Gerald Rushworth Memorial Match: Harrow Hill Legends v Western Power

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IT was a game that was played in a great spirit where the score didn’t really matter.

The Harrow Hill Legends dusted off their boots to take on a team from Western Power in memory of Harrow Hill stalwart Gerald ‘Rushie’ Rushworth, who died earlier this year.

Rushie spent his entire working life with the Midlands Electricity Board and, latterly, Western Power before he retired in September last year.

Legends manager Barry Boseley said: “It was a game played in the right spirit – Rushie would have loved the way it was played.

“There was a good turn out of players and supporters.

“The Hill started with an average age of 60 and they tried to turn back the years but went down for nothing at half-time.

“Some of the younger players came on for the second half and they managed to come back but they lost 6-4.

“The Western Power team was Rushie’s old workmates and they said after the game how much they enjoyed it.

“They also said they would like to do it again.

“We would like to thank all the people who helped and gave raffle prizes and generous donations.”

Proceeds from the game will go towards installing a bench in his memory at his beloved Harrow Hill Football Club.

Barry added: “Gerald was born and bred only 50 yards from the football pitch – his mum was Ruth Boseley, so he had the Hill blood in him.

“As a young boy, Rushie would help his dad, Sam, look after the pitch, making sure everything was as good as it could be – at that time we were playing on the old ground.

“He played through the youth sides, up to the seniors, playing in the thirds, seconds and then the firsts, where he stayed for most of his playing career.

“When the County League started, we weren’t able to play in it, because our pitch was considered not up to standard.

“At that time, we were one of the best in the Northern Senior League, so we lost a lot of our players, but Rushie was one of the group of us that stayed with the club until we managed to get a new pitch.

“Rushie helped us build a new team and together we came up through the leagues,” he added.

“Rushie was a lovely man and a great friend."