Coleshill Town 0 v 1 Smethwick Highfield Reserves

[Alan Beckett]

Saturday 3rd April 1971
Midland Combination Division Two
Coleshill Town 0 v 1 Smethwick Highfield Reserves
Scorer: Phillips pen.

Team: Peter Garnell GK, Keith Midgley, Steve Ward, Clive Lyons, Geoff Statham, Dave O’Riordon (debut), Roy Sanders, Martin Curtis, Oscar Deeming, Roy Phelps, Eddie Hanlon (Lyndon Bradley). Confirmed.

COLESHILL CHRONICLE WROTE
Poor Display As Town Lose At Home
Another poor display by Coleshill Town brought them their fifth Home defeat in six games at the Memorial Park ground when they beaten by Smethwick Highfield Reserves on Saturday. Goals are being hard to come by and it is in this direction that Town sorely need a man who can find the back of the net, for while this goal famine runs rife then the team will continue to struggle to keep even in the top half of the table. Coleshill had enough chances against a team faced with applying for re-election but failed dismally and the visitors were the luckiest men alive to leave with both points. The Town had Clive Lyons back after his previous weeks marriage and also introduced new signing Dave O’Riordon. Both players, along with Midgley and Statham, were the best of an otherwise colourless outfit. Smethwick used the long ball to provide centre forward Jones with several dangerous raids but even so Coleshill found themselves blessed with an equal share of the play that saw O’Riordon spray off a number of passes that were not made use of. It was a good run by Sanders along the right wing that saw the ball arrive over the visitors goalmouth where it was partially whisked away by Dutton literally inches away from two Coleshill forwards who could have scored. Smethwick went into the lead after 32 minutes with a penalty labelled “doubtful” centre forward Jones rounded Statham to head for goal but during his attempt he collided with Garnell and fell, the referee awarded a penalty and Phillips scored a very doubtful goal. Smethwick came out for the second half hoping to add to their success but Garnell was never really troubled but after 55 minutes Coleshill saw Hanlon depart with a leg injury and was replaced by Bradley. Coleshill came close to netting the equaliser when Deeming sent over a perfect centre that caught Dutton off guard but with a vacant goal confronting him, Phelps headed over the bar. Coleshill were looking something like a team hereabouts and Deeming had bad luck when just failing to knock home a ball presented to him by Bradley, while O’Reardon had tough luck when he saw his header from Sanders corner cleared from under the bar by Dickens. This Coleshill sparkle soon petered out and Smethwick came back into the picture with good work promoted by wingbacks Darby and Green but the home defence never looked in danger, Garnell’s handling being first class. Coleshill still continued to come up with the odd scoring chance and Sanders, although positioned to shoot, decided on a pass inside to Phelps who allowed himself to be crowded off the ball. Coleshill’s last chance of saving a point came three minutes from the end when Phelps raced through the Highfield defence and with plenty of time on his side, lifted the ball over Dutton and alas, over the bar.



P28 W13 D5 L10 F51 A36 Pts31 Pos 4/18