Castle Vale Town were looking for a result yesterday to cement their position in the top six with three matches to go. It’s been an excellent campaign from the Spitfires who have been competing near the top of the table in division three. They were in 5th with 50 points going into their match against Gornal and were looking to build on their 0-0 draw against local rivals Boldmere Falcons at the weekend. It's been an encouraging first season competing in step eight for Gornal. Despite their league position of 15th, they have not been too bad this season and have caused a few shocks along the way such as beating Balsall and Berkswell and Leamington Hibernian at home. Their main issue has been away with one point from nine matches going into yesterday. The atmosphere around CV stadium prior to kick off was friendly and relaxed with both sets of supporters looking forward to the match. There was an excellent attendance of 95 supporters which was commendable given the late stage of the season. Overall, it feels like Castle Vale Town are going in the right direction with a good amount of local community interest in the club which is a huge positive. Starting Line Ups The starting line-up for Castle Vale Town included Alex Bowen starting in goal and Jordan McKenzie captaining the team up front. The formation appeared to be a 3-4-3 with a front two of Jordan McKenzie and Taurus Zaman being supported by Owen Reynolds in the attacking midfield role. There were five changes from the team that started against Boldmere Falcons on Saturday with William Case coming into the team and playing on the left of a midfield four. Gornal’s starting line up featured Tyler Beach starting in goal and captaining the team. The formation looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Raman Mohammed leading the line up front and being supported by Theophilus Yiadom and Jaden Muckley on the wings. There were three changes from the team that started against Wake Green Amateur on Saturday with Yusuf Wahab coming into the team and playing in central defence alongside Enoch Danso. First Half The opening 15 minutes of the match were fairly scrappy, and it took a while for the match to get going with both teams settling into it. The conditions were well suited for a passing based style yesterday and both teams were looking to play through the opposition which was easy on the eye and contributed to a free-flowing match. Castle Vale Town started the match the sharper of the two teams and were looking to take the game to the visitors in the opening stages of the first half. The Spitfires were boosted by a good atmosphere from the main stand at CV stadium which helped them build some momentum in front of goal in search of the opener. Jordan McKenzie had a few good chances to open the scoring for Castle Vale Town in the opening 25 minutes. He had a shot well saved by Tyler Beach in the 13th minute alongside having a shot go over the bar from a promising position in the box in the 24th minute. The best clear-cut chance for the Spitfires came in the 33rd minute when Owen Reynolds was free in the box and had an excellent chance to score. His shot was instinctively saved by Tyler Beach to keep it goalless and allow the visitors a way of building into the match. To Gornal’s credit they dug in throughout the first half and dealt with a lot of the Castle Vale Town pressure well. They took the lead on the counterattack in the 41st minute and played quick and incisive football to make it 1-0. A good ball was played down the left which found Theophilus Yiadom who accelerated with the ball into the box before squaring it to Jaden Muckley who finished well. The momentum was with Gornal for the last 15 minutes of the first half and they were in the ascendancy and looking to make it 2-0 going into half time. They had a chance from a passing move that was similar to the first goal with Theophilus Yiadom getting into the box and crossing the ball to Jaden Muckley who fired wide in the 45th minute. Second Half The visitors had a good chance at the start of the second half to make it 2-0 with Jaden Muckley playing a good ball to Devante Warner who fired wide from a good position in the 46th minute. The tactical set up of Gornal was causing Castle Vale Town a few problems and they were looking to make things happen out on the wings. A defensive mix up at the back allowed Jordan McKenzie to go through on goal where he was one on one with Tyler Beach. The prolific forward produced a composed finish into the bottom left corner to make it 1-1 in the 49th minute and get the Spitfires back into it. The match was evenly balanced at 1-1 with Castle Vale Town showing promise in front of goal and Gornal looking dangerous on the counterattack. Jaden Muckley was