A GENEROUS donation from Peterborough United coach and Barnsley native Dale Tonge is helping the players of Houghton Main FC.
The club received eight match balls - that cost approximately £55 each - last week when Dale, a former Reds’ player and coach, came to visit his family.
Dale’s dad Mick played for the amateur club back in the 80s and that connection has never truly died.
“I loved my time there,” Mick said.
“I made lots of friends and used to play with my brother-in-law.
“I’m still in touch with Alan Haynes, the club’s groundsman and chairman - he asked me if Dale could help at all.
“My son’s pretty good when it comes to looking out for people in the community.
“He’s done all sorts of things to help people out.”
Dale, originally from Goldthorpe, spoke to the groundsman at Peterborough United, and while it took a while to sort out, he showed up with the free match balls for the club.
Joint manager at Houghton Main FC, Adrian Barnard, added: “Alan made the phone call tentatively - it was out of the blue quite honestly.
“A donation like this helps us out a lot.”