Market Drayton Town are forging links that could add an exotic new fixture to their pre-season programme – with Hong Kong Football Club.
Town have thrown open their Greenfields HQ to help the club’s number one coach, former Oldham midfielder Mark Cooper, take top FA training examinations.
And Mark says he’s so impressed with the Greenfields set up involving both Town and the Market Drayton Tigers youth teams, he’s like to see them link up with his club.
Mark’s training sessions at Drayton originate from a coaching course some years ago when he met up with Town’s first team coach Mick Murphy, who is also the Shropshire FA football development manager.
Mick explained: “We’ve kept in touch ever since, especially as Mark frequently comes to the UK on business, often visiting in the West Midlands. He likes to brush up on his coaching while he’s over here. It’s difficult for him to improve his training methods and get the highest qualifications in Hong Kong because he’s virtually the top man there anyway.
“Town have made their ground available, players and officials from Tigers have generously given their time to help test his coaching methods and one of the top FA assessors in the country, Jeff Vernall, has been running the rule over him.”
Back in Hong Kong, Mark plans incorporating what he’s learned in Drayton in his club’s training programmes
Hong Kong run a clutch of teams from junior age groups up to professional level.
But as Mick points out: “It’s all potentially very beneficial for our local football too – we have high hopes of building on this by forging stronger links with Mark’s Hong Kong club.”
Sadly, such ambitions looked a long way off to home fans on Saturday as Town lost their last UniBond League South match of the season 2-1 to Lincoln United.
An elementary mistake by Nicky Porter presented United striker Alex Troughton with a gift goal and another, straight from Ben Garrick’s corner midway through the first half, only added to the gloom.
Ironically, Town generally dominated the match. But apart from occasional dangerous crosses by Stuart Ellis and a couple of efforts by Tom Rogers that should have been better, they rarely threatened the visitors.
When Jamie Haynes pulled one back nine minutes from time, Town briefly looked as though they might flicker into life but their death wish persisted and a what’s been a colourful, eventful season was meekly consigned to history with few to mourn its passing.
By Terry Morris
