Football:
Gudger claims a hat-trick of awards

RUGBY Town defender Alex Gudger certainly had his hands full at Friday’s Presentation Evening, after receiving three Player of the Year awards.

The 20-year-old, who signed for Valley in August 2012, was nominated by both manager Dave Stringer and the Vice Presidents as their man of the season, and he also tied with Lewis McBride in the Players’ Player of the Year vote.

David Kolodynski’s 35 goals in 39 appearances caught the eye of the fans though as he scooped the Supporters’ award (in memory of Kit Dand) in addition to the Golden Boot trophy.

Kolodynski’s strike partner Seb Lake-Gaskin came out on top as Media Star Man - based on the man of the match nominations given throughout the campaign - just pipping Ellis Myles at the top by virtue of his seven picks to Myles’ six.

However, Myles received some consolation by sharing the Bob Giles Memorial Shield for most appearances in the season with keeper Dave Bevan.

The remaining player trophies handed out were the Call-a-Car Award for loyalty and commitment which went to Steve Palmer, with the first presentation of the Carl Barnes Shield shared between Robbie Banks and Craig Kelly for their noteworthy contributions prior to the injuries they sustained in the abandoned match at Royston in February - which saw them both miss the final 16 games of the campaign.

Other awards presented on the night included Young Supporter of the Year for Alfie Gare - grandson of Valley Sports founder member Charlie Gare - with Club Doctor and current President Pete Kilvert also recognised for his outstanding service to the club over 35 years.

Having narrowly missed out on promotion to Southern League Premier Division via the play-offs - despite a season which saw a number of club records broken - the team did instead formally receive the Central Division runners-up trophy.

Director Mike Yeats thanked everyone involved with the club for their efforts and support throughout the campaign, and looked forward to going one better and returning to step three of the non-league football pyramid at the fourth attempt next time round.

Full list of winners: Manager’s Player of the Year - Alex Gudger; Supporters’ Player of the Year - David Kolodynski; Vice Presidents’ Player of The Year - Alex Gudger; Players’ Player Of The Year - Lewis McBride and Alex Gudger; Top Goalscorer - David Kolodynski; Call-a-Car Award - Steve Palmer; Bob Giles Memorial Shield - Ellis Myles and Dave Bevan; Carl Barnes Memorial Shield - Robbie Banks and Craig Kelly; Media Star Man Award - Seb Lake-Gaskin; Young Supporter of the Year - Alfie Gare.

Buy photos» Treble award winner Alex Gudger (right) shares the Players’ Player gong with Lewis McBride (left) - presented by Club Director Mike Yeats. Picture by Martin Pulley.

Buy photos» Supporters’ Player of the Year and Golden Boot Winner David Kolodynski with Town manager Dave Stringer. Picture by Martin Pulley.

Buy photos» Valley’s Young Supporter of the Year Alfie Gare receives his award. Picture by Martin Pulley.

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