Tony Downes Memorial Trophy
Kick-off is 2pm on Saturday (July 6), at The Butcher’s Arms in Droylsden.
The club will also be showing the Euro 2024 quarter-final game between England and Switzerland at 5pm.
Last July saw an emotional return to football for Droylsden FC, following a three year absence from the football league due to the financial impact felt by the Covid pandemic. To mark Droylsden’s return, more than 1500 people turned up to The Butcher’s Arms stadium for their first game back – the Tony Downes Memorial Trophy.
For the uninitiated, the trophy is an annual match between Droylsden and a local team of the club’s choosing to commemorate the fallen local serviceman Neil “Tony” Downes (1986 – 2007); a guardsman in the army who was killed by a landmine whilst on patrol in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Fans attending the game will likely pass Tony’s memorial on the side of the King’s Head pub nearby, which is owned and run by his family and is where Tony grew up.
Last summer’s game was between Droylsden and Stretford Paddock, and for Paddock manager Stephen Howson there was extra incentive to be involved, having grown up in Droylsden himself and having served in the army in Afghanistan around the time of Tony’s passing in 2007.
This Saturday is the rematch between these two titans of Manchester. It’s a chance for Droylsden to get revenge over Paddock after losing on penalties last year, and a chance for Stretford Paddock to win its second ever piece of silverware and retain the trophy in the process.
For the Paddock, keeper Martin Flanagan has unretired and will be competing for the number one spot with new recruit Florin Salceanu. Regulars like Mikey Burke and Ronaldo Brown are expected to start, while other new additions should get a chance to impress – most notably the returning wing forward phenomenon that is Josh Smith. His goals could be crucial to help Paddock start the season well in the coming weeks and secure an overdue promotion.
Droylsden come into this game off the back of a similar season to Paddock – albeit a few levels higher. Both sides finished fifth in their respective leagues and narrowly missed out on promotion. Droylsden managed 18 wins, 4 draws, and 12 losses in the North West Counties League Division One South, and have now been transferred back to Division One North ahead of the new campaign. They weren’t shy of goals last season, so Paddock will have to be switched on in what will be a tough contest, but they do like to go for it and Paddock will always exploit gaps.
Droylsden 1-1 Chester City (2007)
2008 – Waiting on info from Droylsden
Droylsden 0-1 Chester City (2009)
2010 – Waiting on info from Droylsden
Droylsden 1-2 Ashton United (2011)
Droylsden 0-4 Burnley XI (2012)
Ashton United 0-4 Droylsden (2013)
Droylsden 3-2 Hyde (2014)
Droylsden 1-0 Cray Wanderers (2015)
Droylsden 1-1 Curzon Ashton (2016)
Droylsden 3-3 Ashton United (2017)
Droylsden 1-2 Ashton United (2018)
Droylsden 3-1 Airbus UK Broughton (2019)
Droylsden 1-1 (P) Stretford Paddock (2023)
- Kick-off
Kick-off is 2pm on Saturday (July 6), at The Butcher’s Arms in Droylsden.
The club will also be showing the Euro 2024 quarter-final game between England and Switzerland at 5pm.
Last July saw an emotional return to football for Droylsden FC, following a three year absence from the football league due to the financial impact felt by the Covid pandemic. To mark Droylsden’s return, more than 1500 people turned up to The Butcher’s Arms stadium for their first game back – the Tony Downes Memorial Trophy.
For the uninitiated, the trophy is an annual match between Droylsden and a local team of the club’s choosing to commemorate the fallen local serviceman Neil “Tony” Downes (1986 – 2007); a guardsman in the army who was killed by a landmine whilst on patrol in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Fans attending the game will likely pass Tony’s memorial on the side of the King’s Head pub nearby, which is owned and run by his family and is where Tony grew up.
Last summer’s game was between Droylsden and Stretford Paddock, and for Paddock manager Stephen Howson there was extra incentive to be involved, having grown up in Droylsden himself and having served in the army in Afghanistan around the time of Tony’s passing in 2007.
This Saturday is the rematch between these two titans of Manchester. It’s a chance for Droylsden to get revenge over Paddock after losing on penalties last year, and a chance for Stretford Paddock to win its second ever piece of silverware and retain the trophy in the process.
For the Paddock, keeper Martin Flanagan has unretired and will be competing for the number one spot with new recruit Florin Salceanu. Regulars like Mikey Burke and Ronaldo Brown are expected to start, while other new additions should get a chance to impress – most notably the returning wing forward phenomenon that is Josh Smith. His goals could be crucial to help Paddock start the season well in the coming weeks and secure an overdue promotion.
Droylsden come into this game off the back of a similar season to Paddock – albeit a few levels higher. Both sides finished fifth in their respective leagues and narrowly missed out on promotion. Droylsden managed 18 wins, 4 draws, and 12 losses in the North West Counties League Division One South, and have now been transferred back to Division One North ahead of the new campaign. They weren’t shy of goals last season, so Paddock will have to be switched on in what will be a tough contest, but they do like to go for it and Paddock will always exploit gaps.
- Past Results
Droylsden 1-1 Chester City (2007)
2008 – Waiting on info from Droylsden
Droylsden 0-1 Chester City (2009)
2010 – Waiting on info from Droylsden
Droylsden 1-2 Ashton United (2011)
Droylsden 0-4 Burnley XI (2012)
Ashton United 0-4 Droylsden (2013)
Droylsden 3-2 Hyde (2014)
Droylsden 1-0 Cray Wanderers (2015)
Droylsden 1-1 Curzon Ashton (2016)
Droylsden 3-3 Ashton United (2017)
Droylsden 1-2 Ashton United (2018)
Droylsden 3-1 Airbus UK Broughton (2019)
Droylsden 1-1 (P) Stretford Paddock (2023)
