Legends victorious in Cheadle

Pascal Chimbonda, Michael Brown and Mark Falco were among the scorers as the Spurs Legends side returned to action against members of our official North West Spurs Supporters’ Club at Cheadle Town FC near Stockport on Sunday (27 June).

In a rare outing in the north of England, the team of former players enjoyed a run-out against a group of dedicated Spurs fans, in what was their first game in nearly two years following the pandemic.

And they cantered to a high-scoring victory at a terrific event that also saw Spurs Women first team player Ashleigh Neville and Club mascot Chirpy on hand to meet and greet fans.

Our former Academy player turned TV personality and pro footballer Mark Wright guested for the Legends alongside the likes of Stephen Clemence, Neil Sullivan, Stuart Nethercott and Brian Statham, with 1991 FA Cup winner Paul Stewart in the dugout as manager.

There was a poignant moment in the second half when Charlie Edinburgh, son of the late former Legends team regular Justin Edinburgh, came on wearing the number three shirt and subsequently scored from the penalty spot in a fitting tribute to his father. There was also a minute’s applause prior to kick-off in memory of Justin and Ray Clemence, our iconic former England goalkeeper who sadly passed away last November following illness.

Proceeds from the event will be donated to the North West Spurs Supporters’ Club’s chosen charities, including the JE3 Foundation, which has been set up in Justin’s memory.

Paul McVeigh and Mark Hughes scored early in the contest before goalkeeper Sullivan and defender Chimbonda combined to deny the Supporters’ Club’s Ste Tracey in the box at the other end. Former midfielder Brown then marked his first appearance for the Legends with a goal to make it 3-0, while Wright’s cut-back was left by Falco for Kevin Watson to blast home from outside the box, with Chimbonda subsequently going through on goal to score with a deft chip over the advancing keeper and Falco firing in a crisp left-footed shot for 6-0 inside 19 minutes.

Wright added to the scoreline but the Supporters’ Club replied with two goals in quick succession via Rob Stockton’s accurate long-range finish and Tracey’s back-post tap-in. Wright, Falco and Brown made it 10-2 by half-time with defender Statham adding his name to the scoresheet soon after the restart before three goals in as many minutes from Wright stretched the Legends’ lead even further.

Wright scored twice more, either side of Charlie Edinburgh’s coolly-taken spot-kick after Statham went to ground in the box, while Andrew Hill bagged a third goal for the hosts with just under 20 minutes remaining. Subsequent goals from Hughes and Wright rounded off a 19-3 final scoreline!

The Legends aim to be back in action next month, with fixture details to follow in due course.

Spurs Legends: Neil Sullivan, Brian Statham, Mark Wright, Kevin Watson, Stuart Nethercott, Pascal Chimbonda, Stephen Clemence, Michael Brown, Paul McVeigh, Mark Hughes, Mark Falco. Substitutes and guest players: Joe Thompson, Aaron Chinery, Charlie Edinburgh. Manager: Paul Stewart.