The manager of the current English Premier League leaders once scored a winning goal against Llanfairpwll in the Welsh Cup.
It was back in 1987-88 that Shrewsbury Town centre-half David Moyes netted the decider in a 1-0 victory over Anglesey side Llanfair in the third round of the national knockout.
The tie was played in midweek at The Oval, Caernarfon, and Shrewsbury of the Football League Second Division – they finished 18th that season – took on Welsh League North underdogs Llanfairpwll, managed by Bryan Owen.
The Shrews had Ken Brown and Ian McNeill in charge and their squad in 1987-88 included well-known names such as Nigel Pearson (later to play for Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough before managing at Leicester City, Derby County and Watford among many other clubs), Jim Melrose (former Leicester, Celtic and Manchester City), David Geddis (ex-Aston Villa and Ipswich Town) and Alan Irvine (briefly with Liverpool in 1986-87), as well as Moyes.
Among the Llanfairpwll line-up was Richard Jones (Rich Bach) from Bodedern, who was attracting the interest of a number of Football League clubs at the time.
It was a close battle that evening, with Moyes’ goal all that separated the sides.
Shrewsbury returned to The Oval in the next round, where they lost 3-1 to Caernarfon Town, Viv Williams among the scorers for the Canaries.
Moyes had a modest playing career overall, although he was part of the Celtic squad which won the Scottish Premier Division title in 1981-82.
The Scot went on to manage Preston North End, Everton, Manchester United, Real Sociedad and Sunderland before taking over at West Ham for a second time in December 2019.
Last season, Moyes led the Hammers to victory in the 2023 Final of the UEFA Europa Conference League.
On August 26, 2023, West Ham beat previously undefeated Brighton 3-1 away to hit top spot in the English Premier League.
Moyes will never forget this day, but I wonder if he still recalls the night he knocked Llanfairpwll out of the Welsh Cup?
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