Miners’ miracle

Last Wednesday evening we turned up at the launch of The Miners’ Triumph, Martin Connolly’s book about the village football club’s World Cup triumphs of 1909 and 1911.

Appropriately, it was in the Sir Thomas Lipton lounge of West workmen’s club, the trophy safely returned from its sojourn at the National Football Museum. They were shifting an awful lot of books.

Martin’s a Belfast boy, has degrees in psychology and theology, was committed to the Northern Ireland community and so careful to be impartial that they called him the Green Orangeman.

He was ordained, spent 12 years working as a minister in the Wellspring Elim Church in Peterborough, pitched up at West Auckland and ran both the sub-post office and, for a while, the neighbouring Sir Thomas Lipton Café. He plans to open a gift shop in the summer.

The book’s the third with a West Auckland theme, the first a “potted” village history and the second a biography of Mary Ann Cotton, the Victorian poisoner. It’s sub-titled “The North-East Borgia?”

At long last fully to tell the story of the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy, he sourced original Italian newspapers and persuaded Durham University to translate them.

It’s an eye-opening account, though to suppose that West Auckland’s ground is the Seaview Stadium may be visionary even beyond Martin’s powers. The sponsor’s called Seagrave.

lThe Miners’ Triumph is selfpublished by Oakleaf Publishing, 48 East Green, West Auckland, Co Durham DL14 9HJ. It costs £5.99.

A WEST Auckland column, indeed, because after the book launch we head across the road to the South Durham Bowl final, Darlington RA Reserves v Witton Park.

It’s another of those magnificent old solid silver trophies, originally the Lady Eden Hospital Cup and donated in 1897 by Sir William Eden of that ilk.

Among the game’s more interesting features is that Witton Park goalkeeper Wayne Eyre wears spectacles, tightly fixed – as the picture may or may not show – around the back of his head.

Though doubtless his vision is thus 20-20, they nonetheless give the impression of peering myopically through the gloaming.

Folk at the ground still remember Henry Thompson, who played for Cockfield in the 1950s in what may best be described as gas mask glasses. Others recall former Dutch international Edgar Davids, at 39 still player/manager of Barnet and still extolling team mates to make passes to a man who wears glasses.

Almost anyone can see that Witton Park are much the stronger side. They comfortably win, 5-1.

THE ulterior motive for attending the South Durham Bowl final was that it became the season’s 98th game, thus making the FA Vase the 99th and allowing the resurgent Gunners’ FA Cup final appearance this Saturday to be the 100th – after all these years, a first ton. Much more of that next week.

LAST week’s column also offered final thoughts, not least Marske United’s dramatic Northern League Cup win against Whitley Bay at St James’ Park. It was United’s first League Cup triumph, clearly the stuff that dreams are made on. Moss Holtby forwards an image of club chairman Peter Collinson in bed with the trophy.

It was taken by Peter’s wife Cheryl, though – sadly – there are no details of the ensuing pillow talk.

Peter’s a great lad: unlike the chairman, Marske won’t be resting on their laurels.

IT’S 40 years come Sunday since 18-year-old Adrian Dunn achieved a feat that may yet be unique in North-East cricket history – six victims in an over, every one of them clean bowled.

“I remember it like it was yesterday,” he says.

Adrian was playing for Crook II at Dean and Chapter, the colliery-based club at Ferryhill.

Crook had scored 188-9, Adrian with figures of 1-8 – “caught and bowled, he said he wasn’t bothered because he wanted to go to the disco, anyway” – when a shower interrupted play.

“After that the pitch just seemed to play tricks,” he says modestly.

“We just couldn’t believe what was happening.”

All out for 28, Dean and Chapter at first declined to give him the ball.

“They said it was the only one they had. We’d almost to prise it off them in the dressing room and give them one of our old, knackered balls instead.”

The Guinness Book confirmed that it was the first time it had happened for 75 years.

Adrian’s unsure if anyone’s done it since. Others may know differently.

...and finally, last week’s column invited the identity of six English international footballers, past or present, with an X in their surname.

Try Albert Quixall, Graham le Saux, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lee Dixon, Kerry Dixon and Graham Rix.

Since it’s a Wembley weekend again, readers are today invited to name the last Englishman to manage an FA Cup winning side.

Up for it again next week.