Green Flash

Coventry Dunlop  2  AFC Coventry Rangers  2 (1-4 pens)

Coventry Telegraph Challenge Cup – First Round

Admission / Programme – Free / None

Those of us of a certain age will hear the name Dunlop and think of any number of things…..

We might think about the cheap and cheerful trainers, and football boots, that used to be readily available from budget shoe shops (like Bacons in Belper) – Dunlop Green Flash trainers were guaranteed to lead to humiliation and ridicule from the more fashion conscious school mates.

Yep, I had Dunlop, before I convinced my Mum to let me move onto New Balance trainers and Patrick football boots, that move got me out of the firing line, however, nowadays, a pair of Dunlop Green Flash is quite an iconic brand, I seem to think in some cases they are the celebrity trainers of choice (Jarvis Cocker is a big advocate). So, right product, just the wrong time, I therefore now only need to wait for the Gola Tracksuit to come into fashion and I’m made!

Dunlop were probably more famous for tyres, with the iconic Fort Dunlop in the Erdington area of Birmingham being a familiar sight for those travelling via the train and the A38 into the City. The company were probably the biggest name in tyre manufacturing, but nowadays they are owned by the Goodyear group, and in terms of status, while not being any kind of expert, I suspect Michelin and Bridgestone lead the way (if Formula One is anything to go by!)

You’ve also got the Dunlop family from Northern Ireland who are famous, but tragic, motorcycle racers. Joey, the most famous, was killed in a crash in Estonia in 2000, while his brother Robert was also killed in 2008 during the North West 200 which takes place near Coleraine. It gets worse, Robert’s son William was killed in 2018 at the Skerries 100, while Robert’s other son, Michael, continues to race (carefully you would hope).

So, the name Dunlop is not an insignificant one, but what I didn’t know is that the name has links with the City of Coventry, or at least I didn’t know until the start of this season when I discovered a team of that name had been admitted to the Midland League.

It turns out that when the Dunlop company chose to move from their first home in Dublin, they chose Coventry as a UK base. Not a bad choice by any means, it’s pretty central, it has good motorway, airport and rail links (albeit at the time they moved that wasn’t all strictly in place!), and of course a plentiful supply of labour combined with a love of two-tone music (I’m being a bit daft now, sorry!)

So there we have it. Dunlop exist in Coventry, and of course, like any big employer, they simply have to create a sports and social club, which of course brings us right up to the present day, because that is precisely where the football team is based.

So, Dunlop FC (or Coventry Dunlop FC as they appear to be called now), were once a Coventry Alliance side, and now they are a Midland League side. They play on the North side of Coventry, not far South of the Ricoh Arena which of course is a car crash of a facility that the Sky Blues of Coventry City have had a somewhat chequered relationship with, or at least a chequered relationship with it’s owners. I’ve also visited a ground just over the way from Dunlop in recent years and that was the Holbrooks Park home of Coventrians FC before they moved to the outskirts of the City, but otherwise it was just a case of set the Sat Nav and away you go.

I’ll be honest, I’d originally planned to go on August Bank Holiday Monday but they game got cancelled, I suspect because it became apparent that the facilities, which are shared with cricket, would not be available. So, we are in the middle of September, and the game against AFC Coventry Rangers is in actual fact the clubs first home game of the season.

The journey down was relatively straightforward, although despite the fact I’d checked to see if the Sky Blues were away, I’d forgotten to check to see if the (London) Wasps were at home in the Rugby. They were, Bristol were the visitors to “London” but it didn’t cause any significant problems making my way past the Ricoh despite the fact it did look pretty busy.

In fact the biggest hold up was in the final hundred yards to the ground where a set of three way traffic lights upset me greatly, especially given I’d heard from my mate Dave, who was already at the ground, that the bar was open and they sold Dry Roasted Peanuts.

Anyway, that minor issue was soon bypassed and into the ground we arrived. It’s a large expanse, with the excellent football pitch being at the very North East side of the facility, comprising of dressing rooms in the corner at an angle while the side where the dugouts are located has a rail in place. Otherwise it was open standing on the other three sides, two of which looked to encroach on what is the cricket outfield.

The bar was behind the goal, and that was impressive, but it did look to be very rugby orientated. I can only assume Dunlop have a thriving arm in this area, but readers of my last blog will be well aware, me and Rugby Union are not exactly in sync with each other. No further comment on rugby at this juncture if you don’t mind……

So, Rangers, it was a local derby. It was the Coventry Telegraph Cup, a competition where the final is played at the Ricoh, and, it transpires that these two sides met in the final last year with Rangers winning 3-2. Was revenge on the cards?

It turned out to be a very good game. Konnor Frankum gave the fired up hosts, who play a division below Rangers, an early lead but on the stroke of half time Fola Fagbemi equalised for the visitors. It was Fagbemi who gave Rangers the lead just after the hour mark as they went on to dominate the game, but it wasn’t to be over.

Substitute Jarro Scott got a late equaliser for Dunlop and on the final whistle we moved straight to a penalty shoot out. To be frank, Dunlop had a mare from the spot, missing their first two efforts, while Rangers put away their first three. It finished 1-4 and Kev Kingham’s side move into the next round.

The crowd were still locked inside the Ricoh as I went back past it so no issues on that front, and I did think about calling at Sports Direct on the way home, surely they would have a selection of Dunlop footwear for me to select from, only I do need something to go with my Gola Tracksuit!