Hay St Marys and Talgarth Town put their rivalry aside to play a friendly charity game on Saturday, November 16, in support of Talgarth Senior Manager, Mark ‘Tiny’ Harding and his cancer journey.

Tiny was diagnosed with prostate cancer in September and shortly after told that the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes and his bones.

A hugely popular figure in the area, Tiny is using his diagnosis to raise awareness of the illness and is also raising money for Prostate Cancer Research.

The charity match was played at Forest Road in Hay and began with the players of both sides giving Tiny a guard of honour as the large crowd gave him a standing ovation.

The game was played in a competitive manner with Tiny’s Talgarth coming out victorious 3-1 winners following the floodlights going out, causing the game to finish early.

At half-time, the strong turnout gathered around the clubhouse as an auction took place for a signed Wales jerseys by Wales manager Craig Bellamy, and former Wales player Robbie Savage. A hospitality package for Wales’ Uefa Nations League game against Iceland was also auctioned.

Djibril Cissé, former player of Tiny’s beloved Liverpool, sent him a signed jersey and along with Robbie Savage sent him well wishes via video calls.

Handing over the jersey to Tiny, Gareth Davies said: “You’ll never walk alone son,” as those in attendance gave him a round of applause.

The charity match raised more than £1,000 for Tiny’s JustGiving page which now sits at more than £3,300 raised for Prostate Cancer Research.

To help raise awareness further, Tiny has got a tattoo of the Prostate Cancer UK logo, sponsored by John Sheppard and Sarah Sheppard of Twinkles and Ink.

Speaking about the event Mark ‘Tiny’ Harding said: “Thanks to everyone who was involved on Saturday in making the match possible and thank you everyone for their continued support and donations.”

His message remains the same: “Don’t hang about and be a statistic. If you don’t feel right get yourself sorted. You owe it to your family, your friends and yourself.”

You can still donate to Tiny’s JustGiving page here.

What are the symptoms of prostate cancer?

The NHS website states that prostate cancer does not usually cause any symptoms until the cancer has grown large enough to put pressure on the tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the penis (urethra).

Symptoms of prostate cancer can include:

• needing to pee more frequently, often during the night

• needing to rush to the toilet

• difficulty in starting to pee (hesitancy)

• straining or taking a long time while peeing

• weak flow

• feeling that your bladder has not emptied fully

• blood in urine or blood in semen

These symptoms do not always mean you have prostate cancer. Many men's prostates get larger as they get older because of a non-cancerous condition called benign prostate enlargement.

Signs that the cancer may have spread include bone and back pain, a loss of appetite, pain in the testicles and unintentional weight loss.

For more information visit the Prostate Cancer UK website and the Cancer Research UK website.