Fightback secures win........
Gordie Macklin set the game alight as early as the fourth minute when he whalloped a shot past the keeper from the edge of the box. It was a well taken strike that ended up nestled in the right hand pocket of the goal, giving the home keeper no chance. Three minutes later, Brian Griffiths tried a similar effort from long range but could only watch as his shot came back off the crossbar. It could have been 1-1 in the 8th after a break away left a United striker with only Jason Clegg to beat but his shot was struck wide of the mark. Richmond countered with an attack down the right and the cross was struck by a United forward onto the crossbar and it wasn't cleaned up properly and Richmond got an equaliser after their good build up play. Lorenzo Arcari and Randy Hosler were both carrying injuries and had to be replaced soon afterwards. Macklin got on the end of a corner in the 15th and his strike just hit off the near post and bounced to safety. Good midfield possession lead to an opportunity for Alan Massender who shot from the 18 yard line but his effort was pushed over the bar by the keeper. Another Richmond attack brought a diving save out of Clegg who managed to palm the shot to the side. In the 20th minute Dave Moore dawdled with the ball too long and lost it which resulted in another Richmond attack. Unfortunately for the Classics it was finished off despite Clegg's efforts and the efforts of Moore who was guarding the line but couldn't get his leg to the shot. 2-1 to the home side.

Jerry Szakun got the monkey off his back with his debut goal in the 25th after some good midfield play involving Macklin, Massender and Daryl Lawrie, who fed the through ball to Szakun. Clegg was called back into action and produced another first-class save. Macklin was testing the crossbar again when a thirty-yarder cannoned back into play. David Breen was then in the action to clear a corner out of the box. Jim Eden entered the field and Macklin tried to get him involved immediately with a close pass. However, conspiracy theorists for years to come will question whether Eden hit the ground by slipping or whether he was shot from the grassy knoll or not! With two minutes of the half remaining Jeff Dickson played the ball to Lawrie who was feeding again - this time his through pass to Macklin was finished superbly with a low shot to the right of the keeper to make it 3-2 to the visitors. If that wasn't enough, just before the half time whistle, Jimmy Butler made it 4-2 after Szakun put him away and he despatched the ball low to the left of the keeper. Macklin was having a stormer of a game with his unselfish running which saw him cover nearly every blade of grass on the field

In the 53rd minute it took an unorthodox save from Clegg whan a spinning, bouncing, awkward ball almost deceived him but he recoverd in sufficient time to catch it. A free kick in the 56th minute was punched out by the home keeper. It hit Butler on the head and went into the goal - only Butler knows if he intended it, or if he knew anything about the goal or not. However, it was 5-2 to the Classics and Butler was allowed to leave for his daughter's game, confident in the fact that he had done his duty. With 20 minutes remaining Szakun could have put the icing on the cake but he squandered a glorious opportunity by blasting his shot well over! One minute later it was 6-2 after a long downfield punt from Clegg was caught by a Richmond defender who played an unstoppable backpass beyond the despairing efforts of his keeper - the Classics forwards couldn't have hit it sweeter. It was noted that two 71-year-old players graced the field for the first time in Classics history. They shall remain nameless to protect the innocent. One piece of trivia is that Moore, unbeknownst to him, played the match in a number 20 shirt - the first time he hadn't played in his regular number 5 shirt since signing for the club back in 1987. He had a spare shirt in his bag and never noticed. His teammates were befuddled as they couldn't work out who the mystery striker was!

Stats
MWG: Gordie Macklin
Crap Award: Gordie Macklin