September

27th September H v Drayton Reserves
Coleshill Reserves entertained Drayton Reserves for their first home league game of the season on the back of a 4-0 win in the cup the previous week. The team had a full squad and even had the luxury of 3 subs again on a hot autumn day. After a good battle in the midfield in the opening 10 minute exchange between the two sides it was Drayton who had more of the possession and were looking comfortable in midfield until a loose ball cleared from the Drayton defence saw Mark Simpkins pick up the ball and breeze past his midfield marker to unleash a 25 yard unstoppable shot into the top right hand corner of the goal (he told me it was that far!!) which left the keeper stranded and Coleshill one up. The game continued to be closely fought and Drayton still had the edge in midfield but were unable to make their possession count. The hard working Deano then got his reward as he slotted past the keeper after 20 minutes. Strike partner Chris Bill then added another to the Coleshill tally with another fine individual goal to take the score to 3-0 at half time. Drayton started the second half as bright as they had finished the first and again had some good spells of possession but rarely tested the stand in keeper Coley. Coleshill then made the first of their changes taking off Steve Lovegrove for Gary Roberts in the right back position, this slight change in personnel impacted the Drayton team and we were finding more room down the right hand side and after some fine exchanges between the Coleshill defence and midfield the score became 4-0 after they found Chris Bill on the right wing who I quote “took a touch before looking up and rifled in a 25 yard screamer into the top of the net” Thanks Chris for that input!! It looked like it was going to be one of those days that everything the Coleshill players hit found the back of the net but Drayton pulled a goal back to make the score 4-1. Within minutes of their reply Chris Bill was replaced by James Head and he made an impact up front with virtually his first touch after he exchanged passes with fellow striker Deano to find himself in front of goal and he made no mistake with yet another excellent strike. 5-1 and cruising, Coleshill didn’t stop and went on to score another two fine goals from strike partners Deano and James Head.
Result: Coleshill Reserves 7 Drayton Reserves 1

13th September A v Wootton Reserves
Coleshill Reserves travelled to Wootton Reserves with several players absent through injury/holidays and other lame excuses and ended up with the bare 11 with no subs on a scorching hot day. But despite not knowing each other by name the opening 25 minutes saw Coleshill having good possession and some good half chances from the front two of Deano and Bill without bulging the Wootton net. The rest of the half was pretty even with neither side causing either keeper any real concerns. The half-time team talk from John Higgs, Swoop and Cobby was to continue where we left off in he first half but to try and win a few more first balls in the air in midfield and to try and conserve our energy in the first 15 minutes. Coleshill started brightly and were winning the 1st and 2nd balls this time and that, allied to the constant running of new boy Deano up front caused the Wootton defence to start making errors and Coleshill threaten on numerous occasions but without scoring. With 15 minutes gone the mid afternoon heat and the lack of match fitness for many of the drafted in players seemed to creep into the players and an unchallenged midfielder lofted a hopeful ball into the Coleshill half which caught the Coleshill defence square, allowing the Wootton forward to take the ball in his stride and left him one-on-one with Tullett and finish well to take the lead. Coleshill’s heads didn’t go down and were playing the better football despite the deficit and were constantly threatening the Wootton goal. The equaliser finally came when a corner kick fell to James Head just inside the area and with his slightly fortunate stab towards goal eluded the Wootton defence and keeper to level the scores with 20 minutes left. Coleshill continued to press and looked the more likely team to take the lead with the Coleshill defence rarely trouble. The lively Dean O’Hagan had a few good chances which he made for himself by hassling the Wootton defence and could have nicked a winner with 5 minutes left after taking the ball past two Wootton defenders and blasting an unstoppable shot from 20 yards out which just clipped the crossbar. An excellent performance from every one of the lads that played.
Result: Wootton Reserves 1 Coleshill Reserves 1