Sandhu heads Leicester Road to trophy success

HINCKLEY’S Leicester Road FC battled to a 1-0 home victory over Premiership Wolves in a special memorial fixture to honour a coaching manager legend.

A first half bullet header from Amarvir Sandhu was all that separated the two teams and saw LRFC lift the John Perkins Memorial Trophy.

The game commemorated the man known to most as JP, who put Leicestershire semi-professional football on the national map with his ability to build highly-efficient and successful teams based on local players.

He was also a senior academy coach at Wolverhampton Wanderers for 10 seasons – hence this memorial fixture against their U23s – which was organised by LRFC manager Neil Lyne, who played under John for his all-conquering Leices- ter United in the Southern Premier.

They both went on to be snapped up by Brian Clough for Nottingham Forest in 1989.

The players from both teams led a minute’s applause at the start of the game and this kindred spirit continued throughout a hard-fought and evenly contested game that LRFC did very well to edge.

Neil Lyne summed up the occasion when he said: “This was a fitting tribute to a passionate man who dedicated his life to football.

“The players from both Wolves FC and Leicester Road FC were a credit to themselves and their respective clubs, symbolising the values and ethos of JP.

“Knowing the man as I did, he would have been proud.”