Ingen’s Matthew Laurenson plays for Scotland

Broken bones, ligament damage, dead legs, shin splints and exhaustion did not prevent a hardy group of footballers from raising thousands for charity by completing an epic 24-hour match.

Thirty-six players including Ingen's very own Systems Engineer Matthew Laurenson took part in the match at Lochside Park – the home of Hermes Junior Football Club – in Bridge of Don to raise funds for the Dochas Education Trust.

Two teams, kitted out in Scotland and Brazil strips, kicked off the match last Friday at 6.30pm and played straight through until 7pm on Saturday with only a half hour break for half-time.

The players who took part ranged in standard from those with Highland League experience to local businessmen and school pupils who just wanted to come along and help raise funds for a good cause.

Organiser Dougie Simpson said: “The first four or five hours were played at normal match pace with Scotland being ruthless in front of goal and taking a substantial lead.

"Things started to slow down around about midnight and the pace of the game had taken its toll on the Brazil squad who had already lost four players due to injuries ranging from a broken hand to a dead leg.”

When half time came at 6.30am both teams only had one substitute left each so the decision was made to reduce the size of the pitch in a bid to keep the challenge going for a further 12 hours.

Come full time, Scotland had secured a memorable 95-87 victory, and, more importantly, a whopping £12,500 had been raised for the trust.

The Dochas Education Trust is a Christian organisation which is working to improve the Nsanje district of Malawi through education and training. The trust is sending a group of volunteers to help run a children’s bible club for two weeks in July.

Mr Simpson added: “All of the players who survived the 24 hours require huge praise, most notably Craig Ferguson who played an incredible 20 of the 24 hours. One word: machine.

"We are hugely grateful to Hermes for allowing us to use their pitch, local businessman Jim Milne who provided the strips, the referee Dan McFarlane and the ladies who organised the food which helped keep the players going. We are delighted to have raised so much for such a worthy cause.”

For more information on the Dochas Education Trust go to www.dochaseducation.org.uk.

Source: stv.co.uk

Ingen’s Claire Marlow – Baker Hughes 10k Success

The Baker Hughes 10k was the event everyone was taking about at the weekend - it seemed everyone knew someone who was dedicating their time and effort to run for various charities.

Indeed Baker Hughes chat was circulating the office as Ingen's very own Claire Marlow took on the 10k challenge raising funds for CLAN.

With running mate Paddy Gopala they completed the course in a very respectable time of 64 minutes with no stoppages - which we're lead to believe made it the first time they had managed to run a full 10k in one go!

With a fundraising total to date of £670.00 for charity CLAN - a huge congratulations to Claire for dedicating her time and effort to succeeding in such a worthwhile challenge for a worthy cause.