KEEPING GOAL...

Keeping Goal On Combrook Green

The tree remains, my right-hand upright,

More mature now naturally

But it stands redundant as a goalpost;

My left side was marked simply with clothing

And John Quinney rained shots on sight

At this aspiring goalkeeper, relentlessly…

The ball was plastic, its weight not light,

My dubbined boots were studded

But the gloves were woollen and worn for school;

For in my mind I was Birmingham City’s Colin Withers,

As John Quinney forced me into flight

And I desperately leapt to save with body muddied…

Pete Ray

June 2017

This was my arena as a 9 and 10 year old… Combrook Green, Shard End, Birmingham and when I visited recently, a tree stood where I reckon a sapling was standing 50 years back…

John Quinney was older than me and a good footballer I recall and I loved those opportunities to be Colin Withers, the first really spectacular goalie I had ever seen. He went on to play for Villa too…

I later played as a 5-a-side goalie for Withey Athletic at the Aston Villa Leisure Centre on Friday evenings and constantly threw myself onto the hard surface there with abandon…

Loved it.