SOUTHERN LEAGUE legend Scott Griffin came out of retirement to play for Longlevens Reserves in division one of the Stroud & District League on Saturday – and was immediately back among the goals.

Griffin, 36 in June, has not played since the 2011/12 season with Cirencester Town, for whom he scored 53 goals in 103 appearances. He has since become the football administrator and general manager at the Southern Premier club.

He was tempted to pull on his boots again by Longlevens’ first team manager James French, who is also indoor arena manager at Cirencester Town.

His goal apart, Griff failed to inspire the runaway league leaders who could manage just a 3-3 draw against basement club Stonehouse Town Reserves.

The prolific striker also encountered a couple of situations which are not uncommon in the lower reaches of the grassroots game.

“The three Longlevens subs, including me, all took it in turns to run the line,” said Griffin, “and at one point the game had to be stopped while dog muck was cleared from the pitch.” The self effacing Griff added: “I came on for the last 25 minutes and it was a typical game for me – I had about 10 touches and gave away the ball nine times.

“But I did score with my only shot – a tap-in from six yards which put us 3-2 ahead. I was easily the worst player on the field but I’ll carry on playing as long as Frenchy wants me.”