A member of the FA Amateur Cup winning Crook Town team of 1959 is hoping to be reunited with a copy of the match programme - if only to convince sceptical neighbours that he played in the game.

Brian Keating scored in Crook's 3-2 win over Barnet underneath the famous twin towers at the now demolished ground, but, unfortunately, he no longer posses any mementoes of the occasion.

Since moving to Australia 23 years ago, Brian, who played as centre-forward, has lost track of his Crook Town memorabilia so is now struggling to convince friends of his feat, achieved 44 years ago.

Sceptical Aussies are taking some convincing, and Brian said: "I am trying to convince my friends in Australia that I actually played in a cup final at Wembley!

"They aren't so sure, which is understandable I suppose."

Brian, who now lives in Sydney, would dearly love a copy of the match programme, and is appealing for anyone to step forward and help him.

"I lost most of my memorabilia when I was travelling around the world in the RAF, and it would be nice to have something to remember the game with," said Brian who could have played for Leeds has he not listened to his dad's career advice.

He joined Crook Town in November 1958 while working as a PT instructor in the RAF at Wilmslow and Leeds came sniffing after selling John Charles to Juventus.

"My father talked me out of the pro game saying I would be better off in the RAF," admits John.

"It was my job at Wilmslow to improve the fitness of the new recruits and that is how I met a Crook supporter called Marley Pounder. He was a new recruit and he told me all about Crook Town and how they were going to win the Amateur Cup.

"He asked me to go to Buxton where Crook were playing in the FA Cup and meet the committee. I took Marley on my motorbike and was surprised by the strength of the Crook following, there must have been 10,000 people all in black and amber scarves."

Brian signed for Crook just in time for the start of their FA Amateur Cup campaign and went on to score in every round of the competition including the semi-final and final.

He remembers the final well. "I shared a room with Seamus O'Connell and I was nicely tucked up in bed at 11pm on the Friday night when Seamus came in with a girlfriend. I didn't know what to do!

"On the Saturday morning Seamus took Ray Wilkie and myself for a drive round London. It was pouring down and we had a crash but we hadn't time to wait. We just explained we were playing at Wembley in the afternoon and off we went.

"Bobby Hardisty, our coach, told me that Alf Darcy, the England Amateur international centre half, would be marking me so I was instructed to wander all over the pitch to draw him out of position. The plan must have worked as we won 3-2 and I managed to score."

Brian played for Crook the following season and helped the team reach the semi-final of the Amateur Cup where they lost to Kingstonian 2-1.

After playing a few more games in November 1961 he was posted to Aden in January 1962 where he was a member of the Forces team which took part in the Asian Cup.

"Japan beat us 6-1, but we'd all been on a brewery trip the day before and some of us were still suffering," he added.

Brian's commitment with the RAF, he was also a member of the RA gymnastics display team, meant further travel which curtailed his soccer career. But in 1965 he finally left the RAF and in 1980 emigrated to Australia where he worked as a glass maker.

In 1981 at the age of 46 he married and lived in Perth for 14 years.

After being diagnosed with cancer of the prostate he moved to Sydney. "I still have to go to the hospital for tests but the hospital is just seven minutes walk from my home."

* If anyone has a copy of the 1959 FA Amateur Cup final programme for Brian, they are invited to contact Michael Manuel on (01388) 762683