Famous Wisbech Town games against Cambridge, Colchester, Brentford and Bristol Rovers
1924: Wisbech Town pulled off a shock by defeating Southern Amateur League outfit Cambridge Town 2-1 away in the first qualifying round on October 4.
The win was deserved, for the defence especially played a remarkably good game against a much superior team.
Wisbech’s first goal came when Arthur Barker got away on the right wing. The ball was sent ahead and the goalkeeper ran out to save. He fumbled and Cyril Wright passed to Barker, who scored.
Sizer equalised from close range after a corner, giving keeper Don Poynter little chance to save.
Cambridge kept pressing for the winner and two minutes from time were awarded a penalty, but W. Taylor completely missed the target.
The game went into extra time and two minutes from the end Neville Wadsley got clear away, but when overtaken by a defender shot weakly. The Cambridge man should have cleared, but lost the ball, and A. Barker shot into the empty net to score the winning goal.
Cyril Wright
Captain of the team that beat Cambridge Town was Cyril Wright, who was the first prolific goalscorer for the Wisbech club.
Described as a clever player with a good turn of speed and a hard shot, he joined Wisbech St Augustine’s in 1912, aged 18, having played for Cambridge Cross Keys since he was 15.
Already in possession of two county caps, he then joined Upwell before playing for the Saints, then the leading club in Wisbech, playing in the Cambs Senior League and Peterborough League before World War One. Fifty goals in three-and-a-half seasons earned him good reports in the local press.
Cyril joined the Forces for the conflict in 1914 and was a despatch rider, carrying messages along the front on a trusty motor-cycle and managed to survive the carnage of that campaign.
After hostilities had ceased, St Augustine’s found that they had lost the use of the Flint House field for their games and didn’t get themselves organised for the first season of organised football – 1919-20.
However, several of the Saints turned out for the Working Men’s Conservative Club team who joined the Lynn League and played on Wisbech Park. Cyril was one of those players and during the season notched 13 goals.
The following season the present Wisbech Town Football Club was formed and Cyril was the centre-forward for the next seven seasons, notching up an impressive 154 goals from 224 appearances. His best season was 33 goals from 30 appearances in 1923/24. Add to that another 56 goals scored for the reserve side. Injury finished his playing career – he made only one appearance in 1928/29.
Honours won for Wisbech were the Peterborough League title three times, the Hinchingbrooke Cup twice and the Clegg Cup, Wisbech Charity Cup and the Chatteris Engineers Cup. For the Saints honours were won with the Lynn League title twice and the Wisbech Charity Cup.
1957: Wisbech enjoyed a home victory in the FA Cup first round proper against Colchester United on November 16, to this day the only time they have beaten a Football League side in the competition.
Manager Oscar Hold broke off from sipping after-match celebration champagne to say: “The boys were magnificent, what spirit they showed!”
Further tribute to this giant-killing display by Midland Leaguers Wisbech came from Colchester boss Benny Fenton, who said: “It was an excellent game. Wisbech deserved their win and should do well in the cup.”
The 6,540 crowd went wild in the 65th minute when centre-forward Jesse Pye scored the winner, meeting a Johnny Downie pass and planting the ball low into the far corner.
After this, only good work by goalkeeper Percy Ames stopped them increasing their lead.
Oscar Hold
The man responsible for this team, known as Wisbech’s best ever, was well-known throughout the football world – Oscar Hold.
He was a powerful inside or centre-forward who scored at a respectable rate throughout his career. Much of his best years were lost to the Second World War, when he served as a PT instructor and guested for a number of teams including Barnsley, Bradford City, Burnley, Chelsea and Derby County.
In peacetime he moved around from club to club, and this pattern was repeated when he moved into management.
His first management post was with March Town, followed by Gainsborough Trinity, Wisbech Town and Cambridge City, before he switched to a wider stage which took him to such spots as Nigeria, Turkey (Fenerbahce), Doncaster Rovers, Cyprus and the Middle East.
Oscar played 11 times for the Fenmen, scoring two goals before resigning in February 1960.
He eventually retired to live in Wetherby, North Yorkshire, before moving to Sunderland where he died in a nursing home after a short fight against cancer of the bladder in 2005, aged 87.
1964: There was an intriguing FA Cup first round proper game at Fenland Park on November 14 between Wisbech, the team with the smallest wage bill in the Premier Division of the Southern League and Brentford, the team with the biggest wage bill in the Third Division.
Two goals in two minutes just before the interval saw the Fenmen go down 2-0 against the Third Division leaders.
Colin Flatt was proving a menace to the visiting defence but at the other end Chandler brilliantly saved from Jimmy Bloomfield.
With their half-back line in great form the Fenmen were giving little away, although Bonson was always a danger. He once beat Bill Clarkson to slip in a good ball through to Mark Lazarus, but Malcolm Devitt anticipated the danger and averted a certain goal.
Corners were coming thick and fast and once Fred Howell rose to head a free kick just past the post.
A few minutes from the interval came the goal Brentford had so long pressed for, Joe Bonson heading in as the home defence appealed in vain for offside.
A minute later Howell dallied on receiving a short ball from Roy Jacobs, who was robbed by Billy Cobb who ran through to give Chandler no chance and so the Bees were two up.
The Fenmen did push forward in the second half and during a heavy spell of Wisbech pressure, keeper Chic Brodie was really extended for the first time, saving well from Flatt, Dennis Woods and Alan Withers.
Colin Flatt
One of the best forwards to play for the Fenmen, Flatt started his football career as an amateur with Leytonstone, before turning professional and being signed by Jesse Pye for season 1961/62 in which he made 44 appearances and scored 15 goals.
In 1962/63 his record was 43-19 and in 1963/64 5-3.
He was then transferred to Cambridge United before returning to the Fenmen for season 1964/65 – 61 appearances, 38 goals
He was transferred to Leyton Orient for £2,000 in 1965, but on June 27, 1967 was appointed player-manager of Wisbech, ending a seven-month search for a successor to Jesse Pye.
But behind the scenes all was not well, and a fortnight later Flatt asked to be released from his contract for business reasons. Then it was learned that he had paid his own transfer fee!
So keen was he to sever all connections with Wisbech Town that he gave them a personal cheque for £250 to secure his release.
And within hours of having done so, he had signed for reigning Southern League champions Romford.
This remarkable transaction made soccer history, for Flatt is certainly the first professional footballer to pay such a sum out of his own pocket in order to be able to sign for another club.
1997: Wisbech reached the second round proper of the FA Cup this year, going down 2-0 at home to Bristol Rovers on December 6.
“As far as work-rate goes I cannot fault anyone, we came up against a very professional side and we did a very good job,” said Wisbech player-manager Gary Childs.
On 52 minutes Rovers opened the scoring when Peter Beadle made a strong run from the middle of the park and beat Moore before shooting low into the net from the left side of the six yard box.
And, with 12 minutes left, Barry Hayles slid the ball home after Matthew Hayfield played the perfect ball across the penalty area.
Bristol Rovers manager Ian Holloway said: “It’s the trickiest fixture I have ever faced as a manager. Full credit to every one of my lads against a good side.
Gary Childs
At the end of September, 1997, the board of directors decided to go for a full-time manager in their quest for honours in the Dr Martens League and they appointed former West Bromwich Albion, Walsall, Birmingham City and Grimsby Town player Childs.
Fifth place in the Midland Division, a good FA Cup run and supporters were looking forward to the next season. However, the lack of finance raised its head and Gary was sacked in November.
