At the end of a year when both the Football Association and the Royal Engineers have celebrated their 150th Anniversary, this was a thoroughly enjoyable match with which to mark the occasion.

However, three goals in the final 20 minutes gave the FA Representative XI a margin of victory that their performance deserved, but had it not been for an outstanding display from Royal Engineers’ goalkeeper Luke Cairny, the scoreline could have been far more one-sided.

That said, if John Mathis’ audacious ‘Beckham-esque’ effort been a few inches lower instead of crashing back off the face of James Shea’s crossbar with the scores still level, who knows how this match could have turned out.  The Royal Engineers players, although outplayed for the majority of the game by technically superior opponents, never backed out of a challenge and still gave a good account of themselves.

AFC Hornchurch’s Stefan Payne scored the opening goal with 20 minutes left, but he will wonder how he didn’t have five or six to his name by the final whistle.  Woking’s young midfielder Niall Wright doubled the FA XI’s lead with a controlled volley before Dulwich Hamlet’s Xavier Vidal powered in a third as the Engineer’s defence tired.

From the start, the FA Representative side’s passing and movement was far more fluent on the 3G pitch at the Gallagher Stadium.  A flowing movement from Tom Pett and Louie Theophanous allowed Lowestoft’s Curtis Williams to swing in a cross from the right touchline, and only a challenge from Craig Stevenson stopped Payne from getting a clean contact.  Wealdstone’s Pett had a curling effort fly past the goal, before Maidstone United’s Tom Mills brought the first of many saves from Luke Cairny, with a 40-yard drive.

Jake Gallagher, the Welling midfielder displayed an array of passing throughout the night, but his ball over the Engineer’s defence for Williams was outstanding, allowing the full-back (playing on the right instead of his normal left-back position) to fire a shot at the right hand post, that Cairny did well to get down and turn behind.

If this save was good, Cairny’s next double save was one any goalkeeper would have been proud to claim.  Payne hit a curling effort from outside the box that Cairny did well to push away at full length to his left, only for Theophanousto fire the rebound goalwards.  But the Staines Town forward was denied by Cairny’s reaction block at his left post.

Mills was next to test the Engineers’ goalkeeper, firing a shot in that swerved and dipped late, making Cairny’s save to his right all the better.  But the keeper was helpless as Alex Brown, another playing on his home ground, had a shot deflect off the heels of Stevenson and loop just over the left post.  From the resulting Pett corner, FA skipper, Bromley’s Jack Holland directed a header into the 6-yard box, where Payne attempted a cheeky backheel, that somehow Cairny blocked at point-blank range.

Before the interval, Pett skimmed a shot just over the bar, before Welling’s Kurtis Guthrie tested Cariny with a shot that the keeper saw late, and did well to turn round the post.

For FA keeper Craig Ross, the first half was a frustrating time in front of England C manager, Paul Fairclough, as other than one goalkick and two backpasses, the Eastbourne Borough stopper spent the half trying to keep warm.  Harrow Borough’s James Shea replaced Ross at the interval; the other replacement seeing the introduction of Xavier Vidal for Maidstone’s Alex Brown.

The one-way traffic resumed in the second half, with Pett firing a shot past the post having cut in from the right wing, and Payne must have wondered when he was going to get an effort on target; firing two volleys out of the ground.

Just past the hour mark came the first incisive thrust from the Royal Engineers, as substitutes Dominic Creamer, Matthew Price and Simon Dean swept the ball quickly across the midfield, but Dean’s dangerous cross was cleared by Holland.  Moments later came Mathis’ speculative effort, driving into the FA half, then unleashing a shot that had Shea scambling as the ball flew over his head but back off the bar; an effort that drew the loudest reaction from the crowd.

Payne fired another shot high over the bar, but made amends on 70, latching onto a long ball from Holland that caught former Maidstone defender Gavin Greenfield on his heels.  Payne controlled the dropping ball on the run and as Cairny advanced, coolly slotted the ball past the keeper into the corner of the net.

One nearly became two within three minutes, as Pett’s wicked freekick was glanced on by Guthrie for Payne, standing in what appeared to be an offside position, to steer goalwards.  Cairny pulled off another stunning reaction save to keep the gap at one, as Payne stood once more with his head in his hands.

Niall Wright did double the lead with 10 minutes left; the Woking youngster hitting a dropping ball with a controlled volley that evaded Cairny’s desperate dive, but Cairny refused to be beaten from the FA team’s next attack.  The keeper denied Payne again with a diving stop, after Payne had turned quickly on the penalty spot, but Cairny was up quickly to block Guthrie’s follow-up at his left post.

With the Royal Engineers’ back four tiring, Vidal added his name to the scoresheet by firing through a crowd of defenders on the line, capitalising on a Guthrie flick from Williams’ low cross.

ROYAL ENGINEERS: Sapper Luke Cairny, Sapper Dean Ellis (Corporal Michael Darke 54), Lance Corporal Rob Cooper-Tomkins, Lance Corporal Gavin Greenfield, Lance Corporal Craig Stevenson, Corporal John Mathis (Sapper Terry Nash 80), Lance Corporal Adam Fisher, Corporal Gerwyn Griffith (Sargeant Kevin Tiberius Stubbs 85), Sapper Lee McCombie (Sapper Simon Dean 54), Sapper Michael Cramie (Sapper Matthew Price 54), Sapper Liam Meldrum (Sapper Dominic Creamer 54).

FA REPRESENTATIVE XI: Craig Ross (Eastbourne Borough) (James Shea (Harrow Borough) 46), Curtley Williams (Lowestoft Town), Tom Mills (Maidstone United), Joe McNerney (Woking), Jack Holland (Bromley), Jake Gallagher (Welling United), Tom Pett (Wealdstone), Alex Brown (Maidstone United) (Xavier Vidal (Dulwich Hamlet) 46), Louie Theophanous (Staines Town) (Niall Wright (Woking) 61), Stefan Payne (AFC Hornchurch), Kurtis Guthrie (Welling United).

Goals: Stefan Payne 70, Niall Wright 80, Xavier Vidal 86.

Attendance: 414