Howells sinks Hammers in small-sided tournament

West Ham Veterans were among the sides put to the sword as some of our ex-players reached the final of a six-a-side tournament in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, last Sunday.

One of two club sides competing at the invitation-only football festival to celebrate the World Cup, the Spurs group – comprising Legends team regulars David Howells, Justin Edinburgh, Mark Falco, Stuart Nethercott, David Kerslake and goalkeeper Gareth Howells – beat the Hammers 2-0 en route to the final, where they came up short against a younger ‘France fans’ team.

With the remainder of the participating sides made up of supporters representing various World Cup nations, the competition began in a league format with each side playing three seven-minute games.

After a 1-0 loss to the ‘Brazil fans’ team in which David Howells hit the bar, Spurs battled a West Ham side that included Steve Lomas, Kenny Brown, Stuart Slater and Steve Jones in their second outing. Nethercott crossed for Howells to give his side the lead before substitute Aaron Chinery completed a 2-0 victory to put an initial three points on the board.

The same two players scored again while Howells missed a late penalty as Spurs beat ‘Mexico fans’ 2-0 to secure second spot and a place in the final. Unfortunately, despite Howells hitting the bar again with a speculative long-range effort, goals right at the start and end of the game saw the lads go down 2-0 as ‘France fans’ maintained their 100 per cent record at the tournament.

Photograph with thanks to Andy Clugston