Game 4 Grenfell

Game 4 Grenfell was a charity match played on 2 September 2017 to raise money for those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, which happened three months previous. It was played at Loftus Road, which is located only a mile from Grenfell Tower. Former professional footballers, celebrities and people associated with the Grenfell Tower fire played in the match.

Game 4 Grenfell
Team Ferdinand won 5–3 on penalties
Date2 September 2017 (2017-09-02)
VenueLoftus Road, White City, London
Man of the MatchMo Farah (Team Ferdinand)
RefereeMark Halsey
Attendance17,468

It was simultaneously aired live on Sky 1 and the Freeview channel Pick. The live show was presented by comedian Adam Hills, with punditry provided from fellow comedian Alan Davies and former professional footballer Ian Wright. Match commentary was provided by Joe Speight and comedian Matt Lucas, with sideline reporting by Chris Kamara.

Teams

Match

Summary

Team Ferdinand quickly took the lead through Mo Farah, who dinked the ball over goalkeeper David James. It was a somewhat lucky situation, as three Team Shearer players were simultaneously bundled over by Damian Lewis as he tried to get a shot on goal. Team Shearer would equalise twelve minutes later, when Danny Jones went on a mazy run, laying the ball off to Trevor Sinclair, who put it past David Seaman. Team Ferdinand contested the decision to let the goal stand, as they thought Sinclair was offside, but referee Mark Halsey waved their appeals away. A few minutes before half-time, both sides made a double substitution consisting of the first firefighters to arrive at Grenfell Tower; this action prompted a standing ovation from the Loftus Park crowd.[1]

Team Shearer took the lead soon after the break, with Sinclair scoring from a direct free-kick. He took advantage of substitute goalkeeper Shay Given trying to sort out his defensive wall, and his strike left Given well beaten, ricocheting off the left hand post and into the net. Team Ferdinand's namesake Les Ferdinand came on in the second half, and almost equalised for his side, but was denied by James. Ferdinand left the pitch a few minutes later.[1]

James himself was also substituted, making way for an unusual choice: Manchester United manager José Mourinho. Mourinho quickly became the centre of attention by getting himself booked for timewasting, and for punching away a corner from Team Ferdinand. However, Team Shearer conceded the equaliser, when Stan Collymore squared the ball to Chris Edwards, who tapped it in from close range. Mourinho was furious at his defence, particularly as he felt that Team Shearer should have had a penalty at the other end just moments before.[1]

The match was paused on the eightieth minute in remembrance of those who lost their lives in the tower fire, and both sides made a double substitution consisting of four survivors. The match would end in a draw, and went straight to penalties (in the ABBA sequence, which had recently been implemented).[1]

Penalty shootout

Team Ferdinand went up first, with Grenfell resident Shahin Sadafi slotting it past Mourinho, despite the Portuguese getting a touch on it. Team Ferdinand also made a goalkeeper change, as neither Seaman or Given would face the penalty shootout, and Bastille drummer Chris Wood was selected for the shootout, having previously played in an outfield position earlier in the match. Firefighter David Badillo hammered his shot against the crossbar, but resident Oluwaseun Talabi soon levelled things up for Team Shearer. Firefighter Adam Foster, and volunteer Omar Salha, were both successful with their spot kicks. Mourinho then put his shot past Wood, and firefighter Dean Smith followed suit. Olly Murs scored the match-winning penalty, in what was a bit of karma for the Englishman, when he had been intentionally tackled by Mourinho in the 2014 edition of Soccer Aid.[1]

After the match, Mourinho joked to Adam Hills that he had chosen the position of goalkeeper so that he did not have to run as much, and that he wanted to bring something fun and different to the charity match, given his status as a football manager. Grenfell resident Paul Menacer told the BBC: "We met people who want to talk and actually care about us. Someone as big as José Mourinho coming down and talking to us is just an amazing thing."[2]

Match details

Game 4 Grenfell
Team Ferdinand2–2Team Shearer
Farah  2'
Edwards  75'
Report Sinclair  14', 49'
Penalties
Sadafi
Foster
Salha
Jules
Murs
5–3 Badillo
Talabi
Mourinho
Smith
Attendance: 17,468
Referee: Mark Halsey
GK1David Seaman
RB2Danny Gabbidon
CB6Clint Hill
CB4Ben Shephard
LB3Clive Wilson
RM8Mo Farah
CM4Damian Lewis
LM11DJ Spoony
RF7Olly Murs
CF25Peter Crouch
LF10Marcus Mumford (c)
Substitutes:
GK13Shay Given
ST12Stan Collymore
CM15Tinie Tempah
CB18Marc Bircham
LM19Serge Pizzorno
CM20Jack Whitehall
CM21Paul Merson
RM22Chris Edwards
RM23Iain Glen
LM24Damien Duff
CM26Omar Salha
CM/GK26Chris Wood
ST27Shahin Sadafi
ST29Gregg Jules
CM30Adam Foster
CM32Wretch 32
Player-manager:
Les Ferdinand
GK1David James
RB3Ralf Little
CB5Des Walker
CB6Danny Jones
LB2Lee Mack
RM7Darren Campbell
CM8Jamie Redknapp
CM9Jamie Dornan
LM11Trevor Sinclair (c)
ST20Chris Sutton
ST6Ben Cohen
Substitutes:
GK1José Mourinho
CM12Jody Morris
ST14Dave
CB15Richard Ashcroft
LM16Andy Sinton
RB17Jarvis Cocker
CF18James Bay
LM19Ed Westwick
ST21Kevin Gallen
ST22Tamer Hassan
RM23Russell Howard
CM24Paul Bullion
CM25Steve Mackey
CM26Oluwaseun Talabi
CM27Bobby Ross
CM28Paul Menacer
ST29David Badillo
CM30Dean Smith
Manager:
Alan Shearer

Man of the match:

Match officials:

See also

References

  1. Scriven, David (2 September 2017). "Game4Grenfell: Team Ferdinand prevail on penalties". BBC News. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  2. "Jose Mourinho stars in Game4Grenfell charity match". BBC News. 2 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
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