A MEMORIAL match in honour of former Dorchester Town player Dave Annear has raised thousands of pounds for the Anthony Nolan Trust.
The event was supported by hundreds of friends and family, and has been described as an “amazing tribute” to Dave, who died last November aged 44 following a long illness.
Weymouth Sports Old Boys XI took on a Land Registry XI in an entertaining game at Cranford Avenue, that saw several of Annear’s former team-mates and work colleagues dust off their boots and join in the action.
Sports ended up winning 4-3 but on this occasion the result was not the most important thing. Former Portland United manager Dave Kiteley, who helped organise the event, said: “It was a classic game played in the right spirit.
“We held a minute’s applause before kick-off and we did that because we saw it as a day of celebration for a tremendous guy who was a great friend to everyone that took part. And it turned out to be a very emotional scene.”
An own goal and strikes from Stuart Kemp, Mark Caldwell and Mark Nicholson made up the winning tally for Sports while Kevin Hill netted a brace for the Land Registry whose other consolation came from Nick Dawe.
Kiteley added: “It was a great turnout from the players which included the likes of Brendan King, Mickey Greeno, Steve Alcock, Billy Kearns, Ade Chance, Stuart Kemp and Gary Bailey.
“Dave was a popular lad and he played for me for six or seven years at Weymouth Sports and Weymouth TC combined, and the fact many of the former committee members and players turned up to support as well was just tremendous.”
Following the match a barbecue was held at the Famous Old Spa on Dorchester Road.
Fellow event organiser Michaela Reid, whose husband Mark was Annear’s best friend, said: “After the game everyone headed back to the Famous Old Spa for a well-earned drink and a bite to eat.
“The landlord laid on a barbecue and a children’s entertainer and in the end around 250 people were at the pub, which was such a tremendous turn-out.
“Mark spoke of how the day had been an amazing tribute to Dave and how he would have been so proud to have seen all his friends play the game in the manner in which they did.
“He also paid tribute to Dave himself, thanked everyone for supporting the event, and spoke of the importance of spreading awareness of being on the bone marrow list and giving blood.
“We then held the raffle and raised around £1,500 in ticket sales which was superb and we would like to say a big thank you to all those who kindly donated prizes.
“An auction also took place, which saw two framed prints of Weymouth Harbour by a popular local artist and a signed Weymouth FC shirt, donated by the club, raise further funds.
“At the last count the rising total had hit £2,298, which is absolutely fantastic, but more money is still coming in. The whole day could not have gone better and it showed just how well Dave was regarded.”
Sharon Wells, who works for the Anthony Nolan Trust, has given the organisers of the event praise for the money and the awareness they have raised.
She said: “The money is just tremendous and it will enable us to place a further 20 potential lifesavers on our register which is just incredible.”
The Anthony Nolan Trust is a charity in the UK that focuses on leukaemia and bone marrow transplantation. For more details visit anthonynolan.org.uk
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