Morale high at injury hit Brakes 50 years ago

In January 1976 ‘The precarious tightrope that Brakes boss Jimmy Knox is walking with his depleted squad tautened this week with the injury sustained by midfield man Micky Boot.   With his squad almost at full stretch, Knox now has to sweat it out until Saturday to see whether Boot will be at the ‘derby’ encounter at the Windmill against Banbury. 

Should Boot – whose form this term has been one of the dominant factors in AP’s surge towards the head of Division One North – fail a late fitness test with knee ligament trouble then Knox will be  virtually forced to bring in either defender Doug Griffith or John Brady, neither of whom have creditable experience in midfield.  And that will mean in turn Knox will have no option but to switch around his settled side.

Obviously the AP chief is reluctant to take such a step and possibly upset the rhythm of the team which have now gone 15 consecutive league games without defeat and picked up 26 of the last possible 30 points in the process.  And naturally, Knox is anxious to sign the midfield cover which he has been watching in recent weeks – and is hopeful that the move will come in the next week. 

Meanwhile, the goalkeeper crisis that has beleaguered the Windmill in the past three months is still no easier.  Dave Jones and Dave Garratt, the two AP professionals, are still nursing knee and ankle injuries and a lack of match practice isn’t helping their recovery – a sure sign that reserve soccer is sadly missed at this level of football.   Consequently John Davis is likely to once again take over the keeper’s jersey for the tenth game of the season.  

Despite the problems, spirit in the AP camp has never surely been as high.  Even in his programme notes on Tuesday, Knox was moved to comment: “I can’t praise enough the players’ attitude and the work they put into their game.   We have a wonderful spirit inside the dressing room and outside as well – this is an essential part of any successful team and takes time to achieve it but I feel we have got this now … it will go a long way to get us into the Premier Division.  There’s still some way to go but in our present mood I don’t see anyone stopping us.  It’s the same story from the players.  Ask any one of them and they’re all confident that promotion – if not the championship – is on the way to the Windmill. 

Last night at Birmingham skipper Roger Brown was appealing against a booking he received in the September FA Trophy game at Boston.  Brown asked for a personal hearing against the caution because he believed that should the FA take into consideration with two other bookings he received against Redditch and Bury at the end of last season, he could receive an automatic short-term ban.   Manager Knox was accompanying Brown, who is claiming a case against mistaken identity at the hearing.

As it turned out Brakes had no difficulty in beating Banbury 5-0, although the visitors lost their leading scorer to injury and then their keeper had to go off with a gashed eye.   Brakes were 3-0 up at the interval with two goals by Stewart amd one by Talbot.    He scored again in the second half and then Stewart scored jis 35^th goal in 34 games.