Market Drayton Town’s soap-opera season reaches its climax on Tuesday night (7pm) with a showpiece Shropshire Challenge Cup final against Ellesmere Rangers boasting a typical tangle of story lines to test the nerves and stretch the heart strings.
Who’d have believed it – after all that’s happened to Drayton, they end up with two men who’ve managed them during their trouble-torn campaign, Simon Line and Ellesmere’s Matt Burton, in opposing dugouts at Shrewsbury Town’s Prostar Stadium.
And just for good measure, there’s an archetypal man-in-the-middle. Darren Beech, whose been battling all season to get a regular start with Line, is handed one every day of the week by Burton: He works for him!
“You could not write it for a TV show,” chortles Burton, now vastly enjoying his football, leading Rangers in a tight promotion battle at the top of the West Midland Regional League’s Premier Division.
Burton, who took the reigns briefly at Greenfields after Line’s departure for a flirtation with Hednesford, knows most of the Drayton lads well – but none as well as Beech.
“Beechie will love the final, whether he plays or not,” he said. “He’ll know everyone. At work, he has the ability to sit on the fence and see both sides of an issue; he’ll certainly need that for final night.”
Burton and Line have a healthy respect for each other and their teams.
On paper, Line’s outfit is two leagues superior. “Under Liner, Drayton play as a strong unit while also giving some outstandingly gifted players leeway to produce the unexpected,” says Burton.
It’s a compliment Line accepts with the utmost caution. “This is not a league match; its a cup tie and anything, absolutely anything, can happen in a final,” he says.
“We are expecting a very tough match against very good opposition, whatever the rankings might indicate.”
Danny Barton, who has scored 37 goals for Rangers this season, is a case in point. Approaching his 33rd birthday, he will be all out to make his final appearance a really memorable personal milestone.
Perhaps with this in mind, Line is resting injured central defender and skipper Paul McMullen for tomorrow’s UniBond trip to Carlton Town, for which fans are welcome to join a bus leaving Greenfields at 11.15am.
Nicky Porter is also sidelined with recurring ankle trouble but striker Tom Rogers returns from suspension and goalkeeper Steve Taylor and winger Stuart Ellis should be available.
A possible bonus could be the return of Jason Francis, who has kept himself sidelined in recent weeks, preparing for RAF entrance examinations being held today.
With Dynamo heading towards their 11th league draw in 20 home games and a mind-boggling 18 in the UniBond this season, the game wasn’t exactly thrilling.
But Town did the job expected of them and were unlucky when Martyn Davies hit a post and David Howarth, Davies and Beech were all unable to finish off good chances in a spirited late rally.
“A draw away from home is always welcome but I felt we should have nicked it,” said Line afterwards.
In contrast, Saturday’s sensational 5-1 win at Brigg Town had just about everything – five Drayton goals in 23 minutes, an air ambulance landing on the pitch in a spectacular medical evacuation plus one of Drayton’s lads cast as would-be lifesaver, helping Brigg’s injured Jason Maxwell, who lost all feeling in his lower limbs after falling badly.
And that was only the first half! Even by the madcap standards of Drayton’s topsy-turvy season, in which they’ve hit highs and lows with roller-coaster rapidity and seen players, managers and the chairmanship rotate, it took some believing.
It all started when McMullen headed Town into a ninth minute lead from Porter’s cunning corner.
Davies produced a carbon copy two minutes later for the first of a fine hat-trick. He then dribbled around the keeper for his second on 17 minutes and added his third and Town’s fifth on 32, after Jamie Haynes had cleverly claimed the fourth with a crafty lob.
Paul Grimes pulled one back for Brigg with a disputed 40th minute penalty, triggering a desperate rally by the home side that led, indirectly, to the medical emergency.
And who was Drayton’s stand-in medic who went to the rescue? It just had to be, didn’t it? Darren Beech.
Roll the credits, folks, we’ve three more chapters (sorry, matches) still to go.
By Terry Morris
