Corby Town 4 Halesowen Town 3 - Jon Dunham’s review

Jon Dunham gives his observations from an incredible afternoon...

What a fightback! What an afternoon!

Sometimes you come away from a game knowing you’ll remember it for a long time.

And this was one of those days.

Make no mistake about it, at half-time this review was all set to be one massive inquest into what went wrong because Corby were poor in the first half and Halesowen looked every inch a title favourite.

The Steelmen were fortunate to not be trailing by more and they needed a big intervention from manager Gary Mills.

He changed tactics and personnel and, from what he said afterwards, he left his players in no doubt about what was expected of them in the second half.

And boy did they deliver.

While winning second balls in the first half seemed alien to them, they barely lost one in the second period.

They even got over a missed penalty from Steve Diggin and once Jordon Crawford had scored the first goal, you could sense things were changing.

While Halesowen cracked under the pressure, the Steelmen rose to the occasion.

It was a memorable win, a comeback for the ages and, in the final shake-up, this could already have been a pivotal day.

Jordon Crawford, the Corby Town talisman

I know Jordon is a big fan of me when I write nice things about him. The truth is, there hasn’t been much I can say about him in a negative way since he burst on the scene at Corby.

He has become the Corby Town talisman. A hometown boy who gives his all. What’s not to like?

There is a real talent here. He is a natural winger. Full of energy, an assist machine and when he scores a goal, it’s rarely a tap-in.

But he is a driving force, he’s a worker, he puts it in and that, more than anything, is what endears him to the punters.

On this day, Corby needed him. They needed that spark and it was Crawford who led the way.

It was impossible to pick fault with anyone in a black and white shirt in that incredible second half but Crawford getting on the end of Curtis Hartley’s cross to make it 3-1 was the catalyst.

Just 120 seconds later, he was thumping a trademark right-footer into the top corner to really make people believe.

And it was some excellent build-up play between him and his old sparring partner Sam Warburton down the left-hand side that helped set up the memorable winner and a first senior goal for Connor Furey.

All of the Corby players deserve credit for that second-half showing but it was Crawford who, not for the first time, led the charge.

Gary Mills shredded his calm exterior at the full-time whistle. And who could blame him?

Plenty of managers have come and gone at numerous clubs in the 17 years I have been doing this job in these parts.

As ever, when a new manager comes along it takes time to learn about them as you try to find out what makes them tick.

Gary Mills is an experienced man. He’s forgotten more about football than I will ever know and he’s got the CV to back everything up.

The one noticeable thing about him is the cool, calm and collective exterior he has, particularly when talking to the media - he doesn’t give anything away in terms of emotion.

So it was fascinating to watch him at the final whistle after this most remarkable of afternoons.

The calmness disappeared, the elation was too much. It wasn’t even about who his team had beaten, it was more the way they did it.

Mills was punching the air in delight as he and his players lapped up the deserved applause.

Yes, this one meant a lot. And let’s hope we are able to see more of that from him going forward.

This is the sort of game that shows why fans are so important

Just 24 hours on from Northamptonshire health chiefs advising local football fans to stay away from grounds as part of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, a sell-out crowd of 400 were on hand at Steel Park.

Look, the advice was handed out and it’s up to everyone to make their own decisions.

It’s not for me or anyone else to judge what decision people make but what I will say is that this was the sort of game that showed why fans in grounds are so important, not that the point really needs emphasising.

The Steelmen may well have fought back in the same way if the ground had been empty but the euphoria of their comeback was only enhanced by the support they received.

When the winner went in and when the final whistle blew, just for a few minutes life felt normal. Not the ‘new normal’ but normal.

While the opportunity to attend matches is there, I am afraid the health chiefs have a real fight on their hands if they want fans to stay away.

Dine out on it for a day or two, there’s more work to do on Tuesday night

The Steelmen players should and, I am sure, will enjoy this win for a day or two. After all, it’s not every day you are involved in such an incredible fightback.

But it must be back down to business on Tuesday night when they head to AFC Dunstable.

It is one of only two matches in the division in midweek and it represents an opportunity.

Yes, it is early in the season, but there’s nothing wrong with laying down a marker.

And if Corby can go and win by two clear goals, they will be sitting on top of the table before Halesowen come to town again next weekend in the second qualifying round of the Buildbase FA Trophy.

Challenge extended...