Sky boys get dream draw with Shelbourne - January 29,
2001
Shelbourne 3 Harchester United 3
Shelbourne played their fourth match in a week yesterday - in front of more fans than watched the other three put together!
Why 9,500 people turned out to watch a celebrity Shels selection play a fictional TV team, when less than a third of that number were present on Friday night to see the current Eircom League champions play a crucial game against the ultra-real Bray Wanderers is anyone's guess - but at least it generated £60,000 in aid of a worthy cause, the Childline charity.
Shels fielded a team including the great Paul McGrath, boxers Michael Carruth and Steve Collins, ageing Def Leppard rocker Joe Elliott, Boyzone's Keith Duffy and the comedians from RTE's "Apres Match" programme, as well as club chairman Gerry Browne, while the TV soccer soap fielded their fill line-up of pin-up boys.
Real footballer Jon Prizeman put Shels ahead before Keith Duffy elicited the loudest scream of the day by scoring the Reds' second. "Fletch" pulled one back for the Dream Team with a penalty.
Another real player, Owen Heary, made it 3-1 to Shels and the match was allowed to go on until the TV stars managed to equalise through Dion Osbourne and Steve West. Presumably a favourable result was one of the conditions of the Sky squad's appearance contract!
Shelbourne: John O'Hara, Fred Davis, Eoin Heary, Mark Hutchinson, Avery John, Paul McGrath, Paul Doolin, Pat Fenlon, Jon Prizeman, Michael Carruth, Joe Elliott, Tony Sheridan, Richie Foran, Keith Duffy, Jim Rock, Alan Mathews, Kevin O'Connor, Gary Cooke, Barry Murphy, Mick Neville, Larry Byrne, Gerry Browne, Gary Brown
Harchester United: Jamie Harper, Paul Linger, Mark Hall, Matt Conlon, Eddie Moliano, Peter Mark, Monday Bandele, Scott Lucas, Karl Fletcher, Ashley Harrison, Mervin Walker, Declan Perkins, Danny Rawsthorne, Billy O'Neill, Steve West, Dion Osbourne, Lee Luscombe, Ray Wyatt, Campell Hooper, Peter Smith, Andy Ansah