A loyal Exeter City fan has been rewarded for his years of persistence by winning over £1,000 after Saturday's 4-1 win over Barnet.
Ever since putting a correct bet on the Grecians to beat Torquay 4-1 in the 2008 Conference play-off semi-final, Roger Hamilton-Kendall has placed £10 on Paul Tisdale's men to win every match by the same scoreline.
Unfortunately for Roger, there hasn't been too many times in the past eight years that City have romped to such a victory - but Saturday's win, thanks to goals from Jake Taylor, Lee Holmes, David Wheeler and Reuben Reid, at odds of 100/1 from Coral, means the persistent fan estimates he is now up by about £600.
Due to his well-known bet, when Reid slotted home a penalty with nine minutes left, Hamlton-Kendall got a number of messages of support from City fans.
"I think it is common knowledge that I do that bet," said Roger. "When City are 4-1 up and there is nine minutes to play, I get loads of messages saying: What price have you got on it this week?
"It can vary from 33/1 to 500/1 and people are generally interested in it and wish me luck because they know I do it every week. It is a bit of fun on my part, but it has become a bit of a point of interest with most City fans.
"It goes back to the Torquay United game in 2008.
"I had a dream the night before the home game that we beat Torquay United 4-1. It was quite a strong dream so for a laugh I put a bet for a 4-1 scoreline on and we lost that game 2-1.
"Then before the second leg I was walking up past St Mary's Church in Torquay and I passed by a bookmakers and I remembered the dream.
"I only had a couple of quid on me so I walked in and put a bet on for us to win 4-1 at 100/1. The game was quite an emotional rollercoaster and we ended up winning by that scoreline.
"Ever since then I have just continued to do the bet. It is my sporting bet and it is nice to get the good will messages. I have even got 4-1 on the back of my City shirt."
Read more: Exeter City vs Chelsea under-23s: Paul Tisdale on facing Blues and EFL Trophy format as a whole
Whilst Roger is now in credit due to his longstanding bet, he admits he has had a number of heartbreaking close calls over the years, with the score coming in just five times since that fateful day in 2008.
"I have been very close to the scoreline on numerous occasions and you get different prices at different bookmakers," said Roger. "I can remember getting 500/1 for us to win 4-1 away at Charlton Athletic and were 3-1 up with about 10 minutes to go and Jamie Cureton put one over the bar.
"Then there is the other scenario when we were 4-1 up at home to Sheffield Wednesday and in the 88th minute John O'Flynn went and scored a fifth. That cost me £800.
"It was a bitter-sweet goal. John O'Flynn made up for it though as he got the fourth against Bradford when we beat them 4-1 in 2013. So I've let him off."
"I have had a lot of ridicule over the bet from time to time, especially when we have not been playing too well but I have stuck with it," he continued. "You can never tell as football is a strange game, isn't it?
"You can go into a game not expecting it to come off but when it does – like it did on Saturday against Barnet – it is a reward in so many ways."
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