8th Sept 2010

Brinklow Reserves 1 Fillongley Reserves 2
A buoyant Brinklow team turned up today looking in the mood to carry on from where they left off against Crick on Thursday evening. However, with enforced changes in the team due to injury especially in defence and with only one recognised defender available it was always going to be a trickier tie than would have normally been expected from Fillongley. Added to the fact that Brinklow Reserves have the ability to be a Jekyll & Hyde team it summed up today’s performance, as even though today’s showing was below par, Brinklow could still have won this game quite comfortably. The lads made far more chances than Fillongley but it just wasn’t their day and coupled with the fact that the Fillongley keeper was their best player on the day it tells the story.

The game started very well for Brinklow and for the first 15 minutes the lads played some quality football pegging Fillongley back in their own half. The only problem during this good spell was that the ball was not put in the back of the net when on numerous occasions Brinklow should have gone ahead as Matt James, Matt Wilson and Sam Walder all had good chances. Fillongley did eventually start to claw their way back into the game and Brinklow began to lose their way. The play became erratic and sloppy allowing an ordinary Fillongley side to look better than they were. It wasn’t until the 35th minute that Fillongley got their first real shot on goal and you expect in games like this, the ball ended up in the net, although there was little James Shannon could do about it. Fillongley looked to have caught Brinklow on one of those off days, in fact during the whole match Fillongley only put four shots on target compared to twenty plus from the Brinklow lads, but putting the ball in the back of the net is what counts.

The second half didn’t really see much change in the match with Fillongley just about doing enough to keep Brinklow at arms length. Three minutes after the restart, Fillongley increased their lead. Once again some sloppy play allowed an easy finish for the visitors, leaving Brinklow an uphill battle to turn the game around. Credit to the lads they did try, but too many below par performances and not enough teamwork contributed to their downfall, which is a shame after all the hard work of the previous game. The match did at least end with Brinklow battling back on top. New lad Richard Bollen scored from a corner after 84 minutes giving Brinklow a lifeline, and for the remaining six minutes Brinklow bombarded the Fillongley goal. A couple of really good chances were missed to grab the equalizer from Matt James, Sam Walder, Tom Pye-Ford and Dan Mallinson, before Matt Wilson right on the time with only the keeper to beat screwed his shot just wide. The final whistle blew on what was a disappointing game from Brinklow’s point of view with three points thrown away. They gave their best, but so many players were out of position today. Just on the day, Brinklow as a team were not good enough all round.

Still we pick ourselves up and try again next Thursday and hopefully the lads will react positively to this disappointing set back.

Brinklow’s Man-of-the-match was Sam Walder who showed plenty of trickery and should have scored. He was the player Fillongley seemed to fear most and it showed with the amount of tackles on him.

Regards
Bob Kearney

5th Sept 2010

Brinklow Reserves 6 Crick Reserves 2
As the season starts for real, Brinklow found themselves playing Crick Reserves in the opening game, after playing them in a friendly only a couple of weeks ago. Last time Brinklow squandered a hatful of chances, but this time the outcome was very different as crick were on the end of a heavy defeat as Brinklow found the back of the net with ease towards the end of the game. It was not all plain sailing as at times Brinklow looked ragged and struggled for any pattern to their play. Only after a brilliant penalty save from James Shannon early in the second half, which would have seen Crick go ahead 3.2, did Brinklow wake up, start playing, and show the sort of football they can play when in the mood. From this point onwards, there was only one team in the game as Crick struggled to contain Brinklow and they were lucky to keep the score at six as it could have been much worse.

