- An Irish village football team picked a strong calibre of opposition for a match
- Dublin-based Ayrfield United played against a Premier League legends side
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An Irish village football team picked a surprising opposition to play as they went up against a side featuring an incredible line-up of football legends.
Ayrfield United FC, a local outfit based in north Dublin, pitted their wits against some of the very best as they faced a Premier League legends side including a Champions League winner, a former England goalkeeper and an Everton cult hero.
The likes of Jaap Stam, David James, Jermaine Beckford and Yakubu were all part of the squad to face Ayrfield at their Blunden Drive ground on Saturday afternoon.
Yakubu and Beckford rolled back the years as the former Toffees duo led the line and were seen together in a picture posted by one fan on social media.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, the user wrote that Yakubu ‘scored a vintage Yak goal’.
In reply, a second labelled him a ‘legend’ upon seeing that he made an appearance in the match.
Yakubu was remembered fondly for his time in the Premier League, where he scored 95 goals in 252 appearances during spells for Portsmouth, Middlesbrough, Everton and Blackburn Rovers.
The Nigerian’s final season on Merseyside was shared with Beckford, who played for Everton after a lengthy stint at Leeds United.
To give as many local players as possible the chance to put their skills to the test, Ayrfield rotated three different line-ups across 30-minute periods against the legends side – who may have been blowing by the end of the 90 minutes.
Posting to Instagram after the match, former Manchester United centre-back Stam thanked Ayrfield for being invited to play in the event.
The Dutchman wrote: ‘Great game. Lots of quality on the pitch with great support from the fans! Very enjoyable to be out there!’
In reply, Ayrfield United wrote: ‘Jaap you’ve still got it ya legend. Brilliant to have you here today. Thank you very much for coming’.
Further comments of appreciation from fans read: ‘What a day! Congrats to all involved’.
Another wrote: ‘Quality lads’.
