British football victories on foreign soil are still rather more rare than most fans would like – but destroyer HMS Exeter has been doing her bit to redress the balance.

After the exploits of HMS Monmouth, whose footballers defeated Montserrat ‘international’ team the Volcanoes – ranked 371st in the world by football governing body FIFA – Exeter’s team had a fixture in rather more imposing surroundings.

The Navy men took on the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) in the Suwon Stadium in Seoul, one of the venues for matches in the 2002 World Cup.

And goals from PO Eddie Wearing and LS Frank Stapleton saw the Britons win the match 2-1.

The grand surroundings were not just a matter of exceptional hospitality from the hosts. The match was staged to mark the introduction of football to Korea in 1882, and was arranged as part of last year’s RN Football Association centenary.

The first half was played with the Koreans in their traditional clothing and the sailors in ‘White Fronts’ – traditional sailor T-shirts.

In the second half both teams reverted to more traditional football strip, with the Exeter team wearing an England Youth Squad strip donated by the English FA especially for the game.

The prize was a trophy donated by Augusta Westland Helicopters, who build the Navy’s Lynx helicopter.

Football was introduced when Korean dockyard workers, who had enjoyed watching the sailors from HMS Flying Fish play football on the jetty, were left some balls and a pair of boots by the ship.

The locals started to copy what they had seen the sailors do, and soon the Beautiful Game had started to spread throughout the country, where it is now the nation’s most popular sport. The national team reached a sporting pinnacle in 2002 when thy finished third in the World Cup.

The original boots and ball from Flying Fish are in the Museum of Football at the Suwon Stadium, and have now been joined by a pair of boots from one of the RN team, Chief Petty Officer Gavin Feeley (37).

Earlier this year the Korean FA presented the RNFA with a trophy in memory of the event and, with HMS Exeter currently deployed in the Far East, the opportunity to play a game was too good to miss.

Places in the ship’s first team have been hard won as many of the Exeter sailors were keen to play in the stunning World Cup stadium, an honour which the KFA were delighted to allow.

Additionally, they allowed PO Phil Cupples to run the line for the match.

HMS Exeter, with tanker RFA Grey Rover, is on an eight-month deployment to the Far East, having visited Indian, Singapore, Bangkok, and various ports in China, including Hong Kong.

She is currently in Korea and will sail on to Russia, Japan, the Philippines and Brunei, arriving back in Portsmouth in November.

As well as the port visits, and some memorable runs ashore, the tow ships have been working hard. HMS Exeter is currently carrying out sea manoeuvres with the New Zealand, Australian, Singaporean and Malaysian Navies aimed at strengthening the security in the region.