The game kicked off late due to Crick being held up by traffic but the match was well worth waiting for as both sides did their best in a lively start to the game. Brinklow had chances early on when both Shaun Clusker and Tom Pye-Ford both should have scored within the opening five minutes. Brinklow had most of the possession as they passed the ball around nicely and plenty of chances looked likely to be coming the lads’ way. It was Crick though who scored first against the run of play with a goal flying into the top corner from a free kick giving James Shannon no chance. Crick’s joy was short lived though as Brinklow soon got back on top, and when Shaun Clusker left his marker he fired home the equalizer. Tom Pye-Ford should have put his team 2.1 up minutes later when a well set up move from Tom Brookes and Shaun Clusker left Tom with a clear shot on goal, but he put the ball too near the keeper who made the save. As Brinklow continued to press forward, it seemed just a matter of time before Brinklow took the lead and with 30 minutes, gone Tom Pye-Ford chipped the keeper giving Brinklow a well-deserved lead. There are periods in the game when Brinklow lose concentration and allow opponents back into the match and today and it was around the 35-minute mark that Brinklow for some reason seemed to lose the plot and after failing to clear their lines, Crick scored an equalizer. The only other chance of the half did fall to Brinklow, following a corner, Danny Carter got in a header that was cleared off the line by a Crick defender. The half ended all square but Brinklow had created more chances and really could feel aggrieved that they weren’t in front.

The second half saw Crick start much better, and whilst not creating much in front of goal they still had the best spell of their game. When one of their strikers was tripped in the box the referee had no choice but to award the penalty and it was left to James Shannon to keep the scores level which he did with a superb fingertip save. This incident definitely woke Brinklow up and virtually straight away Matt James set up Tom Pye-Ford to fire home Brinklow’s third goal to restore the lead. Just two minutes later Shaun Clusker netted goal number four, leaving Crick shell-shocked and goal number five followed soon after from Matt James with a peach of a left foot shot that flew in of the underside of the crossbar. Many more chances were created by Brinklow and Crick were fortunate not to be further adrift, but when Stuart McQuillan finished the scoring with probably the goal of the game after a thirty yard run beating three players and firing home the shot low in the bottom corner, the rout was complete.

It was a great start to the season from the lads and apart from the twenty minute spell during the game when they lost concentration they pretty much bossed the game, playing some nice football in the process. There is still work to do but considering our first match last season was a 6.1 loss the improvement from the Reserves is starting to show.

Brinklow’s Man-of-the-match was a difficult choice with some good individual performances but was awarded to Shaun Clusker, a livewire performance, he did his job well never giving the Crick defence a minute and scored two good goals.

Regards
Bob Kearney

1st Sept 2010

Hartshill 1 Brinklow 2
Great performance by the lads tonight, keeping intact the 100% start to the season. As always a trip to Hartshill was going to be a tough task, adding to it the travelling and fading light towards the end of the game, but the lads put up a great fighting performance for a well earned 3 points. Early exchanges were even with the main chances coming from the brinklow front players, leading to a great headed goal at the end of the first half by Justin Neal. Second half proved tough with a terrible pitch playing its part and a scrappy goal was conceded. Brinklow however, showed there fighting spirit after a few substitutions with Dildale Linton winning and converting a penalty on his league debut. Great start and momentum building well.

Dale Huddlestone
Jamie Huddlestone
Martin Bunning
Rob Wallace
Jimmy A'Barrow
Craig Burrin   (Shaun Clusker)
Scott Vallance
Ian Judd
Justin Neal
Jamie Fox     (Ash Marks)
Ben Clarke   (Dildale Linton)

Report by Ashley Marks

22nd August 2010

Brinklow Reserves 0 Christ The King III’s 2 (Friendly)
Brinklow Reserves today played their final friendly before the season starts for real against Christ The King III’s. It was a sudden change to the plans as Brinklow’s original opponents, Bulkington Reserves pulled out late on the Thursday evening and it left short notice to find a replacement, but fortunately the same thing had happened to Christ The King and they were only too pleased to help out. This was good news as this turned out, despite the weather, to be a fairly decent game to watch and certainly a good work out for the Reserves who put in a solid performance against opposition who will be playing two divisions higher in the league.

