Mark Proctor’s team recovered from going two goals down to beat Emanuel Pogatetz and Ali Brownlee’s team 4-3 in the LOTSURF.com charity match thriller at the Riverside. And as well as having the experience of a lifetime, players contributed to a total of around £8,500 raised for two great causes.

Alastair McLeod opened the scoring for Poggy and Ali’s side, Marton Pharmacy, before skipper Neil Greaves added a second goal as the blues looked to be cruising. Proc’s Macks Solicitors side hit back but they were denied by a fantastic save from last year’s Man of the Match Paul Rushton, who was roared on by a strong family contingent who had all come up with him from Bedfordshire especially for the game. Rushton dived full length to tip over Stephen Gibson’s piledriver, earning warm applause from the crowd in the West Stand. But he could do nothing about David Gibson’s superb strike that gave Proc’s men hope, and then tricky winger Thomas McDade, one of three players who’d travelled from Motherwell to play for the reds, equalised seven minutes before half-time. The comeback was completed seconds before half-time as another Scot, Mark Diver, slid home to score and the impressive McDade made it 4-2 with his second six minutes from time. The goal sparked spectator chants of, ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ directed towards joint management duo Pogatetz and Brownlee!

Neil Greaves scored his second and Marton Parmacy’s third with a stunning long range strike but with 90 minutes on the clock it was too late and Football League referee Peter Quinn brought proceedings to a close. Marton Pharmacy’s central midfielder Liam Martin, whose father Ian also played in the game, was chosen as Man of the Match by match sponsors LOTSURF.COM.

Football Conference assistant referees Paul Stalker and Mel Hobson officiated along with Mr Quinn.

The charity players were given the nearest possible experience to being a professional footballer as they changed in the Riverside dressing rooms, had a pre-match team talk from the celebrity bosses, ran on to the pitch to Boro’s Pigbag theme tune and took part in the match under the Riverside floodlights. Teams and goalscorers were announced over the stadium PA system and electronic scoreboards, there were official team sheets and the players wore and kept shirts sporting their names on the back. Half the £8,000 plus profits will go towards the proposed reconstruction of the National School for Arts and Trades in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Hundreds of pupils and staff from the school were killed when the school was destroyed by an earthquake in January. The rest of the cash raised will go towards the Middlesbrough Diocesan Youth Mission Team being set up by one of the game’s organisers, Fr Paul Farrer, who took part in the game. All the kit and shirt printing was donated by Middlesbrough firm MSV Sport, who supply leisurewear to football clubs including Boro, Sevilla, Atletico Madrid, Basle, Austria Vienna and the Scottish FA. Players will also receive action photographs from the game courtesy of North News and Pictures, while participants also had the chance to purchase a match DVD, courtesy of Boro TV Limited. The fundraisers include Middlesbrough Football Club’s Communications Manager Dave Allan, Website Editor Mike McGeary and Boro Season Card holder Fr Paul. Through similar events over the past two years, the fundraisers helped raise £13,000 for Baghdad Central Training Hospital and £12,000 for Teesside Hospice.

Fr Paul Farrer said:

The game was a great success and we’d like to give our thanks to the sponsors and players for their great generosity, but also to all those who helped behind the scenes, without whom the event would have been impossible to organise.

MATCH SPONSOR – LOTSURF.COM

Marton Pharmacy 3 (McLeod, Greaves (2)), Macks Solicitors 4 (D Gibson, McDade (2), Driver)

MARTON PHARMACY

Managers: Emanuel Pogatetz and Alastair Brownlee

Players: Paul Rushton, Rich White, Ian Martin, Liam Martin, John Donnelly, Chris Harrow, Neil Greaves (Captain), Michael Hanlon, Alastair McLeod, Chris Saunders, Matthew Cuthbertson

Mascots: Grace Allan, Lucas Martin, Harry Martin

MACKS SOLICITORS

Manager: Mark Proctor

Players: Anthony Donnelly, David Hartley, Andy Tate, Fr Paul Farrer, 3 Fr Paul Leonard, Chris Rigby, Stuart McRobbie, Shaun Wilson, Waka Mehdi, Mark Driver, Shab Mehdi (Captain), David Gibson, Stephen Gibson, Thomas McDade

Mascot: Georgina Atkinson

Ball boys/girls: Fraser Donnelly, Alex Jones, Abbie Mcleod, Aidan Mcleod, Hannah Whiley, Allexa Sheekey