Riverside charity match raises £8,000

MOVE over Aitor Karanka! Jason Steele came out on top in the battle of the Boro stars when the goalkeeper went head-to-head with team-mate George Friend in a charity match that raised £8,000 for Teesside good causes.
In The Keys Yarm Charity Match at the Riverside Stadium, Steele was manager of a team sponsored by Stockton firm Active Chartered Financial Consultants, while Friend was in charge of a line-up sponsored by Stockton Machine Company.
The teams were made up of generous football fans who had paid up to £400 each for the opportunity to play at the Riverside alongside former Boro stars Bernie Slaven and Neil Maddison.
All profits from the event will be shared between a range of Teesside charities and community groups including Middlesbrough Homeless Football Club and Boro’s own charity, the MFC Foundation.
In a match organised by Middlesbrough and Teesside Philanthropic Foundation, Active were the 4-2 victors, with goalscoring legend Slaven on the scoresheet along with team-mates Toby Franklin, Andrew Marsay and Carl Brannigan. Stockton Machine Company scorers were Mark Hall and Lewis Hargreaves.
Thanks to generous support from Middlesbrough firm MSV Sport, the lucky fans-cum-players got the keep the kit they wore – including shirts adorning their names.
The Keys Yarm Charity Match was organised by Middlesbrough and Teesside Philanthropic Foundation, a charitable movement that has already raised more than £600,000 for Teesside good causes over the past three years.
Foundation chairman Andy Preston, a lifelong Boro fan and season card holder, said: “We were delighted to join forces with MFC Foundation to provide what was a memorable occasion for those supporters lucky enough to play.
“We couldn’t have done it without the generosity of those who bid considerable sums of money to play or the generosity of our sponsors, The Keys Yarm, Active
Chartered Financial Planners and Stockton Machine Company, nor kit sponsors, MSV Sport.”