Alvey: Ashbourne Shrovetide Football '66

World Cup year 1966 but this is a different kind of 'beautiful game' and in these conditions Geoff Hurst would've certainly struggled to get his famous hat-trick.

The 1966 Shrovetide football match in Ashbourne is notable for a guest appearance by a hero from the more familiar branch of the sport. The recently retired Stoke City and England player Sir Stanley Matthews is this year's 'turner-up' or the person selected to start the game. The moving 'hug' of players battling for the ball pass through the recently abandoned railway station and some brave players are not even slowed down by a plunge into the icy waters of Henmore Brook.

Despite all the efforts on show here the two days of Shrovetide football in 1966 finished in a goal-less draw.