Sunderland AFC legend and University of Sunderland’s men’s football praise a record-breaking Cameron Scarratt Trophy

Gary Bennett, former Sunderland AFC captain and now coach at Team Sunderland, gave his thoughts on the sixth edition of the event, in memory of former University of Sunderland student and Northumbria Police detective, Cameron Scarratt. 

In another hugely successful Cameron Scarratt Trophy event, four matches were played at the Ford Hub. 

Team Sunderland overcame Team Northumbria Police (NPFC) 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in normal time, making it five consecutive victories. 

After a 3-3 draw, Team NPFC Veterans beat Team Sunderland Staff 4-2 on penalties, while Team NPFC Ladies ran out 7-2 winners against Team Sunderland Women.  

In a cadets exhibition game, Sunderland Cadets came out on top against South Tyneside Cadets, winning 1-0. 

Bennett told SportsByte: ‘(It has been a) great day, very competitive, we got the result in the end, winning on penalties. It was a fantastic turnout”.  

The Team Sunderland coach also hailed the ‘togetherness’ of the university, with many sports clubs getting involved on the charity night, including rugby and cheerleading.   

Raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support, last week’s edition of the trophy saw a record-breaking £2451 raised – beating the previous record donation of just over £2200 from last year.   

When asked about the charitable nature of the night, Gary Bennett added: “All for a good cause, an excellent night.”  

On Team Sunderland’s fifth Cameron Scarratt Trophy win, Bennett said: “We’ve got some decent players, give them credit, and it’s been a lovely night for a game of football.  

“It is great that we won.” 

SportsByte also caught up with Danny-Jackson Brown, of the University’s men’s football, who said:  

“A brilliant day, once again we’ve raised loads of money for charity.  I think that’s probably the most entertaining one (game) we’ve had since I have been here.” 

“Macmillan is something close to Cameron Scarratt’s family. Also, we tried to make the event even bigger with the women’s and veterans’ games to try get more people playing, more people involved as well as watching in general.”  

Last year, men’s football at Sunderland University raised an extraordinary £10,036.27 for various charities.   

Jackson-Brown added: “We absolutely pride ourselves on charity work, obviously we had a fantastic season last season and hope to replicate that as much as possible. 

“Making events, whether it’s games, bingo nights – just anyway to try and raise money and get awareness to those who deserve it.”  

Talking about the Cameron Scarratt Trophy match, Jackson-Brown praised the heroics of Team Sunderland’s Yazan Top: “Our ‘keeper was fantastic. That was the moment, people are going to go away from the game and remember the lad who saved two penalties.”