Harrogate Veterans FC win Seniors World Cup for England for a seventh time

The team, which is comprised largely of local players from Paul Bell’s all-conquering Harrogate & District Veterans League and West Riding County FA Leeds Division One-winning sides, continued its impressive run of form in the competition, lifting the trophy for the seventh time in the fourteenth year they have entered.

Held this year in Central Bangkok, the Three Lions had to overcome plenty of adversity throughout the annual tournament as they retained the title which they reclaimed last year in Patumthani.

And their efforts left manager Bell extremely satisfied, particularly by the quality of their defending with just the one goal conceded in five matches.

“The squad and the management team have been great and have all pulled together after a difficult start to the week and it has been another memorable experience, especially for those who were with us for the first time,” he said.

“Whilst we weren’t as free-scoring as last year, that was perhaps inevitable given the fact that we had to play a certain way given the challenges we had with the age mix and positional issues, plus having to manage the much hotter conditions this time around.

“Our overall defending as a team was excellent, led by Ian Cox (the former Burley, Gillingham and Bournemouth defender), who is still an outstanding player at the age of 53.

"It was especially good in our semi-final against Iran. To come through that game with 10 men at the end is up there with one of our best performances over the years.”

Harrogate’s coaching staff and several of their key players form the core of the England Seniors side, but their enhancement by several other ex-professionals from around the country has enabled them to compete with other nations who have similar squad profiles.

The late withdrawal of influential midfielders Sean Davis (ex-Fulham) and David Norris (ex-Leeds United) due to hospitalisation and personal matters was an initial blow which deprived Bell of two key men, but more bad news was to follow and his squad was put under further strain when strikers Barry Hayles (ex-Fulham) and Steve Jones (ex-Burnley) were both ruled out of a pre-tournament friendly due to injury.

When sickness also hit the camp on the morning of their opening group game against Australia, boss Bell was suddenly left with just 13 players from which to select his a team for a fixture to be played on a day where the temperature peaked at 39 degrees celcius.

In the end, a 0-0 draw against an Aussie outfit which assistant manager Mark Smitheringale rated as “their strongest since they won the cup in 2010”, was a decent outcome given what England had to deal with prior to kick-off.

Jones had managed some game-time late on, which was a bonus, but more bad news was forthcoming when it was confirmed that Hayles was unlikely to be fit enough to play any part during the tournament.

“Being one of our over-50s, the loss of Barry had a significant impact on that age category, meaning extra time on the field and less rest for the other over-50s – but also in how we lined up and played,” Bell explained.

"As a result, the three over-50s we had to have on the field at any one time had to occupy defensive positions in every game.

“We couldn’t expect those defenders to be overlapping and we adopted a more cautious approach, especially against the quick Asian teams in our group.

“All of our games turned out to be tight affairs, especially the three which were played in the afternoon sun which was really challenging, and how we introduced fresh legs and energy in the second half proved crucial.

"Throughout the week we only once scored in the first half, against Vietnam, but came good towards the end of matches as the opposition eventually tired.”

Crucially for England, centre-forward Jones hit the ground running having returned to fitness and went on to score seven times, meaning that he was responsible for scoring each and every one of his team’s goals during the competition.

He followed up his hat-trick in a 3-0 success against Vietnam with a brace against hosts Thailand, earning the Three Lions a 2-1 victory.

The trickery of Harrogate forward Dominique Blair, making his first international start, saw him provide the cross for Jones’ header against the Thai team, then win a penalty, which England’s number nine duly converted to settle the contest.

Those results set up a semi-final showdown against a strong Iran side packed with ex-Iranian Pro League players and former internationals.

Played in serious heat and humidity, it was to turn out to be the high point of the week for Bell’s men as they qualified for the final the hard way.

With defences on top and clear chances few and far between, the sending off of former York City midfielder Jon Challinor for a second yellow card with 20 minutes remaining left England in a spot of bother and provided the Iranians with a huge boost.

The Three Lions were forced to adopt a rear-guard action to keep their opponents at bay and fresh legs had to be introduced in the shape of local men Colin Hunter and Mark Baranovsky, who chased and harried throughout their time on the pitch.

Then, as the final minute was entered and penalties loomed, the pair combined to great effect, Hunter bringing down a long goal-kick and slipping the ball inside to Baranovsky. His first-time pass was perfectly weighted for the breaking Jones, who fired the ball past the oncoming keeper for the only goal of the game.

Cue wild celebrations, then a tense five minutes of injury time, before a place in the final the following day was confirmed.

In the other tie, New Zealand produced a surprise by holding Australia to a 1-1 draw and then winning the resulting penalty shoot-out.

The following day’s final had the earlier kick-off time of 4pm and once again the heat played its part in ensuring that the score remained goal-less at half time.

The few chances which did materialise fell to the English, but both Jones and former Derby County striker Deon Burton were unable to take them.

Gradually, though, the pressure paid off, and when a Lee Elam corner was glanced onto a post by Lee Connor, Jones was the quickest to react to head in his seventh goal of the competition.

With just one goal conceded all week, England never looked in any real danger of being pegged back from that point onwards. Elam should have really made it two in the final minutes, but as was the case in last year’s final, the one goal proved sufficient.