Brinklow started the game brightly and looked sharp getting hold of the ball and knocking it about confidently. Christ The King, on the other hand, looked a little unsure and a couple of early Brinklow breaks had them panicking a bit at the back. Apart from this the game was pretty even with both teams giving very little away. The two Christ The King forwards looked to be the danger as they were strong and quick and on the twelve minute mark gave a warning to the Brinklow defence when a shot flashed just wide of the post. The Brinklow defence which today consisted of Ryan Wood, Stuart McQuillan, Iknam ‘Dooey’ Chavens and Tom Pye-Ford took note and tightened up restricting the Kings’ forwards space and closing down the shots. On 19 minutes though they could do nothing as one of the Kings’ strikers broke clear and ran on to a through ball and got in a shot that James Shannon in the Brinklow goal just couldn’t hold. A soaking wet ball maybe didn’t help, but I suspect James may feel a little disappointed that he didn’t stop it, however to his credit he put this behind him and got on with the game and never really looked in too much trouble for the remainder of the match.

Brinklow didn’t let their heads drop and kept up the pressure and some good work from Andy ‘Monster’ Sorrell set up Dan Gyselynck for a tap –in and the deserved equalizer, unfortunately the goal was not given as the Kings’ linesman flagged for the ball out of play, which it clearly wasn’t and Brinklow were denied a perfectly good goal. Still that’s football and probably the only thing referee Peter Day got wrong all game but to be fair he can only go by his assistants decisions. This could have upset Brinklow but credit to the lads they got on with things and continued to play their game. Christ The King got their second just before half time and again it took a quality move to break down the Brinklow defence, this time a good cross found a Kings’ head and the corner of the net.

The half time get-together still found a very buoyant Brinklow team with everybody looking and feeling positive. This alone is a good thing, and a change among the team I’ve noticed this season already for the better!

The second half saw much the same sort of game with things fairly even. There was some exciting end-to-end football with Brinklow making their chances and doing everything but score. Dan Gyselynck looked sharp out on the wing and he could have bagged a couple of goals, whilst Matt James and Tom Pye-Ford could also have got their names on the score sheet. As Brinklow tired towards the end, Christ The King had a several chances late on to extend their lead, but with the lads never giving up and a good save from James, they kept the score at 2.0. The result at the end favours Christ The King, but a lot of credit must go to the Brinklow lads who gave a real good fighting performance against decent opposition.

Brinklow’s Man-of-the-match was tight today with a number of good individual performances but was awarded to Ryan Wood, who always looked assured today at the heart of the defence and on this showing will take some shifting from the position.

Everybody who played today did very well and if everyone stays positive and works hard, the Reserves could have a fair season ahead of them. Now for the hard work of earning the points!

Regards
Bob Kearney

15th August 2010

Crick Reserves 1 Brinklow Reserves 1 (Friendly)
Brinklow Reserves 2nd friendly of the season saw them make a visit to Alliance league new-comers Crick Reserves who will be in our division and who were an unknown quantity in terms of the level of football. Brinklow were in a confident mood and keen to get on with the game which turned out to be a decent contest despite the weather doing its best to put a damper on things.

The game itself saw Brinklow start unusually sluggish with Crick gaining the upper hand from the off, although James Shannon in the Brinklow goal had little to do during this spell of the game. The first real chance that fell to Crick found the back of the net after just 10 minutes when the new look Brinklow defence found themselves caught out of position. From this point on the game really started to change as Brinklow got themselves into the match playing some lovely passing football along the way. Chris Grimsley and Matt James both got the ball in the back of the net for Brinklow with decent strikes at the 20 minute mark but the equalizer was ruled out each time for offside. This was just the start of an excellent attacking spell for Brinklow that continued up until the end of the half. Tom Pye-Ford scored Brinklow’s equalizer after 23 minutes. Running onto a neat pass from Andy ‘Monster’ Sorrell, Tom finished off the move firing past the stranded Crick keeper. The score was 1.1 and just a couple of minutes later Brinklow should have scored again with Tom getting in another clean shot. Crick were now clearly struggling to cope with Brinklow’s movement as chance after chance was created. Alex Olner, Chris Grimsley, Andy Sorrell and Matt James all really should have scored with excellent chances to put the game beyond Crick’s reach by half time.

