LEAGUE GAME 17 - Mile Oak Rovers 3 v 1 Coleshill Town

[Alan Beckett]

LEAGUE GAME 17 - Probably?
Either New Years Day which fell on the Monday so might have been the Saturday 30th December
Midland Combination Second Division
Mile Oak Rovers 3 v 1
Scorers:
Rovers: Ray Earp 2 pens, John Bown,
Coleshill: Malcolm Phelps.
Team: John Capper GK, Paul Garnell, Paul Hannon, Clive Lyons, Roger Coxall, Tim Rawlings, Malcolm Phelps, Johnny Allen, Eddie Hanlon.


CASTLE BROMWICH NEWS WROTE
Coleshill Need Punch In Attack
Dense fog, some odd refereeing decisions, cold and two below-form sides did not make for a particularly entertaining match. One of the few facts which emerged from the contest was that Coleshill desperately need some punch in attack. Kingswinford referee Mr W. Atkins could see both sets of goalposts from the hallway line at 2pm so he decided the match would be played. Coleshill, certainly could not have relished the idea, for they did not have a full squad to choose from. As it was, their side was unbalanced and top heavy with defenders. Mile Oak, on the other hand could not have minded so much. They did all that was necessary to wrap up both points without ever unduly exerting themselves. The game began with the usual testing out stages in midfield and the two goalkeepers, Smith and Capper, were brought into action solely to pick up back passes. There were only three noteworthy shots in the first half hour, both from Coleshill. Malcolm Phelps shot straight at Smith from a good position and Johnny Allen let fly with a fierce free kick. Again Smith did not have to move far to hold the effort. After a quick change of shorts, Allen began to make his presence felt in midfield. His neat chip over the defence put Eddie Hanlon in the clear, but Geoff Statham (previously with Coleshill but now at Rovers) recovered sufficiently to conced a corner. It was noticeable that Mr Atkins, the Referee, never wandered far from the middle of the field. On two occasions he let play go on while a linesman flagged for offside against Mile Oak. He was some distance away when Garnell handled in the box but he still gave a penalty which Ray Earp safely tucked in to give Oak the lead after 31 minutes. Six minutes later John Bown rammed in the second after Tony Cure had done the spadework in the penalty area. Bown was the most prominent player on view, while Turner, Cure and Hickey gave Coleshill’s defence plenty to think about. At 42 minutes Town reduced the arrears with a neat goal. Paul Hannan floated the ball over the defence, Eddie Hanlon squared in back from the bye-line and Malcolm Phelps provided the finishing touch. Against the slope in the second half, Coleshill were subdued and John Capper was given more to do as Mile Oak took control of the middle. Allen and Clive Lyons had done well for Town in that area of the game, but Mortimer, Bown and Gregan gradually got on top. Coleshill were forced into a succession of errors at the back and one, in the 72nd minute, led to Rovers third goal. Roger Coxall took ages clearing a ball, played himself into all sorts of trouble and finally decided to give it to his keeper. Unfortunately for him, Grogan was standing there waiting for it and Garnell conceded his second penalty when he bundled Grogan off the ball. Capper got his fingertips to it but could not stop Earp’s penalty going in. Mile Oak were denied two reasonable claims for penalties in as many minutes, both for “hands” and in the closing stages Cure got twice free of Tim Rawlings’ attentions but squandered both chances. If he had taken them the result would have been more emphatic for Mile Oak who despite the fog blanket, were clearly the better side, with former Coleshill player John Bown the man of the match. If Coleshill are to improve their league position, they need immediate strengthening. The defence gave Mile Oak’s forwards too much room, the midfield players gave too much possession away, and the forwards gave very little.

P17 W7 D3 L7 F26 A31 Pts17 Pos12