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Everyone a winner after Showgrounds charity clash!
The only element of the Showgrounds clash between Ballymena United and a select team from Green Pastures, the People's Church, over which there was any doubt was the exact margin by which the amateur side was beaten.
The kindest estimate of the final scoreline suggests that the visitors may have allowed in up to 11 goals without reply, yet all involved in the charity game – part of GP's annual Sonshine Week outreach programme – declared the evening a resounding success.
Speaking to the Guardian after the match, United manager, Roy Walker, revealed that he'd been behind the event since it was first suggested to him by the football outreach team at the church about 10 months ago:
"Certainly I was very enthusiastic when I got a call from Will McDowell of GP enquiring about the possibility of organising a charity match," explained Roy. "My take on these things is that we should try to make them win/win for everyone involved and I want the club here to be a shining light in its community. If we can help promote anything that's good and of benefit to others, then we're going to do it."
Roy, who also heads up Crown Jesus, an evangelical ministry he founded here more than a decade ago, added that in issues of faith, he was always glad of an opportunity to promote the Gospels:
"Often times, I find that's much more effective when it's done in a practical ways and by events, such as this match," he added.
One of the organisers of the match and referee at the Showgrounds on the night was Bert Purdey. He explained that the idea for the match had grown from a soccer outreach programme that GP has been running in the north of the town since October last year:
"Basically, we became involved in the Dunclug area after our Streetreach team up there said that they felt there was a need for us to do more to connect with young people in the area," said Bert. "Rather than bring these youngsters out of their comfort zones, we went to them. We use the five-a-side pitch at Ballymena North for matches and so far, we've played opposition from Dunclug, Ahoghill and Galgorm and we've even played against Randalstown Sky Blues."
Young people up to the age of 21 or so have been taking part in the outreach programme and although attendance varies, Bert says that as many as 20 can turn up for the evening sessions:
"It's been really popular with young people in the area," he added. "These really are the people who need someone to take an interest and to reach out and talk to them. We've been able to make that connection through football, we feel that we've been able to reach out to them and do something for them which now, they really look forward to.
"Now, we're looking at taking this forward and we have some ideas of how we might be able to achieve that in the future."
Match
Around 400 people turned out at the Showgrounds on Wednesday evening for the match which, added Bert Purdey, was better than expectations:
"I thought the whole evening was fantastic," he added. "We had generous sponsorship from many local businesses and there was a great turn-out of support from all ages. Organisation was also very good, we had cheerleaders, our own commentator and kids from our Coaching for Christ outreach programme who came on at half-time to show the spectators some of the skills they've been learning."
But what of the final scoreline and the church's failure to find the back of the United net even once? Roy Walker said that he felt that it had been an "excellent night":
"This was a very well organised event and those that were there also learned a lot about GP's remarkable Freedom House project."
And he added:
"If I was asked to nominate a man of the match, I would have to say, XX, the GP goalkeeper. In actual fact, he made quite a few good saves and at times, he looked like he was fighting a rearguard action! It's not as much the skill which decides these things as the level of fitness and our boys are well fit in comparison to their opposition on the night. They were also playing on a big pitch in front of a crowd of people, so the GP boys might not have been as used to it as we were."
The match was one of the main events in Green Pastures' annual Sonshine Week event – seven days of fun and outreach aimed at bringing people of all ages to a knowledge of Christ - and Bert Purdey said that he felt that the football match was the perfect example of what the week was intended to achieve:
"We just want people to see that Christianity isn't all black and white, there's lots of colour there too. You can still have fun like this and have God as your foundation, that's the message, and I think we showed that at the Showgrounds and raised lots of money for the Freedom House project at the same time."
There are now hopes that a similar event can be included in next year's Sonshine Week schedule of events.
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