Stars turn out for stalwart Bristow (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Stars turn out for stalwart Bristow

1:00pm Saturday 31st July 2010 in

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FOOTBALL fans turned out in force to pay tribute to former Basingstoke Town star Jason Bristow, whose testimonial match took place at the Camrose on Sunday.

Chelsea Old Boys took on a Reading Ex-players Charity XI in front of hundreds of supporters at the home of Basingstoke Town.

Chelsea claimed a 5-3 victory thanks to a hat-trick from former Wales international Darren Barnard – and Bristow clearly enjoyed his day in the spotlight.

“I am very happy with the way the whole day went,” he said. “There was a good crowd and John Turner and Steve Burnett from the supporters’ club put a lot of effort in and it showed, with the whole day going smoothly.”

Bristow played the opening 20 minutes of the game for Reading before being withdrawn to rapturous applause from the sidelines.

“It was a proud moment for me coming out today with my boys beside me as mascots,” Bristow added. “I started my career at Reading so for them to put a team out was great and Chelsea had some great players out there, which made it even more special.

“It was lovely to get back out there alongside a few lads who were at Reading at the same time as me. It was a great way to sign off my career.”

Chelsea’s side included goalkeeper Dave Beasant and legendary winger Clive Walker, while Reading fielded former captain Adrian Williams.

Walker opened the scoring with a fine curling effort, only for Reading to get in front thanks to goals from Tom Jones and Andy Gray, who also hit the cross-bar before half-time. Just before the hour, Williams missed a golden chance to make it 3-1 and was immediately made to pay as Chelsea went straight up the other end and equalised through Barnard.

Paul Canoville then slotted home a penalty to put Chelsea ahead, while Barnard picked his spot after being put through to make it 4-2.

Ross Harrison pulled one back for Reading but Barnard’s hat-trick strike secured the win for the London side, the former Aldershot man producing a fine shot from the left side of the area.

A percentage of all of the money raised during Bristow’s testimonial season has gone to St Michael’s Hospice, while the former Town centre-back says his cut will go towards furthering his career as a coach.

Bristow was forced to retire due to a knee injury at the age of 28 after 10 years at Basingstoke. He has stayed involved at the club though, coaching the youth team, and was recently appointed first team coach.

He added: “The money raised for me today will go towards my UEFA A License so hopefully it will further my career at the club. Hopefully it will benefit both Basingstoke Town and me in my career going forward.

“Looking to the future, hopefully I can have another good year with the youth team and be a success in my new role as first team coach.”