Ashbourne Shrovetide Football

Brendan Harwood, a Down'ard through and through, has earned his place in the Ashbourne Shrovetide football records.

Late on Tuesday, the 29-year-old scored the first ball in the 2006 game. He also became the second member of his family to do so - his Grandfather scored a ball, also for the Down'ards, in 1938.

Showing off his new prize possession just before the Wednesday game, Brendan recalled the previous evening's events: "It was a hard game - a very hard game because the two sides were evenly matched.

"The Down'ards managed to work the ball to the bus station - and then it moved to Church Bank steps.

"After that, a young lad - I don't know who he is - ran with it towards Clifton - I heard he ran it via the hospital and Bell's Pastures. But the Up'ards caught up with him there - they out-numbered us - but the young lad managed to keep the ball until some of the Down'ards' "hard players" arrived - Darren, Harry and PK.

Hard players are experienced Shrovetiders who like to get really stuck into the game and Brendan has been a hard-playing for five years.

"I don't really know what happened after that because I had made a dummy run to Clifton to try to lure some Up'ards away, but I hear the ball was given to two runners to get it up to Clifton."

The Tuesday 2006 ball - before the game!

Tradition has it that when the ball is within striking distance of the goal, a draw is made to determine who will score it - only the hard players are included in the draw. Most of those players are in the hug when the selection is made so straws are drawn for them.

Brendan had no idea what was about to happen: "We were hugging the ball near the goal when the draw was done. The first I knew of it was when Trevor Harrison dragged the ball out, gave it to me and told me it was my ball. I didn't expect that - not at all!

"I stood in the river and tapped it on the goal. That was it. I'd scored the ball and everyone cheered and congratulated me!

"It was unbelievable - emotional. It was the best feeling in the world."

The reward for any Shrovetide scorer is to be carried shoulder-high into Ashbourne's Green Man for a celebratory drink. They also get to keep the ball they score.

Brendan says his ball - leather-bound and filled with cork - will take pride of place in his Ashbourne home: "I'll leave it a couple of months to dry out and then get it repainted - I'll have a word with Tim (Baker) who painted it originally."

As for the rest of this year's Shrovetide celebrations, Brendan was quietly confident: "I think the Down'ards could goal another two balls today!"

They didn't. The Up'ards scored the Wednesday ball with Wayne Leeman the hero of the day.

So the final result for 2006 was one game each.