The second half saw a number of substitutions from Brinklow which upset the balance a little, but not enough to allow Crick any real joy and through-out Brinklow continued to be the team that looked most likely to go on and win the game. Tom Brookes could have given his team the win when he broke clear of his marker, but once more the Crick keeper did his job well to deny Brinklow. The game stayed like this until the final whistle as Brinklow could just not finish off Crick and the game ended 1.1. Really the lads today should have scored 5 or 6 and earned the win that their play deserved.

Goal Scorer(s): Tom Pye-Ford Brinklow

Brinklow Man-of-the-match: Iknam ‘Dooey’ Chavens, a dodgy back pass early in the game nearly gave a goal away, but after that he never put a foot wrong and looked a good solid player for the remainder of the match

Regards
Bob Kearney

8th August 2010

Latest Seniors Committee Meeting minutes HERE

8th August 2010

Friendly - Fillongley 3 Brinklow Reserves 0 (Friendly)
Well, here we go again as another season starts for Brinklow Reserves although it doesn’t seem five minutes since our last game. All the same, it’s nice to be playing again and I hope a good season can be had by the lads as they now know what to expect in Men’s football with last seasons’ experience behind them.

Fillongley kindly played hosts to Brinklow’s young lads in our first friendly of the new season. I would like to say Fillongley played a full Reserve side like we did but they didn’t as they had 4 or 5 First team players which they used cleverly whenever Brinklow started to get the upper hand which they did for periods of the game.

Brinklow did start quite brightly making sure their tackles were well-timed and the opposition were all marked up and really for the first 15 minutes the game was fairly tight with few real chances for either side. Fillongley held the edge with their slightly stronger team on the pitch and looked the favourites to open the scoring which they did after 20 minutes when a shot looped up over James Shannon in the Brinklow goal, although there was little he could have done about it. The score was 1.0 with Fillongley having the lead which they probably just about deserved. The game continued like this up until the half hour mark when Fillongley made a few changes taking off some of their Senior players. From this point the game started to swing Brinklow’s way with the lads always trying to pass and play the ball on the ground, which had Fillongley at this point struggling to keep with them. Matt James and Matt Wilson both had good chances to pull Brinklow level. Matt James’ skimmed the crossbar from a 20 yard free kick and soon after Matt Wilson was denied his glory after an excellent challenge from a Fillongley defender. Maybe as the half ended Brinklow had done enough to be level, but the effort was there and during the half-time debate the lads were in a buoyant mood about how to put things right.

The second half once again saw Brinklow take the upper hand playing some nice passing football. By this time also, all the new young Youth lads were on the pitch with Iknam ‘Durag’ Chaven, Lee Huddlestone and Chris Ward all making their debuts’ in Senior football. They all did very well and although a little nervous they contributed fully to the team and did not let their team mates down. In fact, Lee Huddlestone had probably Brinklow’s best chance to equalise when a Tom Pye-Ford cross found Lee unmarked at the far post but just as he was going to bury the shot the ball hit a bobble and Lee could only shoot wide. With 20 minutes left Fillongley clearly thought that the equaliser was on the cards and they strengthened up again. This move saw Brinklow’s tiring side on the back foot for the remainder of the game although they still gave a good showing of spirit and determination. Two goals late on; the first a decent shot , the second a defensive mix-up, flattered Fillongley but maybe it was expected as by this time Brinklow were running on empty. In all though this was a promising performance with some nice football on show at times from the lads, there is still plenty of work still to be done at training but we will pull together and get there.

Brinklow Man-of-the-match: Alex Olner who gave everything where-ever he played and always looked like he could play at a higher level.

