Players pay respects after deaths of Harford and Davis

There was a minute's silence before yesterday's Community Shield game at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff as a mark of respect to Ray Harford and Jimmy Davis, who both died on Saturday.

Harford, the former Millwall coach and Blackburn Rovers assistant manager, and briefly Kenny Dalglish's successor as manager at Ewood Park, died after a long battle against cancer. Davis, who was on loan to Watford from Manchester United, was killed in a car crash on his way to his new side's first game of the League season. Players from both Arsenal and Manchester United also wore black armbands.

Millwall dedicated their 2-0 victory over Wigan on Saturday to Harford's memory, although their manager, Mark McGhee, said he tried not to make too much of Harford's death to the players before the game.

"The players were devastated," he said. "I didn't make anything of it in terms of the game to them but Neil Harris said as we came out, 'Come on, let's win the game for Ray'. I know Ray was very proud of these boys."

Davis went on loan to Second Division Swindon last season, making 15 appearances and scoring three goals. He made his solitary appearance for the Manchester United first team in the Worthington Cup defeat to Arsenal in November 2001.

Following his loan spell at Swindon, he returned to Old Trafford and was on the bench for the Champions' League defeat at Deportivo La Coruña in March. He signed professional forms with United in July 1999 and was capped by England at Under-20 level.

The Watford manager, Ray Lewington, and director of football, Terry Byrnes, issued a statement yesterday saying: "We would like to express our deepest sympathies to Jimmy's family and girlfriend. In his short time at Watford Football Club, Jimmy had formed close relationships with everybody - players and staff - due to his happy-go-lucky personality. He will be missed greatly both on and off the pitch by everybody here and we would ask at this moment in time that everybody is allowed time and space to deal with this loss in their own way."

In South Africa, the country's president, Thabo Mbeki, led the tributes to Lesley Manyathela, who was also killed in a car crash on Saturday. The Orlando Pirates striker died when his car overturned near his home town of Mussina.

The 21-year-old, who won nine caps, was driving home from Pirates' Super Eight Cup defeat by Jomo Cosmos in Johannesburg. Manyathela was the top scorer in South Africa's Premier League last season.