Rubery manager, Mark Cope, tells us how his side clinched a League & Cup double with a last-match 5-0 away win at Tipton Town in the Birmingham County League Premier Division.
I’m 27 and I’ve been coaching since I was 17, starting out as a goalkeeper coach for Rubery and 2 years later, I took full responsibility for the team and guided them into open age football. Over the years, we have taken beatings from teams when we turned up with just 8 or 9 players but throughout this they have always been loyal and I still have 8 of those original members.
Last season we started to improve and lost out on second place in the last game but still managed to get promoted to the Birmingham League Premier Division. We had a few extra players join the team, adding strength and depth.
The average age of the team is between 24 and 27 and I could see the maturity levels during the season in finishing games off, or seeing games out. We played 37 games including cup ties, friendlies and league, winning 28, drawing 4 and losing 5. We scored an incredible 133 goals and conceded 31, keeping 14 clean sheets and had an unbeaten run of 14 games. We never lost at home all season and only conceded twice on our own ground.
We also reached our very first cup final and after being 3-2 down in extra-time to Halesowen, came back from the dead to equalise and then our keeper [Zoe Gillard] not only saved a penalty in the shoot-out but scored the winner and ensured Rubery’s first major trophy. This was my biggest highlight of the season as we did everything right in the game, played our football on the ground when we could but also dug in and did the knitty gritty when needed.
There was a sense of will, determination, grit and fight in the team from a side who wanted to win things. After the cup final, beating Halesowen who had not lost in 2 years, there was only ever going to be one outcome and that was us winning the league after getting a taste for success.
We had to win the last 3 games to take the league and after Folly Lane did us a big favour in beating Kingshurst in their final game, we finished in style by beating Tipton Town 5-0.
My captain Emma Cope was a great role model throughout season, along with many other players and I can’t single anyone out as they all played their part. But top goalscorer was Faye Birch who scored an amazing 48 times in 34 appearances.
I would also like to say a big thank you to John Smith and Josh Cook who have helped me this season, building and progressing the team. We will now move into the West Midlands Regional League Division 1 South with our current facilities and along with a further 2 teams competing in the Birmingham County League.
She Kicks – the online news service for women’s football
