Coleshill Strollers 0 Birmingham Blues 5

Birmingham Blues continued their fine run of form as they recorded a 5-0 victory over Coleshill Strollers. 

The game turned out to be a fairly one sided affair, but with Coleshill’s Dave Turvey upfront for ‘the Strollers,’ they were always capable of posing a threat to ‘the Blues’ goal.

Birmingham began the contest brightly with a period of good possession, and it didn’t take long before the mounting pressure on Coleshill’s defence told, and Mark Evans coolly slotting the ball past Coleshill’s keeper and into the corner of the net.

Going a goal down seemed to rally Coleshill, and they posed their own attacking threat with ‘the Blues’ backline having to work hard and be extra vigilant as Coleshill pushed forward. But, with some resolute defending, the Coleshill attacks were limited to just two shots on goal, one that flew past the far post and the other that was smothered by Birmingham’s goalkeeper.

As the game progressed and with pressure mounting on Coleshill’s back line, Birmingham made a triple substitution, which quickly led to a further goal by Mark Evans and two goals from Paul Feeney on his return from a long injury lay off. The goals demonstrated the importance of doing the simple things and having players in the squad that can finish with precision and accuracy. 

The second half proved to be a more tepid affair. Mark Evans completed his hat trick with yet another accomplished finish and Feeney was cruelly denied his hat-trick by referee Clamp, who ruled that he was travelling ‘too fast’ between a static Coleshill defence.

To their credit, Coleshill remained committed and looked to push forward whenever they could. This was nearly rewarded when Turvey broke free of Birmingham’s defense, only to see his shot to be comfortably saved by ‘the Blues’ keeper.

Special mention should be made to Birmingham’s midfield, who provided the foundation for this victory, with tireless work both defensively and in support whenever Birmingham pushed forward.

In his post match interview, Paul Feeney (Player / Manager) reflected, that he would have been delighted with such a winning margin prior to the game, as since the previous leg (in which B’ham Blues put 10 past ‘the Strollers,’) Coleshill had considerably strengthened their squad, and in doing so, had managed a win against fellow title contenders MSA (Burntwood.)

Three league games now remain for ‘the Blues,’ all of which are against tough opposition, and all capable of ending Birmingham’s fine run of form. But with the previous two seasons winners being decided on the final day of the season, Birmingham Blues will be taking nothing for granted.

Thanks to Bart for the report.