excellent out on the right wing for the visitors and was a real attacking threat going forward. Alongside looking to beat his man he also played some brilliant balls into the box for the visitors. Castle Vale Town took the lead through a moment of quality to make it 2-1 in the 68th minute. A good ball into the box found Joshua Pitters in the box who produced an excellent flick on to set up Tarus Zaman who finished well into the right corner. It was a composed finish and underlined why Castle Vale Town are having such a good season with that quality in front of goal standing out. The final twenty minutes of the match were nervy with Castle Town looking to see the match out and Gornal searching for an equaliser and building some pressure in front of goal. The best chance for Gornal came when substitute Elias Ibrahim cut inside before firing wide in the 80th minute. Castle Vale Town did well to stand up to the Gornal pressure throughout the second half. Luke Evans made a good tactical substitution with Leadun Dunlevy coming on and solidifying the midfield. He did an excellent job of tracking back and shielded the defence well to limit the chances in front. The Spitfires made it 3-1 late on to settle the match and the goal came from a well worked corner into the box in the 90th minute. A well delivered ball into the centre of the box found substitute Abdoullah Kchikech who headed past Tyler Beach. It was a well-earned result for Castle Vale Town yesterday and their 7th home win of the season. Full Time Castle Vale Town played well yesterday, and the main positive was how they were creating chances in front of goal with Jordan McKenzie getting into some excellent positions around the box. They also did well to see the match out against a dangerous Gornal team who looked capable of getting an equaliser in the second half. Luke Smith was reliably good at the back and regularly cleared the ball out of danger. Daniel Wyatt also had an underrated game and dealt with the attacking threats of Jaden Muckley and Salifu Jabbi well on the left of the defence. Gornal played well yesterday and looked a lot better than their league position would suggest. There were signs of quality both on and off the ball with a lot of players standing out and putting in a good performance. Yusuf Wahab had an underrated game at the back and made some key blocks and headers to keep them in the game. The refereeing team also had a good game and went a bit under the radar. Katrina Pritchard did a good job as the main referee and kept the match flowing throughout the afternoon. Overall, it was an entertaining match yesterday at CV stadium and a good advert for division three. FT score: Castle Vale Town 3-1 Gornal Attendance: 95 Man of the Match: Daniel Wyatt (Castle Vale Town) Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League Bilston Town 1-2 Droitwich Spa Droitwich got a crucial win against Bilston Town on Saturday to strength their position in the play offs places. The Saltmen are two points better off than OJM Black Country in 6th and have eight matches remaining this season in the league. They have been consistent on the road with eight wins and four draws from seventeen matches. Bilston took the lead in the early stages of the first half thanks to a strike by prolific forward Sam Yankson who has been excellent since joining the Steelmen from promotion winning Dudley Town. The visitors responded and found an equaliser in the 18th minute through an effort by James Lemon to make it 1-1 going into half time. Droitwich found a winner in the second half to settle a tight match with Alex Dugmore scoring for the Saltmen in the 70th minute to take home the three points. It’s a big win for the visitors and a good way to respond to the mid-week loss at play off rivals Wednesfield. Coventry Cospewood 6-1 AFC Bridgnorth Coventry Copsewood got a convincing home win against relegation strugglers AFC Bridgnorth at Allard Way on Saturday. It’s their seventh home win of the season and leaves them in 12th with five matches to go in the league. The main highlight was prolific forward Sean Kavanagh scoring a first half hat trick for the hosts and continuing his impressive season in front of goal. AFC Bridgnorth responded and managed to get a goal back at the start of the second half to make it 3-1. Coventry Copsewood built on their 3-1 lead throughout the second half thanks to a penalty from Daniel Lole and a brace from Bryan Kohyrelon to make it 6-1 at full time. It’s an impressive win for Coventry Copsewood and shows the progress they have made at step six. There comfortably in mid table and have a lot of quality up front to give any team a game on their day. It was a tough day at the office for AFC Bridgnorth on Saturday and it will be interesting