Coventry Telegraph Challenge Cup, Quarter-Final
Bobby Hancocks Park, Saints Drive, Southam, CV47 2UZ
29th January 2022, 2:15 pm Kick-Off
Today I will be going to another new ground, and continuing with the Coventry theme of last week, I will be watching a Coventry Telegraph Cup match, between Southam United (Oxfordshire Senior League) and Dunlop (Coventry Football Alliance).
I visited Southam United before, about 11 years ago, when they were playing at their previous ground in Banbury Road which like their new stadium lies on the south side of this small town. Then they were riding high in first place the old Midland Combination, Premier Div before eventually finishing second.
This new ground is named after old club veteran, Bobby Hancocks who played and later served this club altogether for more than 50 years, while also scoring more than 1,000 career goals! Those stats are in the same league as the great Pele of Brazil.
I travel to Leamington by train without any hassle, have an all-day breakfast in a cafe I used to go to last year when I was living in nearby Kenilworth for a while and make my way down the High St to catch the No.63 bus. To my surprise it turns up about 5 minutes early and I jump aboard. A bit later I hear the driver talking to someone on his phone that his bus is 1 hour late due to the heavy traffic, which I admit I could see was really bad when walking for this bus.
So 25 minutes later I am able to get off in the Southam town centre and the weather has unexpectedly taken a turn for the worse, with it getting cloudier and after having a coffee in a local cafe, it starts raining but fortunately only lasts 5 minutes.
I then walk to the ground, which lies just south of an industrial estate and close to some new build houses. The ground is a neat affair, with one big main stand on the western side of the ground, with a smaller seated stand on the opposite side. I have time to have a cup of tea at 'Alfie's' tea bar, which is housed in a parked van next to the stand. There was a table the other side of the stand with a box for people to pay a donation for their entrance fee, something I have never seen at a ground before. I pay £3, which I think is fair for this standard of football.
The teams come out with 'The Saints' of Southam in their usual home strip of yellow shirts, blue shorts and socks while the visitors of Dunlop, are in a smart kit of light blue and white striped shirts and light blue shorts and socks.
Dunlop are currently in top spot of the Coventry Alliance, Premier Division and after 9 minutes their No.8 hits a long range shot that rattles the cross bar.
Dunlop do take the lead when after 17 minutes the ball is played across to the left of the Southam goal and is put in the net by Callum Davies.
The home side have some attacks of their own and one of their best moves sees their No.20 Mauritson go down the left to swing over a cross, (see below) for a Southam player to head down to a waiting colleague to hit a shot just wide of the left hand post.
Half time arrives with Dunlop still ahead but there has not been much between the 2 sides. The windy conditions have certainly not helped play though and I hope that it will affect the teams less in the next half. During this half I saw 3 balls come over in my direction in the space of about 20 minutes and every time they bounced over me and the wire fence in to the field, much to everyone's amusement. I'm just too old to be a goalkeeper now, ha ha!
I go over to the other side of the ground and talk to a guy who recognised me earlier on as a fellow ground hopper. After we had been talking for a while he realises that we had met before, in fact twice before at games at Droitwich Spa and a Birmingham County FA Vase final. He is called Gordon who is based in Leicester and his good wife lets him out on a Saturday to travel to games in the Midlands.
We have a good chat about the Non-League scene during the interval and for most of the 2nd half. I certainly have a lot of catching up to do to get close to the number of different grounds that he's visited over the years.
Southam United waste no time in taking the game to Dunlop when play resumes and in the 49th minute, equalise through Mauritson who scores from close in on the visitor's goal.
Just 5 minutes later and they go close again with a shot coming in from the right that goes across the goal.
Dunlop although rocked back on their heels are not about to give in so easily and their No.16 has a good shot tipped over the bar by Hudson the Southam custodian. In the last 10-15 minutes of this tie they finish the stronger and give the home defence some anxious moments.
There is no more score at full time, so we have the sudden death excitement of a penalty shoot-out.
Southam miss with their first kick and have their next penalty saved while Dunlop score with their first two to leave them in the driving seat. Dunlop do miss their 3rd penalty and it eventually falls to their No.3, Jaydeep Vim to convert the last kick to win this tie.
He sends Hudson the wrong way and Dunlop now find themselves in the semi-final of this competition.
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