Special charity football match for former Maidenhead United midfielder

York Road will host a special charity football match on Sunday, October 29 to raise money for support and treatment for former Magpies midfielder Darty Brown, writes Neil Maskell.

Darty, 46-years-old, has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, Cardiac Sarcoma and Maidenhead United has agreed to host an 'All Star Match' in honour of Brown who made 70 appearances for the Magpies after reuniting with former manager Johnson 'Drax' Hippolyte at York Road in December 2006.

Darty was part of the United side which memorably won the Southern League play-off final - and considered by some to be 'man of the match' on the day - against Team Bath at Twerton Park on May 5, 2007 to take Maidenhead back to the Conference South at the first attempt.

He also enjoyed promotion and nationally acclaimed FA Cup success under Drax at Yeading and was part of the Yeading side which reached the third round in 2005 and ran Premier League Newcastle United close in front of the TV cameras.

Also part of that side were future Magpies Delroy Preddie, Nevin Saroya and Bobby Behzadi all of whom will pull on their boots to be part of the 'Darty's All Star XI' vs 'Maidenhead United XI' game on the 29th.

Behzadi - who made over 300 appearances for the Magpies - is one of the organisers of the game and he explained: "Being team-mates for a club brings players together and creates a bond, we become like family.

“When I found out about Darty's condition it really struck me and I wanted to help create something that would bring that bond back together. What better than the thing that created it to begin with.

“Football has the power to do amazing things and the response has been overwhelming, with so many ex-players reaching out and wanting to get involved.

“I really hope the fans come out and support the game. We all have fond memories and the money raised will literally go towards keeping Darty with us."

Doors at York Road will open at midday, there will be food and drink on sale along with auctions, raffles, music and a bouncy castle with something for all of the family on offer.

The match will kick off at 3pm and post-match there will be music and Stripes Bar will remain open until 8pm.

The match will see a host of other former Magpies involved, including Mark Nisbet, Dale Binns, Richard Pacquette and Manny Williams, alongside former multi-million pound man and Premier League striker DJ Campbell, Thatcham Town manager Yashwa Romeo and Ashley Smith, head of A23 Football Group Limited.