Racing Club Warwick 1 v 2 Coleshill Town - Birmingham Junior Cup

[Alan Beckett]

Saturday 1st January 1972
Birmingham Junior Cup - 3rd Round Replay
Racing Club Warwick 1 v 2 Coleshill Town
Scorers:
Warwick: Cooper.
Coleshill: Roy Phelps, John Allen.


Team: Geoff Statham GK, Paul Hannan, Les Owen, Oscar Deeming, John Allen, John Bown, Roy Phelps, Eddie Hanlon, Roger Coxall, David Wheeler, Phil Dunn. (Bobby Whillock not used).

CASTLE BROMWICH NEWS WROTE
Magnificent Coleshill Battle To Fine Junior Cup Win
Coleshill Town’s fantastic band of heroes overcame all the odds and stormed into the fourth round of the Birmingham Junior Cup. Everything was stacked against them from the outset. Players were injured, cried off and new signing Whillock was advised not to play by the Midland Combination. To cap it all, Geoff Statham was forced to don the goalkeeper jersey. Undaunted, they took everything in their stride, including a 10th minute goal by Racing Club. Statham performed heroics, and goals from Phelps and Allen sent them into the next round of the competition, where they have a home tie against Kingswinford United. No doubt they will be hoping for better fortunes then.
Statham Keeps Town On The Right Lines.
Coleshill overcame a whole pile of trouble and marched into the next round of the Birmingham Junior Cup with a herculean victory. It was a strange line-up as Coleshill took the field for their toughest game of the season, with sweeper Geoff Statham playing in goal and several key players absent for a variety of reasons. Just to add to their troubles, Racing Club sped into an early lead, but Coleshill hit back with a gutsy performance and fully deserved success for a marvellous team display. Regular keepers Garnell and Comly were both unavailable. New signing Bobby Whillock, was ruled out through a delay in his transfer confirmation, Lyons failed a late fitness test, and Coleman went down with flu on the eve of the game. Coleshill’s makeshift team were prepared for a defensive struggle and soon found themselves subjected to the Warwick side’s attacks. Les Owen saved a certain goal when Statham was deceived by an awkward bounce and the red-haired back headed the ball off Denholm’s boot, being laid out for his trouble. Town should have scored in their first attack. Hanlon crossed, Phelps headed on and Hyland almost turned the ball on to the toe of the incoming Allen. The bounce of the ball on a very uneven pitch accounted for Racing Club’s goal. Deeming allowed the ball to go through to Statham, who misjudged the bounce and Cooper darted in to put the homesters ahead, after 10 minutes. John Allen had bad luck when he swept a left foot shot over the bar, after Hanlon had once again rounded Tedds. Farr missed two chances to increase the lead for Racing Club, who forced a couple of corners. On both occasions Statham cleared with saves a regular goalkeeper would have been proud to have made. Slowly Town began to get to grips with the game and took a deserved equaliser after 35 minutes. Phelps, their best raider, collected a midfield pass, beat two men, and left Hyland helpless with a cracking shot. Racing were stunned by this reverse, and only a fine tackle by Tedds on Hanlon saved the day. Hanlon took the corner he had won and Phelps nodded down to Allen who smashed home with a fierce shot. Now it was all Coleshill, and Phelps again had the ball in the net, only to see the goal ruled out by the referee. After the interval, Coleshill’s rearguard came under a lot of pressure but refused to be beaten. Play was end to end, with Allen going close at one end and Cooper missing a simple chance at the other. Racing Club introduced their substitute and almost immediately Statham had to pull off the save of the match from Phillips. With 10 minutes remaining, Coleshill had claims for a penalty turned down when Orme appeared to handle in the area. Allen beat three men, only to see his shot graze the post with Hyland beaten. After their first meeting had been ended in darkness, this was another fine match between two good teams, with Coleshill just having the edge and giving one of their best displays of the season.