RAILWAY staff put their boots on for a football match in honour of Oxford station stalwart Steve Cross.

The 38-year-old father-of-two from Cowley had worked on the ticket barriers at the station for eight years before he died following a heart attack at his home last month.

Two teams of Oxford railway staff faced off in the dome at Oxford Academy in Sandy Lane West to commemorate the avid Liverpool fan's life.

Station supervisor Adam Smith, who worked with Steve for four years and organised the game, said: "Steve was a big character at the station and we all miss him lots.

"However we cannot imagine the pain that his family are going through at this time.

"We wanted to do something as a station to celebrate Steve's life and we decided to hold a charity football match.

"Steve was a massive Liverpool fan so we couldn't think of a better way."

Players donated £10 to play and spectators also made contributions, with the £250 raised going to a trust fund for his two daughters Sophie, 11 and Amy, eight.

Mr Smith said: "There were about 17 of us who played in the end, a lot of Steve’s close family and friends came and it was a really nice occasion.

"We had a minute's applause before the match and had some pictures with his little girls.

"It was a friendly game and it was all in good nature and a bit of a laugh."

The teams played in white and red with the whites winning an entertaining game 10-6.

The station staff want to make the game a regular event following Monday's successful match.

Oxford Mail:
Mourned: Steve Cross

Mr Smith added: "We are hopeful that we can make this an annual thing.

"It was a real mix of abilities, we had some people who had never kicked a ball in their lives and some who play football every week.

"They all came together for Steve."

More than 200 mourners attended Mr Cross's funeral earlier this month at St Mary's Church in Kidlington.

Two renditions of You’ll Never Walk Alone brought the congregation - including two bus loads of First Great Western staff - to tears as friends wearing Liverpool shirts carried the 38-year-old's coffin away.

Following his death in January, rail staff, British Transport Police officers and passengers observed a minute’s silence as the station.

Candles and flowers were laid out on the floor beyond the barriers where he had for so long stood guard and his coat was hung up with hundreds of tribute messages pinned to it.

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