
Martin Compston 'gutted' not to play but praises 'brilliant' Soccer Aid
Martin Compston admitted he was 'gutted' not to feature in Soccer Aid but praised a 'brilliant' victory for his rest of the world side.
Sunday's match at Old Trafford, which saw an England team of former professionals and celebrities take on Soccer Aid World XI FC, raised more than £15m for the aid organisation.
Last Of Us star Bella Ramsey joined this year's England team along with comedian Paddy McGuinness, former Manchester United player Gary Neville and singer Tom Grennan.
Former Rangers star Jermain Defoe bagged a brace, while Wayne Rooney and Toni Duggan also netted for the hosts.
The game ended with a 5-4 win for the Soccer Aid World XI team, with the final goal being scored by rapper and TV chef Big Zuu.
Among the stars of the game was former Argentina and Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez, who scored four goals in fifteen minutes to swing the result in favour of the World XI.
Prior to lifting the trophy in the air, singer Robbie Williams – who co-founded the charity game in 2006 – announced this year's had raised £15,280,163.
Actor Martin Compston, who was part of the World XI's backroom staff, admitted he was gutted not to play but praised the game's 'good entertainment'.
'It's always good to beat the English on their home turn but it was brilliant, fair play to the team, what a comeback', he said.
'We knew we had the beating of them second half because we hung in there, they usually start with their strongest team and ours is usually the second half.
'Second goal, half time, took the wind out our sails a wee bit, but I mean, when you have Carlos Tevez up front, you've always got a chance. Big Zuu ,what a winner!
'Brilliant, it was good entertainment, great fun.
'Honestly, I'm gutted I can't play. I'm grateful I get to be working, with insurance and stuff, so I can't play. So I mean that's devastating.
'Look at this pitch – it's beautiful. I mean, it's a dream to play in front of 70,000 people, so I was gutted for that. But I was actually more nervous on the sideline because you feel like you can't affect the game, and you know, 3-0 down, you start to worry a bit, but once we got that first one, I thought we were alright, so it was brilliant.'
Since the fundraising match was first founded nearly two decades ago, it has raised more than £106m.
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