Hednesford 2-1 FC United 
Ben was a ballboy for FCUM for six years. Tragically, on the 21st April this year, Ben collapsed and died whilst playing for one of his local teams, Dove Holes.
Ben started his ballboy duties for FC in the 06/07 season, along with his best friends Fred and Josh. They were the 3 musketeers. Ben would often joke "I’m not standing there" when he was asked to stand in front of the away fans for his ballboy duty - but of course with some "gentle persuasion" he always did. He loved FC and all it stood for. He loved getting involved. He was fabulous with newcomers to the role, as we always look to the more established ballboys/girls to help newbies learn the ropes.
We at FC are a family and we have lost one of our children, and that is extremely hard to take in. As in any family, the youngsters here all have their own characters, and actually on match days the ballboys/girls are for all intents and purposes "siblings." They all look out for and support each other, and Ben was no exception to that.
On April 28th Chorley FC very graciously allowed us to hold a bucket collection at the turnstiles for the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young. £1000 was raised which is a tremendous amount. This was given to the charity to enable them to screen more young people in order to hopefully detect heart problems and save someone else’s family from the heartbreak of sudden death.
Ben started St Mary’s school in New Mills in September 99. He began playing for New Mills junior team where he continued to play for the next few years, even though he went to St Thomas More High School in Buxton. They were a formidable team and won the High Peak Championship two years running. Ben and Josh received the honour of being selected to play for the county team.
Ben had recently been asked to sign for the New Mills reserve team and this year he won the New Mills Junior Player’s Player of the year trophy.
Ben was to move on to Aquinas Sixth Form College in Stockport, with Josh, and they had hoped to make their mark on the football team there.
A charity football match was held on 10th May between New Mills and St Thomas More and a further £938 was raised for the CRY charity.
A memorial service was held at Ben’s school, with pupils and staff sharing their memories of this wonderful young man.
A commemorative match was played in Ben’s memory on 29th July.
A plaque has been placed on the club house of Dove Holes FC in his memory. This all goes to show how Ben touched and enriched the lives of all that knew him.
We at FC knew him for six short years but to us he is, and always will be, one of our own "Children of the Revolution." We will forever remember, love and miss him.