TIM Thornton and his Bradford City Veterans team-mates enjoyed the sweet taste of success as they blew away some stellar European competition in sunny Portugal to win the 2018 Algarve Veterans Tournament.

They faced two games on Saturday, needing to win both to take the tournament crown. They faced Horse & Jockey FC in the first clash and won 4-2 in a thrilling encounter.

Aaron Hollindrake netted a hat-trick and Stuart Burgess also scored as City made the perfect start to the tri-tournament.

That victory meant that a win over JS Campinense would seal the title and they managed that in style. City smashed six goals without reply past the opposition, with Thornton, who used to be a regular radio commentator on the Bantams, bagging four of those. Hollindrake and Richard Ramsden were the other scorers.

The trophy secured, the Veterans played an exhibition match the following day and showed no signs of fatigue. They thrashed Destination Football 4-1 thanks to a Thornton double, as well as further goals from Ramsden and Lee Elam.

Several City fans travelled to the tournament with the squad, and the players and coaching staff made sure to thank them for their support over the weekend.

This is the only tournament that the Veterans will be entering this year, and on this evidence, the rest of Europe may be rather relieved about that!