FOOTBALLERS from Stretford High School are gearing up for the return leg in their Christmas Day truce match against German opposition.

The first leg of the match which was played last month at Manchester United's former training ground resulted in a 3-0 victory for the home side over a team of teenagers from Monchengladbach,

The matches are part of a First World War commemoration in a match on Christmas Day, which became one of the most iconic moments, among the slaughter of millions of soldiers on the front one hundred years ago..

In an effort to understand more about the conflict the Stretford High team spent a day living their lives as soldiers and visiting the Imperial War Museum.

The team has now embarked on fundraising for the return leg in March, by doing a bag pack at the Stretford Tesco raising £159.

Stretford High School teacher Chris Hirst said: "The football squad has made a fantastic effort so far. This is a fantastic opportunity for them and it makes me really proud to see them taking it so seriously."

The eventual winners in March will lift the the Sandy Turnbull Memorial Trophy. Turnbull, who won FA Cup medals with both Manchester City and Manchester United, died at the front in France, on May 3, 1917. His body was never found. His wife Florence and their four children lived in Portland Road, Gorse Hill, for many years.

Other soldiers with Manchester United connections who perished in the Great War include Arthur Beadsworth, a forward killed in 1917, the full-back Oscar Linkson who died during the Somme Offensive of 1916.

The matches have been organised by the school in collaboration with Trafford Council and The Manchester United Foundation,