Chelsea Old Boys beat Old Rutlishians with a strong second half performance in this fun charity match played in memory of former Ruts Billy Faust and Steve Shaw.

700 spectators including the Mayor of Merton were present as stars including Kerry Dixon, Clive Walker, Gary Chivers and Jason Cundy lined up against a Ruts side featuring past and present players who had won a 'Pay to Play' auction to wear the Ruts shirt.

After both sides had been led out by mascots Will Faust and Oliver Shaw and introduced to Mayor Judy Saunders, a minute's silence for Steve and Billy was impeccably observed before referee Ron Barber got the action got underway.

Chelsea Old Boys soon took a controversial lead when they scored with 12 men on the pitch! But the Ruts were soon level after captain Alan Whiter sprung the offside trap and squared the ball for Steve Berry to tap home.

The home side took the lead before the interval when a suspiciously offside looking Ben Barber neatly tucked away a one on one chance (Webmaster's note - having now watched the DVD of the game, he was definitely onside!)

A totally different Ruts side took the field for the second half and took a while to find their feet as Chelsea scored a quickfire treble to lead 4-2. Darren Knott then converted a Craig Wellstead pass from close range, but Chelsea continued to roll back the years, Clive Walker impressing in particular as the Old Boys added three more goals despite Ruts keeper Simon Hithersay pulling off three or four outstanding saves.

Fittingly enough the Ruts had the last word when Graham Winter ran onto Steve Nicola's pass and shot home to reduce the arrears to 7-4 in injury time.

But the result that mattered most was that £4,000 was raised for charity thanks to the hard work of the Ruts officials and to the players and fans of both sides for turning up and contributing to an enjoyable day that Billy and Steve would've appreciated. The money will be split between the Anne Riches Ward, Royal London Hospital (Billy's family's nomination) and The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation (Steve's family's nomination).

First half - Matt Bramley, Graham Larcombe, Phil Rea, Darren Noonan, Craig Lyle, Ed Reynolds, Alan Whiter (c), Ryan Brown, Graham Winter, Steve Berry, Ben Barber. Sub: Greg Peters.
Second half - Simon Hithersay, Paul Holt, Steve Walsh, Ricky Pile, Mark Evans, Steve Nicola, Jeremy Capper, Darren Knott, Paul Riches, Craig Wellstead, Michael Trimmings. Sub: Keith Shaw.
Manager - Brian Kerwick