COALVILLE TOWN | IN THE PINK

Perfect way to mark 200th game for skipper

It was a perfect way for Coalville Town skipper, Joe Doyle-Charles to mark his 200th appearance for the Pitching In Southern League Premier Central club on Saturday as they made it into the last 16 of the Isuzu FA Trophy with a penalty shoot-out victory at Bath City.

Having played out a goalless draw over 90 minutes at their Vanarama National League South hosts, Adam Stevens’ side kept their cool to emerge 4-3 winners from the shoot-out that followed.

“To win away at a team from the level above and get into the last 16 of this national competition was a really special way to mark my 200th game,” Doyle-Charles told us. “This club means so much to me; I’ve been here for six years now to play my part in giving the clubs and fans days like this is what it’s all about.

“As a team we played well over the 90 minutes. Both teams rode their luck with the missed penalties in the first half, but defensively we were top drawer. We could have been better going forward after the break, but as a group we were able to stand up and be counted and in the end, we deserved to get through.

“On a personal note, it’s always nice to score your penalty in a shoot-out and it also helps having a goalkeeper who was on fire with two penalty saves!

“We’ve made a good start to the New Year, which we needed to because the season so far has been a bit stop-start for us.

“Hopefully we can get some more consistency and start climbing the table. On our day we are as strong as anyone in our League and now we just need to kick-on and prove a few doubters wrong.

“A result like Saturday will certainly help matters. The Premier Central is a tough, competitive League; there’s no team running away with it this year, as has been the case in previous seasons, so it’s more of an open field.

“Anyone from mid-table upwards has a chance of making the play-offs and for us it’s about putting ourselves into a position where we can finish strongly and use that momentum to take us through, a lot like Rushall Olympic did when they got promoted last season.”

So, what has been the 28 year-old’s main highlight from his 200 outings for the club?

“Leading the team out in the first round of the FA Cup at Charlton Athletic in front of 2,500 travelling Coalville fans has to be right up there,” he said with a smile. “I still get goose bumps when I think about it; that experience will stay with me for a very long time.

“There are so many happy memories and hopefully we will be able to create more between now and the end of the season.”

The draw for the fifth round of the Isuzu FA Trophy sees Coalville Town on their travels again, this time to Bishop's Stortford of the Vanarama National League North.

IMAGE: Bath City FC Photos

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