R.I.P Mark Ovendale

Former Luton, Bournemouth and York goal-keeper Mark Ovendale has tragically 

lost his battle with cancer at the age of 37.

Ovendale who had his greatest success with Welsh champions Barry Town

 between 

1995-1998 before spending making 311 appearances with Bournemouth, Luton, 

York and Tiverton and Newport County where he retired in 2007 due to a long 

stand hip injury. He joined Wimborne Town as a coach in August 2008 but was

 terribly diagnosed with terminal cancer in late 2010.

Ovendale made four appearances against Barnsley - a League Cup tie with

 Bournemouth in October 1998 which the Reds won 2-1 courtesy of goals from

 Ashley Ward and Jan Aage Fjortoft and then in the FA Cup just three months

 later 

when Barnsley again triumphed, this time 3-1 with strikes from Darren Sheridan, 

Craig Hignett and Martin Bullock. Incidentally whilst at Bournemouth his

 understudy was a 24 year old Nick Colgan who left the Cherries without

 managing to dislodge Ovendale and joined Hibernian where he was a great

 success before being signed by Barnsley’s then manager Paul Hart in 2004.

Ovendale’s other two games against The Reds came with Luton in January 2003

 when Luton’s goal-keeper Carl Emberson was sent off after just 36 minutes and Ovendale came on and was only beaten by a Bruce Dyer penalty as Luton won 3-2, and then with York in an FA Cup tie in November 2003. This time Isaiah Rankin and Kevin Betsy beat him in a 2-1 Barnsley win.

All of us at TykesMad send their sincere condolences to Mark’s family and 

friends.