It was a fantastic afternoon down at Silsden AFC on Sunday, as over 1,100 fans watched an exciting 8-7 win for Bradford City’s legends over Leeds United’s legends all in aid of former Bantam’s star Allan Gilliver and his chosen charities.
Allan featured across two spells for Bradford City as well as working a number of roles at Valley Parade, including as the groundsman, but he was sadly diagnosed with dementia over 10 years ago.
With the support of his family, this annual game was organised between the two sides to raise money for former players suffering with dementia.
Both teams featured star studded lineups, including the likes of James Hanson, Dean Windass and Gary Jones for City, while Ross McCormack, Andy Couzens and Dylan Kerr were among the players to feature for Leeds.
The four-figure crowd were treated to an absolute spectacle of a game, although it is likely many fans will have lost count of the score well before the 90 minutes was up.
Hanson was a regular scorer at Valley Parade during his time at the club and scored a wonderful hat-trick for City, a feat matched for Leeds by non-league legend and current Thackley player-manager Tom Greaves.
Other scorers included Windass from the penalty spot, a long range Felipe Morais strike and a delightful chip from McCormack in the first half.
Silsden chairman John Lohan spoke about the event and gave his thanks, saying: “It’s a proud day for our club to host a game like this.
“It was a great effort from everyone to make this such a special day, so well done to everyone involved.”
There was plenty of positivity surrounding the game on social media, with many fans enjoying a “cracking day” while raising a “great amount for a great cause.”
With the success of both this year’s and last year’s game, there should be plenty of anticipation ahead of next season’s legends clash.
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