Letchworth Garden City Eagles versus Baldock Town is a football game you may be used to seeing – but it’s now set to be a regular fixture in Nepal after a donation of kit to children in an earthquake-hit village.
Mark Goddard, from Bygrave, took the gear to the village of Changunarayan when he and his wife Claire, mum Stephanie Pettengell and 11-year-old son Tom were there volunteering with the Kay Garnay for Nepal initiative.
And the inaugural Letchworth–Baldock match in Nepal ended with a 4-2 win for Baldock – but not before a missed penalty and a cow invading the pitch during the second half.
“We built some shelters out there last time, so we thought we’d try to continue that – and we also set up a football match between the village’s two schools,” Mark told the Comet.
“It was fantastic. The schools had never played against each other – and afterwards they were already setting up the next game.”
Tom, who goes to Knights Templar School – like his dad Mark and nan Stephanie before him – played for Baldock just like at home, and scored a left-footed volley from a corner.
It wasn’t all football during the week-long trip, though – among other things Stephanie taught a class of women how to quilt.
To find out more about Kay Garnay for Nepal see kaygarnay.org.
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