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inspiration for this tale was a dark,
sombre afternoon in October 1994. Spirits
had been high at the 450th Anniversary
celebrations. The inaugural game of Old
Boys v School resulted in a 7 - 0
thrashing for the Old Boys. I knew then
that much work lay ahead. Just as Sir Alf
Ramsey had to discard many who had served
him well I knew that for some their best
years were behind them. I had to cut away
the dead wood. Gone were Andrew Burrows,
Eddie Reid, Phil Chandler and Steven
Houghton. Even ex-Everton Geoff Nulty was
to be a casualty in the fight to avoid a
repeat of the 450th Anniversary massacre.
Father Time is cruel. The team selected
in January was decimated by injury and
the lack of Phyllosan. Another team was
selected. The team that was selected was
very able to say the least. The final
touches were applied in the last week of
September. Then disaster struck again.
Several injuries befell the squad. In the
best traditions of a Graham Taylor
England squad, several last minute
replacements were called up. Only two
players from last year remained. I
questioned whether the squad had
sufficient experience. The following team
was assembled: H
Nulty (68-75)
Vine(70-76) Rhodes(67-73) Drewett(72)
Cain(65-72) Drewett (72)
North (80-85) Dooley (82-87)
Valentine(52-59) Donnelly(68-75) Hayes
(80-87). Sub: JAnders (69-74)
The team
played some excellent football, albeit at
a slow pace. Soon the Old Boys were 5 - 0
in front thanks to the excellent
finishing of Kingsley Hayes. By the time
Nulty added the seventh with a far-post
header from a comer the School's morale
was low.
The
final score was 10-2 to the Old Boys, a
late flurry o'f goals spoiling the
excellent defensive performance of the
older side. The scorers for the Old Boys
were; Hayes(4), Vine(2), Nulty(l),
North(l), Drewett D(2).
Special thanks from myself to all who
took part. Thanks to Jim Taylor for
watching and to the School for staging
the game. Special thanks to Jim Anders
who played at ten hours notice and came
on as substitute and rolled bade the
years with a vintage performance. Who
needs "Classic Match Of The
Day"?
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