This day in history for Wisbech Town FC
1963: A long trek to South Wales to play Merthyr Tydfil in a Southern League Premier
Division fixture.
Two chances, two goals, and two points – that just about summed up the game. The Welshmen had far more of the play, but it’s goals that count and Wisbech got them.
The first came after only three minutes from the first shot of the game. Harry Noon sent a 40-yard pass clean through the Merthyr defence and Alan Morton picked it up and rounded the keeper to fire into an empty net.
Eight minutes before the interval, the home side equalised when Beech raced onto a weak attempt at a pass back by centre-half Brian Jayes and slipped the ball past the advancing keeper, Ray Chandler.
With Merthyr being urged on by their 1,000 fans, everyone was just waiting for the breakthrough. It came in the 70th minute, but at the wrong end! A Norman Bleanch lob hit the bar and in a flash player-manager Jesse Pye, and with cool precision, slid the ball into the net.
This time Wisbech didn’t relax their grip, although Merthyr tried everything to get back on level terms in a rousing grandstand finish.
Jesse Pye
Born in Rotherham, Jesse Pye started his footballing career with Sheffield United, and then during the last war he scored 16 goals in 30 appearances for Notts County in the Third Division during the 1945-6 season.
He was transferred to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1946 and duly scored 90 goals in 188 League games. But the highlight of his career with the famous First Division club came in 1949 when he scored twice in the 3-1 FA Cup Final victory over Leicester.
In 1952 he moved to Luton Town, where he scored 32 goals in 60 appearances, and then on to Derby County in 1954, scoring 23 goals in 61 games
During his league career Jesse gained one full England cap (against Eire in 1950/51) and three England B caps.
He was snapped up by Wisbech Town manager, Oscar Hold, in 1957, and became a vital cog in Hold’s never-to-be-forgotten team of ex-league stars who finished runners-up to Peterborough United in the old Midland League, teaming up with such other famous ‘pros’ as Bobby Langton, Amos Moss, Johnny Downie, Johnny Crosland and Henry Adamson.
His most memorable goal for the Fenmen came in that first season when he hit the winner in a 1-0 home victory over Colchester United in the first round proper of the FA Cup before a crowd of 6,540 at Fenland Park.
In the next round the Town unluckily lost 2-1 at Reading before 17,252 people – the biggest crowd ever to see the Fenmen play. And during that memorable season Jesse hit 48 goals.
When Hold resigned in March, 1960, Jesse took over as player-manager. He finished playing regularly in 1963 and then became manager, finally resigning in December, 1966.
In all, he made 242 appearances for Wisbech and scored a grand total of 138 goals. And the highlight of his managerial reign at Fenland Park came in the 1961-62 season when he notched 14 goals to help the Town win the championship of the Southern League.
With his wife Irene, Jesse owned two confectionery businesses in the town – in Bridge Street and Victoria Road – which he later sold to become landlord of the Mermaid Inn in the Market Place in June 1968.
Jesse and Irene finally left the Mermaid Inn in February 1967, to take over a boarding house in Blackpool, which they later had to give up owing to Jesse’s ill health.
Born: Treeton, near Rotherham December 22, 1919;
Died: Blackpool, February 19, 1984;
1938-1945: Sheffield United 0 apps, 0 goals;
1945-1946: Notts County 30, 16;
1946-1952: Wolves 188, 90;
1952-1954: Luton Town 61, 32;
1954-1957: Derby County 61, 24;
1957-1966: Wisbech Town 242, 138.
1967: Having beaten promotion candidates Kettering 4-2 only a few days previously, Ramsgate were confident of two easy points against lowly visitors Wisbech in a Southern League Division One fixture. But what a shock they got.
From start to finish, the Fenmen were the better side and they duly completed their second double of the season.
Wisbech dominated a goalless first half, looking much the more methodical side. They were always faster on the ball. Two goals in the first seven minutes of the second half gave Wisbech a grip they never relaxed.
Ron Hall scored the first and Ron Spelman the second, and both came about as a result of errors by goalkeeper Huddart on which the Wisbech forwards were quick to seize.
Dispirited Ramsgate did manage to pull back a goal through Hayes, but the Fenmen clinched the issue with a further goal from Hall, always a menace to the home defence.
Spelman also had the ball in the net but, as at Ashford, what seemed a good goal was disallowed.
Four wins, five draws and one defeat in their last 10 league matches gave the Fenmen a mid-table position at the end of the season.
1989: On this day Dave Eldred was appointed manager of the Fenmen. The former March Town, Chatteris and Holbeach manager was the last man in charge to take a league title, His success coming in the 1990-91 season.
Dave Eldred
Leading scorers in that 1990-91 season were Ian Williams with 26; Jerry Lowery and Ashley Carr both with 17. Mel Mattless made 62 appearances, missing just one game.
After comments made to the referee following a controversial defeat at Spalding in the FA Vase, Eldred earned himself a six-week touchline ban.
Having to sit in the grandstand, with no mobile phones then, with an obvious problem in getting information to the dug-out on the other side of the pitch by subterfuge; in one match it took 15 minutes to make a substitution change. By the end of the ban, most regulars on the Popular Side had worked out the signals.
In the first half of the following season the team enjoyed 11 straight wins, but in the New Year results were patchy and Eldred resigned on March 30.
2013: A goal apiece from Matt Lunn and Danny White helped Wisbech Town to win the Eastern League Knock-out Cup Final played at Diss Town against the holders, Stanway Rovers, by two goals to one.
All the goals came in the first half and in the second period Stanway put the Fenmen’s defence under a lot of pressure, but the defence, well-marshalled by captain Paul Cousins, who probably had one of his best-ever games for the club, held firm, and the forwards, well led by Chris Bacon, could have extended their lead.
There were big celebrations at the end by the Wisbech contingent of supporters who made up most of the 348 crowd.
Paul Cousins
A no-nonsense central defender who endeared himself to the Wisbech supporters with his 100 per cent effort in every match.
Signed from March in 2007, he also played for Dereham, Soham Town Rangers, Wroxham and Kings Lynn.
Also took over as joint -manager with Scott Johnson in September 2013.
When Dick Creasey came back, he took over the assistant manager’s position.
His playing record for the Fenmen – 243 apps plus 40 sub; scoring 19 goals.
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