In a wonderful day, beginning with the game between the current MTFC side and a squad of Legends that have donned the Town shirt since the cub founded in 2004, the club raised over £3400 for both Macmillan Cancer and the Peter Miles Trust Fund, a fund set for the young family of Peter 'Milo' Miles who sadly passed last December.

The game itself started quickly for the current crop, as a through ball from Sam Angel, excellent on the day, allowed striker Mitchell Burley to tee up the delicate John McKrell to tap home after 4 minutes, only to be correctly disallowed for offside by Lino Dave Moore who somehow remembered the rules of football. It was to be a sign of things to come as Dan Hoskins, Gary Moore and Angel outnumbered old boys Stuart Goodhall and Kevin Dunne in the midfield battle.

Goodhall’s elegance and poise was still visible from his playing days in the last decade and was neatly paired with the motor legs and slightly rotund combative nature of Dunne, who, while never wore the blue of Town, has become a fixture In this fixture.

Goodhall’s grace, sadly no longer matched with grass-gobbling movement, but the speed of pass allowed McKrell to knit the Legends’ attacks nicely, although the growing reliance on the David Jenkins-to-Smithers ball was clear; chiseled manager Jeff Beck shut that supply line down with ease. Jenkins, the club captain for 8 years, and Chris Garraway, to whom the years have been more kind, had a tough job keeping Burley quiet, a tricky task given the short-armed hitman bagged 23 in 24 last season, along with a goal in last weekend’s opener. However, with Neil Barker and Neil Smith up top, the legends carried a threat on the break. Smith, still all-time goals per game record holder from 2005/06, went for a cheeky chip on Perry Howard, only for the ball to strike the top of the bar.

John Young vs Smith was a great tussle. The burly, rabble-rausing nature of Young vs the electric pace and bite of Smith saw a few crunching tackles, but mainly calm, bar one headlock. Goodhall began to exert his influence on proceedings, but failed to find the killer pass. James Guest managed to keep Joe Mckrell under wraps bar one neat move and cross, only for Barker to strike over. Indeed Young and new signing Conor Tierney were rarely opened as Barker dropped deeper to orchestrate.

Legends’ Manager Gavin Croxford was able to pick from good numbers, but his pre-match press conference suggested his lack of confidence in the ability for half of them to actually play football for longer than 3 minutes. With Phil Lowe placing appearance conditions on his head (having to leave at HT to play for Cookham in their loss to Westwood) and an array of “talent” unable to pass a football straight, it appeared intelligent rolling subs was a very, very good idea.

Town pushed on and a flurry of first half corners saw new Reserve team Keeper Raz Cristea into action defending the Legends goal. A few good punches and claims bodes well for the coming season. Burley just missed on nodding a close range head home, and Angel smashed a long-range effort wide.

The fine looks of Lowe and Ben Trillow perhaps subdued Tom Jeffries and Aaron Holland on the left/right, but Tooj still managed to whip across a now (in)famous diags, for it to not go to whom he meant. Holland’s neat footwork enticed a few ankle clips from both Smith and Dunne. With Cristea busy with punches, the Doug-esque Gary Fing Moore took a knock to the ankle and allowed MTFC Youth starlet Josh Trayte to join the action. Fresh(ish) from a 90-min performance in the morning, Trayte immediately began to offer attacking threat against Craig Dunne, whose helper Joe Mac was seemingly more concerned with chatting to Guesty on the half-way line and reliving tales of the different coloured boots he has worn over the years.

It was a move down the right that allowed a square ball to be played across the Legends line, Jeffries able to bundle home from close range to bring the goal Town had probably deserved. Our Canadian childhood rascal Gary Saunders was introduced as the Legends began to tire and immediately Saunders saw red, only because that was the colour of his eyes from the night before. Another neat passage of play from Trillow and Joe Mac saw Smith deliver another strike, however into the grateful and new hands of Perry Howard, Town’s new stopper, collected from TVPL side Wargrave.

Halftime saw a much needed breather, the odd beer and perhaps even some relief as Town took a 1-0 lead into the second period. The crowd grew anxious. When were the Legends going to unleash their creative minds?

Changes were made as Matt Clem, Aaron Brinsden and Ginge Lane replaced Guest, McKrell and Jeffries, along with the Legends swaps of Chris Connell, Biff Byford and the handsome manager Croxford. Again, Legends started brightly with the vigour of Byford & the pace and touch of Connell offering simliar degrees of success. None. But as the game, and the playing time, went on, it was the current crop that created the chances. Dan Hoskins, fresh back from a season out injured, looked hungry for goals and tackles, an excellent run through several players ended with a neat strike, saved well by Cristea.

