GRAEME WAS MORE THAN A TEAMMATE
HEBBURN Town captain Louis Storey has hailed the impact of Graeme Armstrong as the veteran striker prepares for life after football.
The 37-year-old brought down the curtain on a goal-laden 20-year career last weekend when the Hornets fell to a narrow defeat in their FA Vase quarter-final against Warrington Rylands.
Armstrong cut a disconsolate figure as the full-time whistle was blown and he was embraced by both Storey and Hornets manager Kevin Bolam.
The former Gateshead, Darlington and South Shields frontman has become a key figure at the South Tyneside club after helping them to promotion into the Northern Premier League.
The penultimate game of Armstrong’s career saw him notch a new high as he led the line in Hebburn’s 2019/20 FA Vase Final win against Ebac Northern League rivals Consett.
The striker will now head into retirement with a ringing endorsement from his former skipper, who praised the impact he made on and off the pitch with his final club.
“I class Graeme as a lifelong friend now, and I may be captain, but what he says and does around the squad has a massive influence on how we conduct ourselves as players,” said the Hornets skipper.
“We all look up to him, everyone respects him, you have to for what he has done in the game.
“I played alongside him at South Shields, and we came to Hebburn at the same time, his standards have not dropped on or off the pitch during that time.
“He is the perfect professional and he’s more than just a team-mate to me. He’s become a mentor and I have learnt so much from him that will help me throughout the rest of my career.”