A 1-0 defeat for the new England Veterans’ Over 65’s ‘A’ team against the Wales Over 65’s ‘A’ on Wednesday 11th February in Leicestershire.

This was the first time England Veterans had fielded an ‘A’ team in the Over 65’s age group – the last full international was in November 2025 and the idea was for both sides to give chances to players who hadn’t played in that game.

Wales started strongly and pushed England back for a lot of the first half but Garry Nelson marshalled the England defence resolutely and it was still 0-0 at half time.

In a stronger second half performance the English defence repelled many of the Wales’ attacks with goalkeeper Gary Corby only needing to make one excellent save.

20 minutes from the end, an unfortunate error in the England midfield allowed Wales’ Jon Williams to go through one on one in the box and he went over the lunging leg of Mike Heatherley and the referee gave a penalty. Steve Branch netted for Wales although Corby got a strong hand to the ball.

As England pushed forward for an equaliser Wales counter attacked well but England’s defence held firm.

A deserved victory for Wales but a decent first performance from players given a platform to push for places in the forthcoming Tri Nations tournament – which is against Northern Ireland and Wales in April and May.

Our thanks to the match officials and to Kirby Muxloe Football Club for hosting the game.