We’re very excited to report Beer-Harris Memorial Trust has successfully completed the Big Give’s Christmas Campaign exceeding our target and raising over £12,000.
BHMT FC 6 – 7 Beder FC — a Mental ‘Elf Derby for the ages! (A match report by Dave Beer) Saturday 14 December – see match report enclosed plus photos
On a mild December evening at a relatively lively Meadowbank Stadium, Dorking, two sides committed to raising awareness for mental health and suicide prevention faced off in an absolute thriller of a game, which ended 7–6 in favour of hosts Beder FC. Read on to hear how the action played out!

(Fair warning: given the number of goals, our first ever match report is a comprehensive one…)
Beer-Harris Memorial Trust FC lined up with four Beer boys in the defensive unit: Charlie made some fine saves between the sticks after a shaky start, Dave and Josh put in good 45 minutes as full backs, and the recently brewed* Aidan Beer gave a very solid and assured performance from centre back (despite the scoreline!) – strong in the challenge and calm on the ball as the main outlet from the back.
*Aidan recently became a Beer after marrying Esther in October.

BHMT line ups from 1st half (left) and 2nd half (right)
The game was end-to-end from the start, with neither team wasting time searching for an opening. Ben Giles provided one for BHMT within ten minutes by running onto a perfectly weighted through ball from Matt Boydell into the right half space, slotting calmly past the oncoming goalkeeper (1-0). Minutes later, BHMT doubled their lead through some fine interplay that belied the team’s lack of playing time together, with Josh Mackley finishing off an excellent move through a precise finish from the edge of the box (2-0).
Ben Giles nets BHMT FC’s first ever goal
However, Beder’s heads certainly did not drop, and one of them in particular proved consistently difficult for BHMT to deal with – that of Beder’s ex-Premier League player Matthew Briggs. Lacking an aerial presence in the midfield, BHMT often looked vulnerable from goal kicks and punts due to the headed flicks from Briggs on to his forwards – when he wasn’t carrying the ball past his opponents with his feet, that is. Beder’s tricky left winger, brought on early at 2-0 down, was also very threatening, whether running down the line or cutting inside to shoot.
Their first riposte came from one such instance, as a Beder forward shrugged off a BHMT midfielder and was allowed to dribble too far uncontested into the middle of the box, letting loose a powerful strike down the centre of the goal. Charlie’s open-palmed contact on the ball was unfortunately not quite strong enough to prevent it hitting the back of the net (2-1).
A few minutes later, Beder then managed to thread a ball past BHMT centre backs (Aidan Beer and Joe Ayoola), which Charlie slightly misjudged in his attempt to claim the ball on the edge of his box. A Beder forward got there first and went down following a nudge in the back from Dave, which the referee deemed a penalty. Briggs stepped up calmly to make it 2-2. Thereafter, Charlie was well alive to the dangers of passes played over the top, excellently sweeping up several oncoming through balls.
BHMT responded quickly to the setback and brought on ex-professional Joel Ledgister in midfield, who brought even more composure to the team in possession, while still trusting his teammates on the ball. In the middle of the first half, BHMT advanced the ball down the left through Matt Haines and Ben, with a rare foray forward and inside the pitch from Dave at left back. The move culminated in him receiving the ball on the edge of the box and curling a left-footed cross in for Conor Dowling to finish calmly at the back post (3-2).
Battle for the midfield between ex-pros Briggs (left) and Ledgister (right)
Soon thereafter, a shot from range by Joel was parried away by the Beder ‘keeper into the path of Matt Boydell, who seized on the chance to make it 4-2. However, again Beder were resilient to going down by two goals, with captain Razzak Mirjan denying further opportunities for the BHMT forwards at centre back while his forwards created threatening chances. The left wing in particular was Beder’s most fertile territory, with balls over the top into the channel proving their route back to parity – first through a somewhat harshly awarded penalty which Briggs again converted (4-3), and then scoring from a corner (4-4) that was ironically conceded following great defensive work by Joe. Going into half time, Beder certainly proved to be the happier side, given BHMT had twice let two-goal leads slip.
At half time… some excellent talks… etc.
