Tuesday 31st August 2004:
Heytesbury Football Club recently held a successful Reunion Day, with over 30 former players, aged between 30 years and 60 plus, turning out to play in a match before dining at the Red Lion Inn.
The match kicked off at 3.00 p.m. and within five minutes there were many red faces and hands on hips from the former players but they were still enjoying themselves.
Both teams played some nice football, with some good one-touch work, but the final shots went a bit wayward.
Eventually, the present team broke the deadlock with a well-headed goal. The former side stepped up a gear, pushing forward with great determination but paid the price when they were caught on the counter-attack. This didn’t deter them and they got their reward just before half-time, when the score was 2-1 to the present side.
The second half was played in the same spirit but neither team seemed bothered about defending, so the goals came thick and fast. First to score were the present side, going 4-1 up within ten minutes of the re-start.
This inspired the former players to bounce back with 2 goals before the present side scored a fifth to make it 5-3.
The final ten minutes of the game proved very exciting. The present side mistakenly thought the game was won. They were disappointed when the former side pulled a goal back to make it 5-4, leaving only injury time to be played.
With only seconds left the former players were awarded a dubious penalty. Basil Guy was chosen to take this all-important spot kick. He stepped up with confidence, sent the keeper the wrong way, and his goal made the final score a 5-5 draw.
This fairy-tale ending brought the Reunion match to a successful close, with many players asking for an annual reunion in the years to come but this was left undecided.
Report by Steve Richardson.