Days when even Saints bowed to the Centrals

DIPPING into the Press archives of mid October 1967 did not disappoint. The small football story on the left-hand side of the Saturday sports edition was a nugget of gold.

Coincidentally, it concerned a team that also played in gold and did so until the early 1980s when on their leaving the Priaulx Leaguem we were left with the seven teams we have today.

Centrals had been around for decades when they packed up, short of players and after the sort of results which must have had their players and officials cringing with embarrassment, I'm thinking of one 20-odd-nil home defeat by Vale Rec in particular.

But let's concentrate on Centrals' better efforts and successes, because there were several. And surely no local team can better their remarkable Normandie Cup fightback of 1967.

The gold-and-blacks lost their first leg game to St Martin's 6-1.

But, incredibly, not only did they save face by winning the return leg, they did so to the tune of 8-0 to win 9-6 on aggregate and go through.

Well, they should have, but the GFA were to poop on their party.

Out they went, along with a £5 fine.

Such tales of unprofessionalism, don't tell the full story of Centrals contribution to local football.

The record books show they won the Jackson League title four times, the Mauger Cup three times, the Railway once and, most princely of all, the Martinez Cup in 1969.

They also managed to field a Priaulx strike force of John Tall and Billy High, but that's another tall story.

In the late summer and early autumn of 1969, 'Cents' were the team to beat.

They had ended the previous season on a high, qualifying for the then end-of-season Martinez Cup as runners-up to Priaulx League champions St Martin's.

And on Monday 12 May they beat a virtually full-strength Saints 2-1 to win only their second first-team trophy, 13 years after landing the Stranger.

It was the two sides' seventh meeting of a long campaign and in each previous case the black-and-whites had won, one 9-0.

But on this early summer's evening goals by Frank Robins and 'Tosh' Thoume cancelled out John Loveridge's strike and the little St Andrew's club celebrated.

For the record, the Centrals team was, in 4-2-4 formation: Geoff Bouwmeester; Art Le Page, 'Tosh' Thoume, Lyndon de Carteret, Dave Upson; Vic Ryan, Frank Robins; Billy Roberts, Mick Cotter, Ringo Count, Colin Webb.

The only notable Saints absentee was keeper Gerve Brazier.

After the summer break George Shepherd's side returned confidence high and still winning.

In September, they beat Saints again, this time 1-0 with a Micky Cotter goal.

'I'm not going to say we can stay there, but I will says this,' said Shepherd. 'It's going to take a good team to beat us and knock us off the top.'

And that good team was Saints.

Although Centrals won their first six league games to head the table in mid November, slowly the wheels fell off and by the end of a trophy-less season the gold-and-blacks were fourth with Bels and North also heading Shepherd's men.

Centrals golden days did not last and not long after prize assets such as Le Page and Cotter departed for a highly-successful swansong to their careers, with Vale Rec.

Le Page also went on to skipper Guernsey and manage championship-winning Vale sides.

This week, nearly four full decades on, Le Page recalled his enjoyable times with Centrals and their coach, George Shepherd, who was tragically killed in a road accident.

'George was a hard taskmaster, but good with it.

'He was really enthusiastic, always laughing. But he made you work hard.'

Le Page played at right-back and in midfield for the Cents and said there was a good buzz around St Andrew's at the height of their success.

'There was excitement up there for the visits of the likes of Vale Rec and Saints, with everyone squashed around the pitch.

'At first I really enjoyed myself, but not at the end.

'George left and it wasn't the same after that.'

Aged 30, Le Page left for the Corbet Field.

Why Centrals could not hold on to their flying start to the 1969-70 season?

Their former captain said it was largely down to resources.

'We didn't have a big enough squad to keep it going.'