Millwall duo help England Veterans win fifth World Seniors title

Former Millwall players Barry Hayles and Wesley Reid helped England Veterans pick up their fifth World Seniors title, beating Scotland 4-0 in the final at Hua Hin Stadium, Thailand, on Saturday.

The win marks the side’s third consecutive victory in the Thai-based tournament.

England and Scotland had already met in the opening game of the tournament, with the former running out 2-1 winners.

England took the lead on 27 minutes when central defender Mark Saunders, headed home from a corner.

Saunders finished the game as captain after Peter Beagrie pulled up midway through the first half with a suspected knee injury.

England were not able to add to their lead until the second half, when Jason Price scored after 12 minutes, following good work down the right by Steve Jones and Lee Elam.

The game was wrapped up in a two-minute spell midway through the second half, when England scored a quick-fire double to take the game away from the Scots.

Lee Elam netted England’s third, in a move he started with Nicky Southall, finishing after a deft flick by Steve Jones had split the Scottish defence. Within seconds of the restart Jones had a goal for himself, picking up on a high ball over the Scottish defence and converting the one-on-one against Derek Barnes in the Scottish goal.

Former Millwall midfielder Reid started for England in the final, where he would have been joined by former Millwall striker Hayles – England’s joint top-scorer with three in the competition – if he had not picked up an injury in the semi-final against Iran.

Initially conceived by the Senior Football Association of Thailand to promote the country and its tourism in the wake of the tsunami, the competition has become an annual event, held in a different province of Thailand each year.