Stand to honour legendary skipper

The Shed End at Giant Axe will be known as The Neil Marshall Legend Stand after the special ceremony to honour the club's skipper, pictured, who passed away in November 2016 at the age of 31 after a two year battle against cancer.

Born in Lancaster and a plumber by trade, the popular defender played in 485 matches for the Dolly Blues between his 2006 debut and retirement at the end of the 2015-16 after being diagnosed with the illness in the lymph nodes.

Lancaster's Mayor and Mayoress, Councillor Roger Mace and Joyce Mace, are attending the renaming ceremony before the 3pm kick-off alongside Neil’s widow Kim and other family members.

A club spokesman confirmed: "This Saturday's match against Mickleover Sports will be a special occasion for the Dolly Blues and the local community. As we prepare to rename The Shed End after our beloved legend Neil Marshall, we urge everyone to come down to Giant Axe at 2.30pm and join us in commemorating Neil in a special pre-game ceremony."

Lancaster City’s general manager Shane Hudson said the idea of naming one of the ground’s stands after the club stalwart was something everyone at the club supported and had been calling for since his sad passing last season before the Dolly Blues went on to win promotion to the EVO-STIK League's top flight.

Hudson told the club's website: “From a club point of view anyone with any links to Lancaster City over the last few years was desperate to permanently commemorate Neil. He has been a massive part of the club in its modern history. If Neil wasn’t a player he would have been standing on that terrace watching the games himself.”

Images courtesy of lancastercityfc.co.uk

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