances finishing in runners up spot, ahead of FC Vaults in third, having lost only one game in a closely fought encounter against the first team.

In the last three games of the league Tranmere's honorary president, Ex-Liverpool and England International John Barnes was also on hand to help steer the Tranmere second team to victory.

Alongside the involvement of John Barnes, another huge positive for the club was the return of Jay Corran and Andy Reading to the Tranmere side after a successful championship winning season in Romania with 2005 Champions Odorhei Secuiesc.

Corran was pleased with what he found at the club on his return from Romania and was positive about the future:

"The team spirit is excellent and everybody involved with the club is excited by plans currently being put in place by the management committee for the long term growth of the club."

"Tranmere is at the very beginning of plan that will ensure the it maintains its position amongst the elite of English Futsal as the sport grows under the FA over the coming years."

"It is important that we match our performance on the court with a commitment to working with the FA and regional agencies to develop and promote Futsal in the local community. This will be vital for the success of the sport in the Future."

Jay also hinted at the possibility of a return to Romania for Tranmere in the coming months to play a series of friendlies against his old club Odorhei Secuiesc.

With the re-launch of their website in July and plans in place for tours to Europe it promises to be an exciting summer for Tranmere.


Media Team

Tranmere Victoria Futsal Club

June 6th 2005

media@tranmerevictoriafc.co.uk