Laugh-of-the-Day: Steve Clarke and his new boots, all shiny and clean as he took them out of the box only to find they were both left-footed boots!!!

Regards
Bob Kearney

14th July 2010

Items of Note From The First Seniors Committee Meeting
Following on from Brinklow AGM, Tony Glasscoe acknowledged his new role as 'Vice Chairman - Seniors' and will be responsible for forwarding ‘Seniors’ proposals to the main committee.

A working party is to gather at Barr Lane to prepare Barr Lane pitch, Respect line and Goal-posts for the new season. If anyone from the seniors wishes to lend a hand please meet at Barr Lane on 24th July at 10.00am.

Friendlies
First Team Friendlies Saturday 31st July & Saturday 7th August.
Reserve Team Friendlies Saturday 14th August & 21st August

Start Of season for Coventry Alliance League will be Saturday 28th August 2010.

Training
Dale Huddlestone & Dave Anderson are to liaise with regard to putting forward a structured programme of training. The Initial startup will be three sessions a week: Tuesday 6.30-8.00pm, Thursday 6.30-8.00pm and Saturday 1.00- 3.00pm. Training structured to include All-inclusive training (1st Team, Reserves & Youth teams), Individual team and individual training goals.

Bon Kearney has prepared entry forms for cup competitions this season: Bedworth Nursing Cup, CET Cup & Foleshill Charity Cup for Brinklow First team. Major Boyd Carpenter & Coventry Benevolent Fund for Brinklow Reserves. (Waiting for entry form for Stockton Charity Cup).

2nd April 2010

March Player of the Month
The winner of the March player of the month was a very close call with a number of players in close contention. Juddy just managed to pip Craig and Ryan to the post by one point to secure the trophy. A testimony to Juddy’s versatility shone through with him playing in at least 3 different positions (Midfield, Goalkeeper and Centre forward) through the month. Juddy excelled in all positions with his 110% commitment always being evident. Juddy is our first winner of the trophy to be over the age of 20 and he’s a big Leicester fan but we won’t hold that against him, although we’d like to… Well done Juddy. You’ve put in some excellent performances and have shown a great attitude no matter what position you’ve been asked to play. I just wished you’d stop hiding my boots, pinching my socks, nicking my shorts…

Senior player’s scores for March HERE

11th March 2010

James Shannon Debuts For The Reserves
On Saturday 6th March the u16’s goalkeeper James Shannon made his Seniors debut for Brinklow Reserves. James stepped up to the Men’s football to play against tough opponents Peugeot who are likely to win the division. It was not ideal for a first game but to be fair James coped admirably and looked assured and comfortable and did a superb job, making a couple of outstanding saves that had spectators from both sides applauding. James has a very bright future ahead and so do Brinklow as a club with talent like this waiting to break through. It is great to have James on board and on this showing he will take some moving from between the posts. James is the latest of a number of 16 & 17 year olds to break into Senior football with style, along with Tommy Glasscoe, Jamie Huddlestone and Nic Whittam all doing very well at this highest level in the club. To other young players at Brinklow, this is what can be achieved if you work hard.

Well done James.

Bob Kearney
Reserves Team Manager

11th March 2010

Player of the Month - January Jamie Huddlestone

Paul presents Jamie with January Player of the Month. Jamie has put in some excellent performances lately and thoroughly deserves the accolade of being the first player to be presented with this trophy. Unfortunately for Jamie we only picked the trophy up on Friday. So he only had it in his hands for about 30 seconds before it was passed to the February Player of the Month…

Player of the Month – February Tommy Glasscoe

Another youngster picks up the trophy with some excellent performances over the last few weeks culminating in the February Player of the Month. Tommy has excelled this year and has grown in confidence week on week. Whether he’s playing out wide on the right or playing in the hole he always gives it his all and has shown he has an excellent eye for a defence splitting pass. Well done Tommy keep it up!

