It was a fantastic afternoon down at Keighley Road this afternoon as over 1100 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 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 lineup’s including the likes of James Hanson, Dean Windass and Gary Jones for City, whilst Ross McCormack, Andy Couzens and Dylan Kerr were amongst the players to feature for Leeds.
The 1100+ supporters were treated to an absolute spectacle of game that culminated in an 8-7 win to Bradford although it’s likely many fans will have lost count 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 striker Tom Greaves. Other scorers included Windass from the penalty spot, a long range Filipe Morais strike and a delightful chip from McCormack in the first half.
Silsden Chairman John Lohan spoke on the event and gave his thanks: “It’s a proud day for our club to host a game like this, a great effort from everyone to make this such a special day, well done to everyone involved.”
There was plenty of positivity surrounding the game on social media, with many fans enjoying a “cracking day” whilst raising a “great amount for a great cause.”
Even the BBC Look North camera’s descended on Keighley Road to capture the event, alongside local photographer Linda Gartland who captured some magnificent shots of the game.
With the success of both this year’s and last year’s game, there should be plenty of hopeful anticipation ahead of next season’s legends clash.
A full album of snaps from today’s game can be viewed here…
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17fFZdz5A7zHOT4CuDxZVh5-iJ2ss7zI6
