Non-League and Academy football writer

Following Lymore Gardens’ excellent 5-1 win over Framlingham Town in the first round proper of the FA Vase, on Saturday afternoon, I did a short post-match interview with Lymore’s captain, Ryo Brown, and my player of the match, John-Jay Mooney. This was another historic day for Lymore Gardens in a season of great achievements so far, and in the second round of this seasons FA Vase they will face Thetford Town, away.

Ryo Brown:

Could you talk me through a bit about your background in football, prior to joining Lymore Gardens?

Ryo: I started playing grassroots football at around the age of 8, and I just loved every moment of playing football. But, when I got to the age of about 14 years old I took a couple of years out from playing football. After going to university, I found that love of playing football again, and then during Covid, I met Lee Benjamin, from Lymore Gardens. And the rest is history!

What would be your standout moment as a player for Lymore Gardens, so far?

Ryo: It would probably be a day like today, in the FA Vase, or the first day of this season, when we beat Hoddesdon Town 5-1 in the Thurlow Nunn League. It was a lot of anticipation going into that first game of the season, and obviously we didn’t win our league last season, and so we came up as runners-up, but we beat Hoddesdon very comfortably, and we knew then that we belong in this league, and at this level of non-League football.

What does it mean to captain Lymore Gardens?

Ryo: It means a lot to me. I think that there are a lot of players in this squad who are worthy of captaining this team. But, me being the chosen captain of the first team does make me feel quite privileged. As a club there is a lot that I do outside of the first team as well, and so pretty much every day of my life I’m doing something with Lymore.

What did you make of today’s game, an empathic 5-1 win over Framlingham Town?

Ryo: I think that it was a boss performance from Lymore. We went 1-0 down from a good finish to be fair, but their player doesn’t score that nine times out of ten. The fight and character that we showed to not only get back into the game, but to absolutely dominate, that was very good. Everyone played their part in this great performance, including those who came into the game off the bench, they all contributed.

John-Jay Mooney:

Could you talk me through a bit about your background in football, prior to joining Lymore Gardens?

John-Jay: My background in football started in Ireland, where I played for a team called Drogheda United, up to Under 17s level. I then moved to England and I actually stopped playing football for ten years. I joined Lymore at the back end of last year, and really and truly I’m only just getting into my stride now. I’ve always been a defender, and I can play in central defence or at right-back.

What have you made of this season, so far, for Lymore Gardens?

John-Jay: It’s been a good start for the club, and although the stats are good, the games that we did lose, we probably shouldn’t have lost. Because, I personally think that as far as a footballing team, we are the best in our league. We play good football, which is entertaining for the fans as well as for us players. As long as we’re happy as a team, we will score goals.

What are some of your thoughts on today’s big win in the FA Vase?

John-Jay: Off the ball and as a team we did well, but on the ball we did really well, and we kept it so well. Apart from their goal, I thought that we did well defensively. With Sidhant in goal, we’ve got a good goalkeeper, and we’re safe in goal.