And it was Hoskins that scored next…another run, this time around the outside right of the Legends, to blast a low far-side drive past the despairing Raz to make it 2-0. His silencing of the crowd was barely necessary but looks good in the photos.

Childhood sweetheart and baby-faced – yet with defined quads and calves – David Hennessey was finally introduced to the left wing to bring that creative class - and a touch of humour - to proceedings, but his intent of his ‘free role’ was made clear as he strutted over to the middle, much to the anger and ire assistant manager Dunne. Yet, allowing the crowd-pleaser to express himself was a wise move, as he almost played a pass to someone at some point. Young centre-back Alex Green entered the fray for the tiring Johno, whose first draw of beer was visibily enjoyed. James Wickens was also brought on at full-back as Croxford went to sure up to avoid leakage.

Right winger Brinsden found himself one-on-one with Cristea but blasted his shot over, landing awkwardly to blast his knee out of joint for a few seconds. Town are waiting on the docs reports, but perhaps Brin could miss a few months following the fall. Steve Newell, last season’s Reserve side top-scorer, entered the fray and shortly after, also missed a golden chance to complete proceedings.

Neil Barker’s dead-ball’s brilliance, showcased so delightfully last season with his wonder strike, was again put under the spotlight, after a daft foul by someone (there had been beer taken by now), but his magical instep failed to deliver a fatal, or indeed even remotely brushing blow this time around, Howard collecting under the challenge of the Jenkins Bros. Target-man John Jenkins and the twinkle-toed playmaker Dave Moore had both been introduced by the defiant Croxford, whose team selection had been questioned…how could you leave Hennessey, Moore AND Town’s own Didier Drogba out of the firing line for so long? Now was their time to shine. We’re not sure they ever did.

With 7 to go, the current side also re-introduced Guest and player-manager-poacher Jeff Beck, whose lack of running meant a huge amount of work for Trayte, who energy and direct play had brought another couple of saves from Raz.Big Steve attempted the spectacular with a back-heeled effort, cleared by Trillow near the line. With legs tiring and play opening up, Legends’ long-ball approach saw Jenkins munch a few players and Hennessey’s anger at one point looked to boil over.

The game sat in the balance. Despite the score being 2-0 and the current side now confident of a win, the match could absolutely have gone either way and needed something special to decide it. It duly came, from the same boot that produced a moment of football magnitude last term (it was never offside, you’ve all now seen the pictures!). Jeffries, re-introduced for Burley, scooped a past through to Roberts, himself enjoying a 10-min cameo for Hoskins, completely missed the ball through his legs and it strayed wide to the left. Beck, always ready to capitalize using the bare minimm effort required, opened his growing body to accept the pass, outwitting the incoming Trillow with ease, before dispatching a rifled arrow into the bottom corner to settle things. A joyous moment for some, perhaps neaseus for others.

It stirred the Legends into action. Neat play from Connell and Byford saw Jenkins munched in the box by Clem, whose manly stature offered compliment to the frame of JJ. After receiving instruction, it was the butterfly steps of Hennessey that glided up to the spot, to strike a cannon-ball to the keepers right, an unstoppable strike that brought cheer to the fans and players alike.

From the resulting kick-off, Beck showed up a ridiculous effort by Jenkins to leave his mark on the 2016 event, neatly sidestepping a desperate lunge with tricky feet. A small cuddle diffused the situation, Beck gladly avoiding the tirade of a now-violently charged Hennessey.

With seconds remaining, Beck fired a ridiculously over-hit cross over all in the box, only to be collected by Jeffries, perhaps admiring the similarilty of his own game. A neat turn and strike was saved well by Raz, but looped high into the air. The welcoming boot of Newell nudged it over the line for the last kick of the game and to complete the scorecard…MTFC 4 – 1 MTFC Legends.

Man of the Match was controversially awarded to John McKrell, however a judge’s panel concluded, over a raft of empty Kronenburg glasses, that Dan Hoskins was a more worthy winner. Special mention to Sam Angel and Raz Cristea, but it was the club that were the true winners in a wonderful spectacle of football.

Town: Howard, Guest, Young, Tierney, Holland, Angel, Moore, Hoskins, John McKrell, Jeffries, Burley
Subs (all played); Trayte, Clements, Green, Roberts, Brinsden, Newell, Lane, Beck

Legends: Cristea, C Dunne, D Jenkins, Garraway, Lowe, Joe McKrell, Goodhall, K Dunne, Trillow, Smith, Barker
Subs (all played); Saunders, Croxford, Wickens, Byford, J Jenkins, Hennessey, Moore, John McKrell, Connell