By Robin Jones
SPARTAN South Midlands outfit Codicote notched their first win of the season – after their 50-year-old joint manager donned the goalkeeper's jersey.
Steve Young, who played in goal for Arlesey Town when they beat Oxford City 2-1 in the FA Vase final at Wembley in 1995, leapt into action when regular keeper Andrew McEwan was ruled out with a broken finger shortly before last Saturday's game.
Young, a former manager and goalkeeper at nearby Stotfold for three-and-a-half-seasons, did not hesitate to step into the breach and played the entire 90 minutes of their game against Arlesey Town Reserves, which they eventually won 2-0.
Twice he denied Arlesey an equaliser with his side 1-0 ahead and tipped another effort over the bar with the score at 2-0.
Young said: “I turned 50 on January 1 and decided to do a little bit of travelling, and so I dropped out of the game for a few months before joining Codicote as joint-manager with Keith Coughlin in the summer.
“I have played since I was eight years old and still keep myself reasonably fit, regularly taking part in training sessions.
“So I felt very comfortable about taking over as goalkeeper when I was needed on the day.
“It was a nice summer's day and that helped to keep my bones reasonably supple.
“The players responded well to my experience and were doing the jobs that they were asked to.
“If the same situation arose, I would do it again regardless of my age – no question at all .”
