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A day to remember Andy Trathen and Cornish football


Dave Deacon

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The following is a slightly amended version of my piece in last Sunday’s  Independent on why today is a special day .......

 

All roads should lead to Porthleven on Thursday as a LWC Drinks Combination League Rep squad takes on the Cornwall FA Under 18's for the inaugural staging of the Andy Trathen Memorial Trophy.

The match is another in preparation of choosing the final County Youth squad as the competitive side of its season gets closer, but more importantly for Thursday is the chance to remember one of the county’s most lethal strikers.

Andy Trathen died suddenly in August of last year and this match has been arranged by Combination League committee member Mandy Kimmins in conjunction of course with Andy’s family.
In his time Andy appeared in both the South Western and Cornwall Combination Leagues, but it was in the latter that he proved to be a real menace to defences and is in an esteemed group of players that have scored more than 300 goals in the Combo league.

Andy played for many clubs in the Combination League, starting in the mid-1980s at his local village side Pendeen Rovers where he soon made a name for himself, before playing for a handful of others, most of them still currently in the league and it’s those clubs that make up the Combination League squad, which is once again managed by Martyn Kimmins.

It’s also fitting that as more than a competent goalkeeper Kimmo recalls coming up against Trath: ”This game is particularly poignant remembering a player I had many battles against in my playing days!”

One of the players selected is Andy’s son, Ryan, who although only 22 is already well on his way to reaching a 100 League goals and football is obviously in the Trathen family as only this week, Andy’s wife, Sharon, posted on Facebook that Andy’s late father, Reggie, played in goal locally and she believes also as a county keeper.

The Trathen family are really looking forward to Thursday, not only because on the night funds are being raised for CAAP, a Cornish Charity providing accessible sporting opportunities for disabled children, but also because Andy deserves to be remembered because of his contribution to Cornish football over the years.

Richard Pallot of the Cornwall FA is also hoping for a good turn out: “Last year we enjoyed a fantastic game against the Combination Representative side and this year we are delighted to be playing them again, but what makes this year special is that the game is for a wonderful Charity and in memory of local football legend, Andy Trathen. 
“The work that has gone into making this a special evening is to be commended and we know the local football community will be out in force to support the game, hopefully the two teams can put on a great show. We hope this will become a regular fixture in the Cornish football calendar as it shows off all the positive aspects of football in this great County."

The final word belongs to Sharon: “As a family we are really looking forward to the fixture and hope everyone will come to support the football and the charity in Andrew's memory.“

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