21st Feb 2010

The first team have introduced a Player of the Month competition. All scores will be out of ten and will be judged by Paul and Dave.  A trophy will be presented to the successful player each month.  January Player of the month went to Jamie Huddlestone who put in some very capable performances at left back.  Not bad for a 16 year old!  Scoring for February is tight at the top with Tommy Glasscoe currently taking top spot, closely followed by Rooney, Juddy and Sinky.  With only one game to go this month (weather permitting) it’s going to be very close.  Good luck to all!

Regards
Dave Anderson

6th July 2009

The Brinklow 1st team have been promoted to Division 2 of the Coventry Alliance. The Reserves have been entered in Division 5.

Cup Competitions entered for next season:-

1st Team
CET Junior Cup
Foleshill Charity Cup
Bedworth Nursing Cup (TBC)

Reserve Team
Coventry Benevolent Cup
Boyd Carpenter Cup

10th November 2008

1st team report in the Telegraph from last week - HERE

13th October 2008

Coventry Alliance Division 3 – Brinklow 3 : 2 Copswood Res
Saturday 11th October 2008
(Kris Bedder, Ian Judd, Justin Neal)

Report from Paul Huddlestone:-

This game was played against a load of Bullies who were able to get away with their obvious bullying tactics by a very week referee who only got his book out to caution Brinklow players who complained about the many reckless challenges.

Yet again this game should have been dead and buried by half time, but chance after chance went begging to leave Brinklow having to dig deep to come back and take the points. Brinklow dominated for large periods creating six or seven clear cut chances in the first half but only managing to convert one. Which I must say though, was dispatched under the advancing keeper with great skill and calmness by Kris Bedder. This should have calmed the Brinklow side down, however with several reckless challenges coming in from the Copswood team, Brinklow had to settle to go in at the break with the scores level after conceding their second consecutive penalty.

The second half didn’t change either, with the Copswood “bullying” tactics continuing to spoil and frustrate, and also relying on excellent goal keeping to stay in the game. It was Copswood however who took a surprising lead midway through the second period, with the Brinklow defence having pushed too far up the field leaving their Centre forward a free run at goal to slot home. Going into the remaining 15 minutes Brinklow made their substitutions and changed to a 3-5-2 formation but still couldn’t break even due to some outstanding goalkeeping and sloppy finishing and also with Justin Neal hitting the post for the second time in the game.
Moving into injury time, the Brinklow management threw one last throw of the dice to gain the equaliser by pushing man mountain centre half, Marc Woodward up front. The change worked immediately, with Woodward flicking on for Ian Judd to curl round the keeper into the top right hand corner of the net to give what both teams thought was a point. However the Brinklow management weren’t happy with the point and when told by the referee that there was a minute and a half of injury time left to play, they urged the team forward for the winner. What a final minute to the game! Woodward and Neal combined down the left flank with the ball eventually falling to Neal who thundered a riffle of a shot past the motionless keeper for the Brinklow team and large home support to celebrate in style.

Don’t leave it too late next time lads, the old ticker won’t take it!!!

12th October 2008

Coventry Alliance Division 3 - Folly Lane III 2 : 1 Brinklow
Saturday 30th August 2008
(Ashley Marks)

Report from Paul Huddlestone:-

What an injustice!!

After a superb pre-season, Brinklow went into this first league encounter riding high with confidence and when Folley Lane kicked off they immediately lost the ball to a hungry Brinklow midfield. That is the last Folley saw of the ball for the next 30 minutes with Brinklow totally dominating all over the park and creating chance after chance to open our league account. However, it was a rare break away by Folley which saw their centre forward put clean through and con the referee into giving a penalty. Half time 1-0.

The second half was played in exactly the same fashion with Brinklow dominating proceedings only to concede the most bizarre goal I’ve seen in ages, with not one but two, Brinklow defenders dummying the ball into the corner of the net! Brinklow became ragged at this point, however they managed to pull a goal back through a goal line header by Ashley Marks to set up a frantic last 10 minutes.