to see how they respond against play off chasing Allscott Heath this afternoon. The main positive is the visitors being only a point off Paget Rangers in 18th and they have a similar goal difference to the Bears. The season is not over yet for AFC Bridgnorth, and they have five matches left to save their season. Cradley Town 2-2 Wolverhampton Sporting Community Wolves Sporting managed to hold play off chasers Cradley Town to a 2-2 draw at Beeches View Avenue on Saturday. The result leaves Cradley Town seven points off the play offs with six matches to go and creates a bit of breathing space for Wolves Sporting over the bottom three who are seven points better off than Paget Rangers in 18th. A good crowd of 76 supporters turned up to watch the entertaining 2-2 draw at the weekend. The visitors took the lead in the first half before efforts from Harry Edwards and substitute Oliver Jones made it 2-1 to the Hammers. Wolves Sporting responded and found an equaliser to take home a valuable point. The goals for the visitors coming from Jack Arnold and Cameron East. Out of the two teams the result suits the visitors more and helps their battle to stay in the division. A few wins at Pride Park should be enough for Wolves Sporting over the next few weeks to secure their step six status. Cradley will view it as a missed opportunity to make a push for the play offs and will probably have to rely on a few results going in their favour over the next few weeks. Hinckley AFC 4-2 Nuneaton Griff Hinckley continued their excellent form with a comeback home win against Nuneaton Griff at the weekend. The result makes it five matches unbeaten for the Leicester side and creates a 14-point gap at the top of the league. They have been strong at home throughout the season with only three losses from eighteen matches. An excellent crowd of 352 supporters turned up on Saturday to watch Hinckley AFC’s 12th home win of the season. Nuneaton Griff took a surprise 2-0 lead in the early stages of the first half thanks to efforts from Jacob Dumbleton and Reece Williams. Hinckley gradually grew into the match and made it 2-2 going into half time thanks to strikes by Kyron Green and Jack Edwards. The hosts pressed on in the second half and got two goals thanks to efforts by Jack Edwards and Matt Dawson to get a valuable three points. Credit to Nuneaton Griff who competed well against one of the standout teams in step six. Hinckley produced the quality when it mattered and have been reliably consistent to be top of division one throughout the season. Sutton United 5-5 Chelmsley Town Sutton United and Chelmsley Town were involved in an Easter thriller at Coleshill Road on Saturday which ended 5-5 at full time. This looked like being a mid-table battle between two well balanced teams going into the weekend with not much separating them. The amount of goals came as a surprise though and made for an entertaining game for the supporters. One of the highlights was Oliver Jeeves standing out for the visitors and scoring four goals for Chelmsley Town in an action-packed match. Adam Woods also scored for the visitors in the second half to get a valuable point against Sutton United. The result should give Chelmsley a lot of confidence in front of goal going into their match against Paget Rangers this afternoon. There was a well observed one minute’s silence before the match in memory of Boldmere St Michaels director of football Nick Heath who tragically passed away on Good Friday morning. Sutton United have adapted well to step six football and it’s been a season of progress since coming up from division two at the end of last season. Wednesfield 3-0 Heather St John’s Wednesfield got a huge win against play off rival Heather St John’s at the Cottage Ground on Saturday to keep their play off push on track. The result leaves them two points better off than OJM Black Country in 6th who have two games in hand over them. It’s been a good week for Wednesfield with consecutive home wins against play off chasing teams Droitwich and Heather St John’s. A decent crowd of 36 supporters watched Wednesfield get their 11th home win of the season. The main highlight was Freddie Cockerell scoring a hat trick for the hosts to get a convincing win. He’s been brilliant for Wednesfield since joining from Paget Rangers in the middle of the season and has 25 goals in all competitions this campaign. It’s going to be a close battle for the play off positions between Droitwich Spa, Wednesfield and OJM Black Country over the next few weeks and could go to the final day on the 20th April. Round up feature written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League |
MFLThe official news channel of the Midland Football League (founded 2014) Archives
March 2024
Categories |