‘Sheffield is great’ - Former Sheffield Wednesday defender and promotion hero praise Steel City turnout

Beevers is currently playing in Australia for Perth Glory and only landed back in the country on Friday, but a couple of days he was out on the field at Olympic Legacy Park in front of a record crowd of nearly 1,500 people in order to raise money for little Rio Spurr.

Rio, son of Beevers’ former teammate, Tommy, has had a tough year after being diagnosed with Wilms’ Tumour, and though he was recently given the all clear by doctors there is sadly still a 50% chance that it comes back.

Over the weekend ex-Owls and Blades made the trip to Sheffield to raise money for the brave four-year-old, with Neil Warnock and Ron Atkinson sitting in either dugout for a seven-goal thriller that was eventually won 4-3 by the side in red and white.

Beevers, having a nice chinwag on the bench, didn’t expect to end up on the pitch as soon as he was, but was delighted to be a part of it all…

“I was a surprise addition because I only landed from Australia on Friday!” Beevers said with a smile. “But I’m struggling with jet lag and I didn’t expect to be on the pitch so quick to be honest with you - Cocko (Graham Coughlan) has killed me when he came off after 10 minutes saying he’d done his groin. I was quite happy on the bench chatting to Tommy Miller.

“It’s great though, it was a great turnout for a great cause and I’m just so happy that Rio has got some good news. And he deserves it.

“It’s been a good day all round… Sheffield is great, and there’s been a great crowd come out - I hope they enjoyed it even though there wasn’t much pace out there! It was enjoyable to play in and there were some good players out there. It’s a shame about the result, mind!”

Meanwhile, ex-Owls favourite, JP McGovern, suggested that a legends Steel City derby could become commonplace in the city after he dusted off the cobwebs on Sunday – saying that it’s good for the city.

“It’s for a great cause, and it’s been nice to be a part of it,” he said afterwards. “When you put the two Sheffield clubs together there always that little bit between fans, which is good, and I think it’s something that could happen every year to be honest - maybe raise money for a different charity each year.

“It brings out the fans, closes the season and builds relationships for the city. It was really nice to play a part."

Marcus Tudgay (x2) and Spurr got the goals for Wednesday on Sunday, while Danny Webber (x2), Lee Williamson and Mark Duffy found the back of the net for United on what was a lovely afternoon over in Don Valley Bowl.

If you still wish to donate to Rio’s cause in case his cancer does come back, then you can do so here.

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