Royal Shrovetide Football: Up'Ards win ancient Ashbourne game

The brutal game has been played in the Derbyshire town of Ashbourne since 1667

An ancient and action-packed football game that has been played in a town for centuries has finished in victory for the Up'Ards.

Royal Shrovetide Football has been played in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday since 1667 but was cancelled last year during the pandemic.

It sees players from two sides - the Up'Ards and Down'Ards - compete to move a ball to opposite ends of the town.

The Up'Ards finished 3-1 winners.

The first day ended 1-1, with the Up'Ards then goaling two balls on Wednesday.

Mark Maznenko goaled the first ball for the Up'Ards on Wednesday

'Thick with Shrovetide blood'

On both days, the first ball was goaled by the Up'Ards before 18:00 GMT, meaning it had to be "turned up" for a second time.

It was the first time since 2011 that four balls have been used.

Two balls were goaled on the first day by Up'Ard Monty Lyon and Down'Ard Nathan Harrison.

Mr Harrison said: "My family are quite thick with Shrovetide blood - it goes quite far back so I've always had that pressure over my head.

"It feels really good to join that line of ball scorers.

"We had a few skirmishes during the day - me and my cousin broke off with it [the ball] and hid on a roof with it.

"I thought something might come of that but it ended up not going that way and we had to throw it back off the roof and it was chaos again."

On Wednesday, Mark Maznenko then Ben Weston goaled balls for the Up'Ards.

The first day finished level at one-all