Somerset 4 St.George's 3

Somerset came out on top of a seven-goal thriller to win last Saturday's Over-40s All-Star Match at Somerset Cricket Club and claim bragging rights for the next 12 months.

In a match that saw the momentum shift several times, it was the home team who stood tall at the end, holding on after a determined St.George's comeback.

"It was a very competitive match, lots of fun and no serious injuries, which, of course, was the main concern," smiled Somerset defender Josef Gooden afterwards.

Somerset took this see-saw battle to their opponents by jumping out to an early lead when two-goal hero Michael Corday chipped into an empty net after spotting the 'keeper off his line.

But Somerset's joy soon turned to despair when an intercepted back pass left St.George's' Charles (Nature) Wade with the easy task of slotting home past 'keeper Gladston (Old Hell) Robinson.

The blunder, however, seemed to jolt Somerset into action as they regained control of proceedings via two quick tallies from the lethal left boot of Dwayne (Tricks) Richardson and Anthony (Berker) Burchall who converted seconds after leaping off the bench.

St.George's, though, refused to throw in the towel and managed to shave the deficit to one just before the half when Cal Raynor pounced on a Stevie Dickinson rebound and scrambled the ball across the line.

After what seemed an eternity in the dressing room at the break, Somerset restored their two-goal lead when play eventually resumed when Corday cleverly curled the ball in at the far post.

But once again a dogged St.George's came storming back through Wade, who scored his second goal of the match to cut it close before the final whistle blew, signalling the end of a riveting contest.

"Both teams turned back the clock and put on a very entertaining and competitive display of football," added Somerset's Gooden.

Corday was later voted MVP for Somerset while MVP honours for St.George's went to 'keeper Larry Steede who made some clutch saves to keep his team in contention whenever the home side threatened to cut loose.

Meanwhile, 'old school' football also took centre stage at the National Sports Centre (NSC) last Friday night where a late two-goal blitz saw North Village outscore Social Club Bluebirds 3-1 in a legends benefit match played before an appreciative crowd of 300-plus fans who were treated in the stands to the kind of attractive, controlled and possession football seldom seen these days.

On paper the end result of this inaugural battle for charity suggested a Village walkover but in truth this contest was an evenly-contested affair until the Reds struck twice at the death to put the match beyond Social Club's reach.

Bluebirds threatened first when striker Charles (Nature) Wade and brothers Mel and Fred Lewis all came close. But it was Village who broke the ice when, Ralph (Gumbo) Bean, once one of the Island's most lethal strikers, popped up in the box to nod home Paul Trott's precision cross in the middle.

But Social Club fought back and were rewarded in spectacular fashion when Cal Raynor proved he can still bang them in from distance, this time violently shaking the back of the net with a scorcher from 25 yards.

The match continued to flow freely towards the end but just when it seemed as though a draw was imminent Village turned on the after-burners and left Bluebirds in their wake via two gems from the boots of former pro Dale Russell and full back Richard Robinson.

Russell's beauty from 30 yards that left 'keeper Andre Manders clutching at thin air proved to be the game winner before Robinson's lobbed cross-come-shot from 40 yards dipped into the net to leave Social Club for dead.