A lesson learnt in how to win a game you have no right to win. And if “dummying” was an Olympic sport, then we would be world champions!

Coventry Alliance Division 3 - Brinklow 3 : 0 Cov Jag
Saturday 13th Sept 2008
(Justin Neal, Andy Sorrell, Andy Mayne)

Report from Paul Huddlestone:-

Brinklow didn’t play as neatly in this game as they did against Folley, however after a dour first 45, they managed to see off the opposition quite comfortably in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Straight after kicking off the second half, a long punt down field by the untroubled Danny Bell deceived the Jag defence with Justin Neal racing on to head over the advancing keeper. This settled the Brinklow side down and soon after they doubled their lead with a fine opportunist strike from the edge of the area by Andy “Monster” Sorrell. The end of a competitive contest came shortly after with stand in Skipper Andy Mayne slotting home for a deserved three points to see Brinklow off the mark.

Very scrappy, but learnt the lessons from the week before to grind out the points.

Coventry Alliance Division 3 - Coundon Ct Res 0 : 2 Brinklow
Saturday 27th Sept 2008
(Justin Neal, Ashley Marks)

Report from Paul Huddlestone:-

Brinklow travelled to middle of the table Coundon knowing that another three points would see them start to mount a very early challenge on the league. On a bobbly surface it was hard to get the ball down and play carpet football but the Brinklow pressure eventually gained its rewards with a superbly drilled in corner by the impressive Dave Sinclair being met by a bullet header from Justin Neal from the six yard line. An early goal was asked for by the management for the second half, and that’s exactly what they got. A scrappy period of play led to Ashley Marks picking up the ball 30 yards out and unleashing an awesome volley into the roof of the net. This must have somehow unsettled the midfielder who then managed to get sent from the field of play for a second bookable to leave the Brinklow side down to 10 men for the remaining half hour. With a simple re-shuffle, Brinklow managed to keep control of the game with Coundon very lucky not to concede several more as they tired towards the final whistle.

Result never in doubt for whole 90 minutes.

Coventry Evening Telegraph Junior Cup Rnd1 - Brinklow 3 : 2 Potters Green Res - AET
Saturday 4th Oct 2008
(Andy Mayne, Dave Sinclair (pen), Ian Judd)

Report from Paul Huddlestone:-

What an extraordinary game to witness, with Brinklow “winning the game”, “losing the game”, and then going on to “win the game”! On a very blustery day at the leisure centre Brinklow dominated the opening period and deservedly went into the lead with a superb 35 yarder from Andy Mayne beating the keeper into the top corner. Chance after chance again went begging with Brinklow being thwarted by the exceptional young Potters’ keeper and being very disappointed not to have put the game out of sight by half time.

With the blustery wind moving round to the Potters backs, Brinklow were put under considerable pressure in the opening throws of the second half. However with Men of the match Mark Woodward and Martin “Rooney” Bunning dominating at the heart of defence Brinklow, Brinklow managed to force their way up field to yet again see the talented Potters’ shot stopper coming to their rescue time after time. Moving into the final stages Potters managed to secure a fortuitous penalty to level the scores and then a minute later tap in after a long shot was palmed away by Danny Bell in the Brinklow goal to send the travelling contingent wild. With the thought of going out of the cup at the first hurdle Brinklow immediately rallied with Justin Neal forcing a penalty which was coolly dispatched by Dave Sinclair to send the game into extra time.

Going into the first half of extra time with the wind behind them Brinklow decided to push a defender up from the off and it soon paid off with Ian Judd slotting past the keeper excellently after great work from Kris Bedder and Justin Neal created the space and through ball. This seemed to put pay to any of Potters’ aspirations of progressing to the next round with Brinklow seeing out the tie in a very professional manner. Showed great character and gaining in experience every week.