England over-75s shootout win an 'emotional ride'

England's over-75s football team captain said a match against Germany to mark the anniversary of the 1966 World Cup win was an "unbelievable" experience.

Guernsey's Geoff Martel led the Silver Lions out at Oldham Athletic's Boundary Park on Thursday, with England coming out on top after winning a penalty shootout 3-2 following a scoreless match.

Martel said it was probably the hardest game England's over-75s team had played in the last three years, describing the match as an "emotional ride".

The 81-year-old, who took a penalty in the shootout, said he and his team-mates just "kept on going and going" as they searched for the win.

The match marked the 60th anniversary of England's 4-2 victory at Wembley and happened nine months on from the Veterans World Cup, where Martel's team finished runners-up to Germany.

Martel said the media interest in the match on the anniversary of England's only World Cup victory was "just incredible".

He took the third penalty for England in the shootout with his side 2-0 up at the time, but the goalkeeper saved his effort along with the next penalty too.

He said the final England player scored and the German captain missed, giving the Silver Lions a victory.

Martel said the match was a "tough game", but he was delighted with the win.

"It was just unbelievable, when you're involved in all the hype that goes on beforehand, you don't get time to think about it," he said.

He added the crowd who attended the match supported the team well and the victory "hadn't sunk in yet".

Martel said: "As a team we'd worked very hard to get this far and I think in the end we probably did deserve it."

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