Oldbury 1 v 2 Coleshill Town

[Alan Beckett]

Saturday 5th January 1980 check date.
Midland Combination First Division
Oldbury United 1 v 2 Coleshill Town
Scorers:
United: Gibbons.
Town: Paul Montague 2.

Team: Alan Gouldon GK, McGreavey, Ray Hartry, Harry Burrows, Paul Montague, Nigel Montague (Felicetto Nardiello), Bob Starkey, Peter Dawkins, Tom Hardie. Confirmed.

P21 W7 D5 L9 F22 A29 Pts19 Pos8/20


CASTLE BROMWICH NEWS WROTE
Town’s Ability
COLESHILL Town proved they have the ability to upset the form book in the Midland Combination when they visited and defeated title contenders Oldbury United 2-1. Town staged a fine second half revival, after trailing 1-0, to snatch the points with two goals from Paul Montague in the last six minutes.


CASTLE BROMWICH NEWS ALSO WROTE
Great Finish Steals Points
Third placed Oldbury, strong challengers for the Midland Combination First Division championship, looked certain winners when they enjoyed a one goal lead with just six minutes left for play. But in a dramatic finish Coleshill hit back to steal the points. Flowing football by Oldbury should have given them a clear advantage, but sterling performances by Coleshill's Greavy, Hartry and Burrows kept their side in the running and goalkeeper Goulding, who replaced Wright, handled confidently throughout. Oldbury took the lead in the 35th minute when a good cross by Holloway from the right wing saw Gibbons run in on the blind side, to head the ball powerfully home. Oldbury's dominance in midfield kept them moving forward, while Coleshill's new signing Bob Starkey tried hard to get his forwards moving with little success. The same pattern continued into the second half, until 17 minutes from the end when Nigel Montague was substituted by Nardiello. This led to an amazing transformation as the inclusion of another forward totally bewildered Oldbury and their midfield control evaporated. With Dawkins playing well and Hardy began to supply him with the service he relishes and it was no surprise when in the 84th minute a low cross from Dawkins was steered into the net by Paul Montague. This equaliser spurred Coleshill to increase the tempo even more and further pressure resulted in Tom Hardy chipping the ball over the head of advancing keeper Hicklin to give Coleshill a remarkable victory. The old maxim of "attack is the best form of defence" was surely highlighted on this occasion.