PREPARATIONS are being finalised for the first event in Barry Roche’s testimonial season with Morecambe this Sunday.
The keeper joined the Shrimps in 2008 and the popular Irishman has established himself as a fans’ favourite, with his stunning performances season after season a key factor in the club maintaining its Football League status.
The first big event will see stars of hit TV programmes such as Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and Waterloo Road line up against a team of Shrimps Legends at the Globe Arena this Sunday, September 16 for a celebrity match.
The official match sponsors will be Total Tots Day Nursery and the game starts at 3pm with gates opening at 1pm for a day of family fun, with bouncy castle, face-painting and entertainment.
Admission will cost from £8 for adults and £4 for children. The celebs play regular matches around the country to raise funds for their ‘Once Upon a Smile’ charity, which provides emotional and practical support for bereaved families.
Their team is to be confirmed on the day because of performing commitments but their squad members include actors such as Ralf Little (The Royle Family), several of the male cast from Hollyoaks, Emmerdale and Waterloo Road, as well as X-Factor stars, Jake Quickenden and Jay Kontzle, Radio 1 presenter, Cel Spellman and former footballers players including
Danny Higginbotham, Wes Brown, David Dunn, Paul Dickov, Marlon Beresford and Frank Sinclair.
The Shrimps’ Legends line-up will include Wembley 2007 heroes Danny Carlton, Michael Twiss and Wayne Curtis as well as former Shrimps stars such as Andy Parrish, Craig Stanley and the celebrated centre-back partnership of Dave Artell and Morecambe manager, Jim Bentley.
Other events coming up during the season include: Race Night – October 6; Ladies’ Night – November 24; Sportsman’s Dinner, featuring former Liverpool keeper, Bruce Grobbelaar – February 22; Q&A Evening – March 2019; Stars in Their Eyes – April 13 and a Golf Day at Morecambe Golf Club – date TBC. To keep an eye on updates throughout the season visit the Barry Roche Testimonial page on Facebook.
Shrimps’ boss Jim Bentley is urging as many fans as possible to support Barry’s big day. He said: “Barry is an absolute legend at this club and he deserves to have a fantastic testimonial season.
“He is a great guy to have around as well as being a great goalkeeper and he is someone that certainly deserves the support of all Morecambe fans and football supporters in general.’’