With a squad of 19 players in total at our disposal, fresh legs were brought on at half-time on the flanks, in midfield and up top, but this proved little obstacle to BHMT’s ability to play effectively as a team. This was thanks in no small part to continued solid foundation provided by the two centre backs, Aidan and Joe, and the engine of Josh Mackley and Simon Choules in midfield, who allowed Joel the freedom to utilise his incredible vision and dribbling ability to great effect.
On numerous occasions, the BHMT #8 was able to progress the team up the pitch, either by playing sumptuous through-passes for the forwards to run onto or by effortlessly skipping past the opposition. Ten minutes or so into the second half, Joel dodged two Beder defenders to cut inside in the left half space and unleash a curled shot from thirty yards, which sailed over the Beder ‘keeper and into the top right corner for the ninth goal of the game (5-4).
Joel was a constant outlet for BHMT in the second half, finding space all over the pitch. At around the 60-minute mark, Joel played Matt B through on the right channel, who put the ball across the box to find Aaron Salter for a cool finish at the back post (6-4).
With his team down by two, Beder’s Briggs also stepped up, releasing his teammates on the flanks or driving through the middle of the park to produce shots from distance. Second half fullbacks Daniel Malcolm and Nathanael Salter had their work cut out for them as the opposition overloaded the wings, the latter at one point putting in a crunching (but fair) tackle on a Beder wide man to halt a dangerous attack.
Charlie made some excellent saves, following in the footsteps of father Dominic Beer and at times drawing praise from commentator Vicki Sparks
In the end, a misplaced pass from Dave gave Beder their best opening of the half, as the ball was quickly shifted to the left-hand side to take advantage of an unsettled defence. Beder’s tricky left winger danced once again past a BHMT right back to create a goal-scoring opportunity, sending Charlie the wrong way to score at the near post from close range (6-5), past the sliding Dave (whose brief stint at centre back ended there and then).
Further overloads on the flanks and penetrative runs through the middle forced BHMT to concede a flurry of corners. Unfortunately, with Aidan’s aerial prowess and organisation no longer on the pitch, Beder exploited these set pieces to full effect, scoring their final two goals through well whipped crosses which found unmarked men (6-6 & 6-7). It was regrettable that one of these goal-scoring corners undid the excellent save by substitute goal keeper Amy Jenkins, who had pushed a fierce Briggs shot low down to her left round the post soon after coming on.
As the game neared a slightly premature close, BHMT had a few chances to equalise, especially with Ben back on at right wing alongside the pace of Daniel Osei up front. With minutes left to play, Ben received the ball on the right and cut inside to fire a left-footed shot just wide of the far post. Moments later, Daniel Malcolm played a pass through the lines to Ben, who cut the ball across for Daniel Osei to put in the net, only for linesman Josh Beer to very honestly put up his flag for a close offside – truly the epitome of fair play!
A good-spirited and evenly contested game therefore finished 7-6 to Beder, and we were almost instantly asked if we would like a rematch! Here’s hoping the next one is just as exciting – and attracts even more enthusiastic spectators!
All players representing BHMT FC on the day had strong links to the Beer-Harris family, whether extended family or friends from school, university, church, regular football or work, and they all did themselves very proud through their performances on the day – we are incredibly grateful!

Thanks to Beder, our players, supporters and Vicki Sparks for this real Christmas cracker! CEO Miranda even joined Vicki in the commentary box!
“For me“, writes our CEO, Miranda “it was much more than just a football match. It was a time to celebrate the lives of my father, Michael and brother, Dominic Beer. I grew up with football and the endless hours they spent practising in the back garden. This led to the formation of Michael’s own team and twenty odd years of fixtures, tours and regular football kit drying on the line in our garden (my mother was responsible for washing the kit). Seeing Dominic’s three sons playing at Dorking Wanderer’s FC brought back many memories and reminded me of the spirit of football, which Charlie, Josh and Dave have reignited today. For those who were unable to support the match, we will have more fixtures in the diary for 2025.”
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