October 13th 2019 saw the first HUFC Legends vs. Fans event which saw a team made up of Pools fans line up against Micky Barron’s Legends team.
Although the game was a little one-sided, everyone that played seemed to enjoy the game immensely and despite the awful weather the event drew a good crowd. The event was held to raise funds for two important causes to Pools fans and the final fundraising total of £2532 is split between HUST and Ian McGuckin’s youth-team set up at HUFC.
Lining up for the Legends along with Micky Barron were John Brackstone, Ben Clark, Ritchie Humphreys, Dimi Konstantopolous, Tommy Miller, Michael Nelson, Tony Sweeney, Mark Tinkler, Chris Westwood and Eifion Williams. The game also cameo appearances from H’Angus and Micky Barron’s two boys, who both look promising players for the future.
Photo Courtesy of Official HUFC.
Photo Courtesy of Mike Driver.
Following the match guests were treated to a fantastic Q&A with the Legends team, and the Legends certainly didn’t disappoint with their answers and stories from years gone by, with Eddie Kyle proving to be a great host.
You can find a comprehensive photo album of the event taken by Mike Driver of MD Sports Photography who kindly volunteered to take pictures. You can view the full gallery on Mike’s official Facebook page. Thank you to Mike for his time.
The first and biggest thanks must go to Micky Barron for arranging his team along with support from Andy Wilson. Seaton Carew FC were excellent hosts for both the match and after event talk-in, and an additional thanks to Carl Sweeting of Motif8 who sorted the kits for us, and Mark Goodman’s Auntie who somehow managed to get them all washed and dried so they could be signed a matter of hours following the end of the game! A big thanks to Tony Harrington who arranged for Lewis Hardy, Callum Donnelly and Matthew Carroll to kindly officiate the match.
Thanks to Hartlepool United, in particular Mark Simpson, for their support of the event including the donation of some excellent raffle prizes to help us build that fundraising total.
Finally the sponsors of the event. Utility Alliance for sponsoring the Legends kits, Travis Perkins for being the short sponsor. Big thanks to Th13teen Apparel for sponsoring the Man of the Match prizes and putting together the matchday programme as well as Cards ‘r’ Hudsons for sponsoring the tickets. Not forgetting of course our corporate sponsors RSL, Kyle Travel Limited and First Team Physiotherapy.
And of course most importantly thanks to everyone that paid to play, watch or support the event in any way. We were all delighted to read so many people on social media happy to see their heroes in action again, whether at the game or on the many photos or videos that appeared online. Bring on the re-match in 2020! We may keep it down to less than 15 next time.