Damage in the Box!: SUTTON COLDFIELD TOWN (Coles Lane)

Today was a long planned trip to Birmingham, though to be honest football wasn't really the primary reason. A few of us decided to arrange a jaunt to visit the absolutely superb Wellington real ale pub in the city centre but, me being me, I had to get a game in somewhere!

Beer list at the Wellington
(I did my best to get through 50%)

The nearest team with a home game were Highgate United, but this game sadly bit the dust around 1.30pm due to their pitch being waterlogged.

No point in spitting one's dummy out, you always have to have a Plan B and today that happened to be Sutton Coldfield Town, with their 3G pitch. As the picture on the cover of the programme shows, they play in any weather condition!

The Wellington

This was not the first time i'd visited Coles Lane, as i'd previously seen tenants Romulus play an FA Vase game here in 2006, so this was a perfect opportunity to put right that particular wrong.

Apart from the playing surface, Coles Lane looked pretty much the same as it did in 2006 with a large main stand and covered terrace in the corner and behind one of the goals.

Sutton Coldfield were entertaining Goole in a Northern Premier League Division One South game (bet you never thought Yorkshire to be in the south!) and both teams are more or less neck and neck in the table, just on the fringes of the play-off mix.

Some of the myriad of Clubs that call
Coles Lane 'home'

The game wasn't the greatest as Goole came with a plan of defend and hit on the break. Sutton Coldfield therefore had most of the play but Goole's plan worked a treat as they hit the homesters to take a 33rd minute lead, Aaron Martin racing through to slot home.

Goole defended stoutly in the second period but, as the game went on, they started to drift back further and further. Sutton Coldfield's pressure eventually paid off in stoppage time when they were awarded a penalty.

Goole 'keeper Aaron Chapman saved substitute Luke Chapman's initial effort, but could do nothing with the resulting rebound. On balance though, a fair result.

It was then back on train to continue the real ale 'sampling', this time at the Post Office Vaults, where there were just the 8 handpulls on offer...hic!