Football ‘Match of the Year’ ends in a draw

The game certainly lived up to its billing of ‘Match of the Year’ as the Stevenage Borough All Stars and the Arsenal Celebrities battled their way to a thrilling 3-3 draw. The home side was made up from players who took Stevenage to the Conference League title in 1995/96 while the Arsenal Ex-Professional and Celebrity XI is in its 14th year of raising money for charity through celebrity football.

The enthusiastic crowd definitely got its money’s worth as the home side fought back from 2-0 down to share the spoils with the star-studded Arsenal side. The Borough All Stars even threatened to steal the show late in the match but Groundforce nice guy Tommy Walsh proved he is just as handy with the goalkeeping gloves as he is at DIY, pulling off some great saves to deny the home side a last gasp victory. Borough’s Neil “Sarge” Trebble was named the man-of-the-match, earning him a special cheer from the Borough faithful on the terraces and some champagne courtesy of Allenburys Sports and Social Club.

The match was staged as part of Stevenage’s Britain in Bloom campaign with a percentage of the ticket takings going to community environmental projects. The John Lewis Distribution Centre also made it an evening to remember with a generous donation to the In Bloom campaign in return for a corporate box.