Tintwistle Athletic look to have a bright future ahead of them, fresh off their Divisional Cup North win, where they beat Glapwell FC in the final on Tuesday 4 April.

The match was a tight affair, and both sides were defensively strong, keeping the score at 0-0 for the majority of the game before Tintwistle were awarded a penalty in the 94th minute.

Up stepped Tom Beswick who made no mistake, and fired the ball into the bottom right corner, giving Tintwistle the lead, who managed to hold on for the last few minutes and lift the trophy in front of their travelling supporters.

Manager Nathan Neequaye is immensely proud of his players, “I’m delighted, it was a long time coming, Tintwistle have been in the competition for many years, so it was great to finally win the trophy, and make the fans proud.”

Neequaye was keen to note that the 1-0 scoreline does not do his side justice, “The scoreline doesn’t really reflect the game, we had full control for large parts, and it could’ve been three or four, it was a great performance”.

He is understandably pleased with this achievement, especially having only been a manager for a short while, “I’m very proud, this is my first managerial job and to win a trophy in my second season is fantastic”, said Neequaye. He was also full of praise for his assistant coach, Jason Sweeney and says he couldn't have done it without him.

Neequaye is hopeful that the trophy win can help put Tintwistle on the map, and help them attract players from other areas, “It is a big statement winning a trophy, and hopefully it will allow us to recruit some players from outside the area to help bolster the squad ahead of next season”.

It’s not just the first team who are enduring some success either, with the club’s youth team also making it to a cup final, which they will play at the end of this month. Neequaye was keen to highlight the importance of the youth team at a club like Tintwistle, “We’ve got a clear pathway with teams through all the ages, from under 7’s upwards, which allows us to keep sustaining and bringing players through every season and we’re in a really good place at the minute”.

When asked what he has made of the season as a whole, Neequaye said, “It has very much been a transitional season, we’ve had lots of players coming in and going out, but we’re in a position now where we’ve got a settled squad and everyone’s bought into our philosophy and style of play”.

“We’ve got five games left in the league and a league cup game to come so we just want to finish the season strongly, and hopefully the cup win can give us some momentum”, he added.

🏃 Tour of Tameside 2023 🏃

We're proud to be delivering this year's four-day running festival, which takes place from 15 to 18 June. 

Find out more and book your place here. 

Want more local sport stories?

Head to https://www.questmedianetwork.co.uk/news/sport/ to see more of our coverage - from community and non-league football to local and county cricket, boxing, athletics, basketball, Esports and golf.