Hundreds swarmed into Devonshire Recreation Club on Monday night to witness footballers from yesteryear do battle for charity.

And those who generously donated towards medical expenses for former Hamilton Parish, Southampton Rangers, Wolves and Prison Officers player Cal DeShields ? injured in a road traffic accident last year ? certainly received their money's worth.

With the premises packed to near capacity, fans were treated to some highly entertaining and, at times, humorous football as Hamilton Parish came-from-behind to edge Devonshire Colts 3-2 and Wolves survived a last gasp penalty to record a 3-2 win over a gutsy Prison Officers side.

Organisers later dubbed the event a roaring success and have already unveiled plans to stage two additional double headers showcasing 'Old School football' at the Den in March and April.

"It was beautiful and has certainly been the talk of the town. The support was beautiful, the atmosphere great and the football played the way it should be," commented organiser Vince Minors Sr.

"Apart from the occasional blunder the old boys showed how football should be played. They might not have had the breeze but they certainly had the touches and the goals were fantastic."

Minors said $8,000 was raised at the match with further donations still to come from Devonshire Recreation Club and C Travel.

A star-studded Colts and Parish kicked off the proceedings with a see-saw contest that saw both teams take the lead.

After surviving a few close calls Parish drew first blood when the ever dangerous Ricky Hill beat the Colts' off-side trap, kept his composure and slotted the ball past the advancing 'keeper.

But Hill's clinically taken goal did little to sway the momentum of the match. In fact, it seemed to do the complete opposite as a Colts side containing the likes of former national coach Gary Darrell, Ray Jones, James Tweed, Harrison Trott, Edgar Smith and Clevie Wade quickly found themselves on even terms and then a goal ahead courtesy of a Jeff Richardson brace.

Richardson drew the teams level from the penalty spot and then gave Colts the lead with a well driven shot from the edge of the 18 yard box before the dust had settled.

From here Colts looked sure favourites to hold onto their lead and march on to victory.

Parish, though, had thoughts of their own.

Refusing to throw in the towel, Parish continued to take the match to their opponents, an approach that finally paid dividends when former Colts centre half Marcus Douglas equalised for the slightly watered down Hot Peppers.

And just when it appeared as though the teams would have to settled for a share of the spoils, Ashton Outerbridge scored with a sensational left-footed Michel Platini-like free kick that curled over the wall and into the top right hand corner of the net to earn Parish a hard fought win.

The stage was now well and truly set for more dramatics to come as Wolves eventually avoided being thrown in the slammer by a Dennis Brown-led Prison Officers in the nightcap.

Coming out with all guns blazing, Wolves wasted little time grabbing this affair by the scruff of the neck as Derek (Nails) Douglas, Charles (Nature) Wade, Dion (Herb) Wainwright and the diminutive Casey Burgess wreaked havoc running down the centre and wide out on the flanks.

So it didn't really come as a surprise when Carlos Pearman scored a long range goal the 'keeper should have easily saved to give Wolves an early lead.

And before Officers could figure out what had hit them, Wolves doubled their lead when Burgess converted in heavy traffic inside the area.

Officers, though, would turn the match on its head right at the start of the second half when former Devonshire Colts striker Craig Smith scored immediately after the restart, smashing a wind-assisted volley, after his team-mate flicked the ball up directly from kick off, that gave the unsuspecting 'keeper absolutely no chance.

Officers then levelled the scores when Gregory (Ribs) Simons converted from the penalty spot.

From here both teams created space and chances to score but failed to hit the target until former Parish player Bobby Smith brought the crowd to their feet when he buried a rasping half-volley from outside the 18 yard box to put Wolves back out on front.

The match, though, would take on another twist seconds from the final whistle when Officers were awarded a second penalty of the night.

Simons, however, ballooned his spotkick high and wide to go from hero to villain and spark celebrations on the Wolves bench.

Minors said plans are already in the works to stage an East versus West doubleheader at the Den this month involving Over 35 and Over 50 selects while Wolves will take on Parish and Colts will lock horns with Prison Officers in April.

"We're looking forward to having old players from Somerset, Southampton Rangers, PHC and Warwick United come out to play," Minors said. "We're talking about players such as Ralph (Gumbo) Bean and Marshial (Mop) Astwood. And in April we have invited the same four teams that played on Monday night back out to play."

As for DeShields, Minors said: "He couldn't see the match, but from hearing the crowd's roar he knew there was a heck of a lot of people there and he really appreciates their support."

DeShields' vision has gradually deteriorated after being involved in a cycle accident last summer.