THE superior football skills of Verwood Town FC saw them triumph in a football match against a team of Afghanistan veterans.

The match with 2 Rifles was fiercely contested but it was a day when the 4-0 scoreline hardly mattered to the spectators.

The unique game was arranged by the mother of killed Verwood rifleman Phil Allen, and all the proceeds went to the regimental appeal to help wounded soldiers.

Saturday’s 2pm kick-off was preceded by a balloon release to remember the 14 men the battalion lost during 2009, including Phil.

The wet weather put some people off but there was still a bumper crowd of 400-500 to enjoy the food and fundraising stalls.

Verwood, a Wessex Division 1 side, went into a quick lead with two goals inside 15 minutes from Lewis Williams, and added a third before half-time with a strike from this season’s leading scorer, Dan Baguley.

Verwood added another through Baguley in the second half and the game ended with a bloody accidental clash of heads in the penalty box, which left Verwood defender Mike Haskell needing 14 stitches.

The game finished with friendly handshakes and the battalion’s football officer Captain Andy Pemberton saying: “They are a good footballing side and they passed it round better than us.

“It’s just a privilege to be able to come here and play in honour of Rifleman Allen.”

Phil’s mum Karen Charman-Allen was presented with a Silver Bugle, the regimental emblem, and she said: “It’s been an amazing day.

“There were no winners and losers today.”

Among the spectators were family members of Captain Mark Hale, the 42-year-old from Winton in Bournemouth, killed serving with the battalion in August.

His mum Diana, of Wallisdown, said: “Today is all about supporting each other as families and raising money.”

The battalion’s former commanding officer Colonel Rob Thomson praised the “incredible” work Karen is doing for the regiment.

The 2 Rifles’ team included Rifleman Scott Waterman, 20, from Gillingham, and Philip Doe, 25, from West Howe, who had served in the same Forward Operating Base as Phil Allen.

At half-time the announcer played Phil Allen’s song More Time, which has been released for the regimental appeal, reducing some friends to tears.

Michael Fry, Verwood’s chairman, said: “Phil was a local lad, and his fiancée Karina’s father and uncle were Verwood Town players, as was her grandfather, and it is therefore fitting the game was arranged.”