Friday Night Football: Brock Veterans 2 Ex-Saints 3

25 September 2026

Bit of Friday night football at the Meadens this week with the rematch between Brock Veterans and an ex-Saints XI following the entertaining 5-5 draw last year.  This time around, the Saints came from behind to win 3-2 with two late goals – ah it could have been so different.   

The opening stages were – well, Brock hit three balls over the trees into the gardens, but nothing much else happened for 20 minutes although Sparkie looked pretty lively.  And then so nearly a moment of magic when Sam Vokes – surely far too young and fit to be playing in this fixture – won the ball near the touchline and chipped towards goal… clearing the keeper only for the ball to bounce back off the inside of the far post and into his waiting arms!  But, bedlam, 27 minutes and the Badgers took the lead – Sparkie looked suspiciously offside when the ball came across to him but no flag, it was bundled into the middle and Adam Colmer was able to walk it home.  Better to come four minutes later – a cross from the right, a deft looping header from that man Colmer again, just clearing the keeper and slowly drifting over the line and into the corner.  Shortly after that, Vokes sharply in the box for Saints and hammered home to reduce the arrears to 2-1 at half-time.  I wasn’t the only person slightly surprised when the half ended after 35 minutes, that message hadn’t reached the stands in advance, but fair enough.  Unfortunately, to the disappointment of the entire Colmer clan gathered in the stands and to many others too, Adam was subbed off at half-time, robbing him of the chance to score a glorious hat-trick…

The second half featured quite a lot of walking football, although the Saints were playing a ridiculously high line and Brock really should have managed to get in behind more often instead of being caught offside with such regularity.  They did get through once – shot from Steve Howes just wide of the far post – and then again when Sparkie used his pace (still plenty of that to burn) to beat the keeper to the ball, managed to cross, only a couple of defenders back on the line – but in attempting his shot, Andy Simmons (Simmo) slipped and ended up on the turf having made no connection.  And then Sam Vokes had the final say, firstly by winning a penalty for being pulled back in the box, up stepped none other than Matt Le Tissier and of course he scored, of course he did, Le Tissier from the penalty spot!  And then Vokes reminded us he was once (not so long ago) an international striker by beating about four players and calmly putting the ball into an empty net to win the game. 

Not necessarily the highest quality, but a lot of fun, 464 in attendance including a lot of youngsters and maybe a few people who’ll realise that Brock is a pretty nice play to be to watch football and might make a return journey sometime.  And even more than that, funds raised for charity, and that’s the whole point.  Well done to everyone involved.