“Weston-super-Mare defender Keiran Thomas has admitted that playing against his brother Luke in the FA Cup in November was “the best memory” of a career which has spanned multiple promotions.
The 29-year-old took on younger brother Luke of Bristol Rovers in the FA Cup first round in a match that saw the Gas only beat the Seagulls who are three divisions below after extra time.
The defender who’s scored two goals in the National League South this season, has tasted promotion with Cinderford Town and super-Mare but playing against his brother was an even bigger achievement
⚽️Weston-super-Mare defender Keiran Thomas described his FA Cup experience playing against brother Luke Thomas at Bristol Rovers as the "best memory of his football career."
— Park Life Sport (@ParkLife_Sport) March 13, 2025
The 29-year-old sat down with @makaylaemorris to talk about what it was like👇#ParkLifeSport pic.twitter.com/V1jgyFxwL4
“The FA Cup game was unbelievable, it’s always something that I wanted to do obviously sharing a pitch with your brother doesn’t really happen very often to be honest.
“When the draw was announced we was both buzzing and knew it would be a great day for our family and us both but for me I think that’s the best memory I’ve got in my football career and one that will stay with me forever. “
📺 It's Thomas vs Thomas in the FA Cup tomorrow. @Official_BRFC and Luke Thomas take on his older brother Keiran who plays for @WSM_AFCOfficial
— Alistair Durden (@alidurdenBBC) November 1, 2024
But who came out on top in a game of FIFA? #facup #bristolrovers #weston pic.twitter.com/UzUlpzdJMS
The former Cheltenham Town academy player got his break into semi-professional football at Cinderford, and he believed his experience at the Foresters helped him adjust.
When I was in the second year of my scholarship, I went on loan to Cinderford to try and get some experience in men’s football, which helped me develop a lot as a player.
“It was enjoyable, started playing with my brother a lot, enjoyed playing every day, and it got more serious from there, really.”
After winning the title in the National League 2 South with the Town in 2017/18, Thomas stepped up, moving to Gloucester City to play in the professional game and knew it was a necessary but difficult decision to make.
“The season we won the league was an amazing year, but obviously they wanted to refuse promotion due to financial problems, which wasn’t good, but, for me personally, I was always going to try and move on after that season we won the league and it was time for me to make the step up.”
“I spoke to Tim Harris at Gloucester, and he wanted me to sign, so I felt like it was the right time to move on with having so many friends at the club and after such a successful season, it was a tough decision definitely.”
After leaving the Tigers to join Hereford, Thomas moved to his current side Super-Mare in 2020 and has enjoyed over four successful years at the club, which saw the side secure promotion back to the National League South in 2023.
“It was a tough decision to leave Hereford, but it was COVID at the time, and the club was a bit unsure on what they were doing moving forward, so when I spoke to the Weston gaffer, I was really impressed with what he had to say and where he wanted the club to go.
“It was right for me to move then, but a really good time at Weston, a real successful four year with getting in the playoffs and getting promoted, I would rate that really high in my career, winning the league at Cinderford was massive, winning the league at Weston was also a massive thing, it’s hard to win any league.”
