Norwich City Legends Unite for Charity
Seeing Grant Holt, Todd Cantwell and Onel Hernandez back in yellow and green would have put smiles on plenty of faces, as Norwich City favourites helped raise money for local charity Amber's Army.
An array of Canaries icons dusted off their boots to support the Norfolk-based charity at their second fundraising match, held at Aldiss Park in Dereham.
Over 800 tickets were sold for the event, which saw the likes of Tim Krul, Simeon Jackson, Simon Lappin, Adam Drury, Mike Milligan, Adrian Coote and Matty Gill all turn out in yellow and green for Norwich City Legends, managed by former Canaries striker Robert Fleck.
Exciting Match Highlights and Goals
They faced an Amber's Army Allstars team consisting of local social media stars, including YouTube star Jack Dean, TikTok creator Teacher Tommy T, and former world heavyweight boxing champion Herbie Hide.
City legend Holt opened the scoring with a trademark header from close range before some slick interplay between Cantwell and Hernandez teed up Krul, playing out wide rather than in goal, to chest into the net.
Also on the scoresheet was Jackson, who reunited alongside Holt as part of a strike partnership that caused havoc in the opening half of the contest, with Cantwell, who began his career at Dereham Town, pulling the strings behind them.
Community Spirit and Fundraising Success
While it was about the action on the pitch, there were plenty of fundraising efforts off it, including raffles and an auction, with local companies providing stalls on the day. Fans were able to get selfies and autographs from the stars, with plenty of younger supporters present.
"Brilliant occasion, brilliant day," Lappin said. "It's something I've been involved in for the last couple of years. Always nice to be asked back. Delighted we've got a few younger lads in to give us a bit of extra legs to help get our average age down a bit."
The day ended with former City favourite Hernandez being challenged to a footrace by young fans on the Aldiss Park pitch, before the Cuban international explained why the occasion meant so much to him.
This charity is very important for everyone around here. I remember when I was at Norwich, I looked back through my photos and saw one with Amber. She came to the training ground and it was a great gesture from the club to support local people.
Amanda Sheehy set up the charity in honour of her daughter Amber, who sadly lost her cancer battle in 2023 aged 8. Amber's Army is a Norfolk based family charity, aiming to 'Create Rainbows in the Darkest of Days' for Norfolk families who have a child with a terminal cancer diagnosis. For more information, visit The Pink'un.