ROY Hodgson may have got off to a decent start, but another England international football manager is also making waves.
As Hodgson led England into the Euro 2012 finals on the back of friendly wins over Norway and Belgium, Uxbridge’s Garfords Beck led englandfans FC to an 8-0 hammering of their Belgian counterparts.
Beck, whose assistant, Willy Wordsworth, is from Hayes, is manager of the England supporters’ side, who lifted the Cuthbert Ottaway Memorial Cup with an extraordinary performance last Saturday.
A record crowd of more than 250 for an englandfans game gathered at Bedfont Football & Social Club for the game, which was pretty much over by half time, with the Three Lions leading 6-0.
Jack Allen opened the scoring, and his own account for the team, before two assists from man-of-the-match Mark Tighe saw Roy Chatterjee notch, and a first-ever goal for Liam Hegarty.
Tighe then got on the score-sheet himself before returning to provider for another first for the team from Gurdeep Dosanjh, followede by a second for Chatterjee.
After the break, a brace from Ian Allsop, one an exquisite finish which saw him volley home after the ball came crashing back off the bar from a fine strike by Luke Barton, completed the scoring.
A jubilant Beck said after the game: "The score line truly reflected the team’s dominance. Belgium tried their best, but they were just no match for my team. We prepared the boys thoroughly for this one, put together a game plan, and it worked a treat."
The cup was played for in memory Cuthbert Ottaway, England’s captain in their first ever international fixture, and to help raise money to restore his once fine resting place, which is now an unmarked slab, to its former glory.
