Knowle were looking to get a result yesterday afternoon at the Robins Nest to continue their recent impressive record in the Les James Challenge Cup. The Robins were going into this cup tie as the defending champions and were set up for a tough test against Alcester Town. A big strength of Knowle’s season so far had been their home form where they had lost just once from thirteen matches in both the league and LJ cup coming into this match. Alcester Town have been excellent in MFL Division Two this season and are part of the current top five. The Romans are one of the standout teams in Division Two and their away form was encouraging for a potential upset yesterday with four wins from six league matches. The atmosphere around the Robins Nest was friendly and welcoming with excellent clubhouse facilities and a nice set up. It’s a brilliant ground to visit for local groundhoppers across the West Midlands. It can be accessed by getting on either the 87 or 88 bus from Solihull Station, getting off at Lodge Road and walking down Hampton Road to the ground. The programme on offer by the club was brilliant and informative. It provided information on Knowle and what their looking to achieve in the future such as plans for a new ground. It was well put together and provided a bit of background information on both clubs prior to kick off. Starting Line Ups Knowle’s starting line up included Bobby Biddle starting in goal and Christian McArdle captaining the team from central defence. The formation looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Jay Rendell leading the line up front and being supported by Khalil Harrison and Jack Mullen on the wings. There were four changes from the team that started against Fairfield Villa a few weeks ago with Joe Riddiford coming into the team and playing at left back. The starting line up for Alcester Town featured Jordan Elder starting in goal and Ricardo Richards captaining the team up front. The formation appeared to be a 3-4-3 with a front two of Odane Barnes and Ricardo Richards being supported by Chris Dyson in the attacking midfield role. There were four changes from the team that started against Redditch Borough last weekend with Tristan Roberts coming into the team and starting as part of a back three. First Half Knowle started the match brightly and took the initiative in the early stages of the first half. The Robins were creating some good chances around the final third in the opening 30 minutes. Jack Mullen had a good opportunity at the far post with his header going just wide of the bar in the 7th minute. Khalil Harrison also played an excellent ball over the top that found Jack Mullen who worked the ball well in the box before having a shot well saved by Jordan Elder in the 27th minute. Knowle were threatening the Alcester goal with the only thing missing being that composure in the box to take the chances. None the less, the fact they were creating them was encouraging. To the visitor’s credit they were well organised off the ball in the first half and did well to limit the chances in front of goal. Alcester Town’s back three were doing an excellent job of tracking runners and blocking shots to get a foothold in the match. Anthony Miller and Tristan Roberts were reading the game well at the back and managing to cut out Knowle attacks. The Romans also had a threat when going forward in the first half and used the ball effectively to cause Knowle some problems. Odane Barnes was excellent up front and managed to hold the ball up well to get Alcester further up the pitch. The match was evenly balanced in the first half with Knowle marginally shading it in terms of clear-cut chances. A moment of genuine quality gave the Robins the lead in the 35th minute. An excellent defence splitting ball from midfield was played to Jay Rendell. He made an excellent run off the shoulder before accelerating into the box and finishing well into the top left corner to make it 1-0. Knowle were on top at the end of the first half and were looking to get a second in the final few minutes. Alcester did a good job of seeing it out and went into half time only a goal down to set up an intriguing second half. Second Half The second half started with a crucial moment in the match. Knowle managed to make it 2-0 early on which effectively sealed the cup tie. Jay Rendell made a brilliant run at the defence and carried the ball into the final third before shooting into the bottom right corner in the 53rd minute. It was similar to the first goal, with the prolific forward still having a lot to do but making it look easy in front of goal. From that moment on the hosts were in control for the rest of the second half. They were starting to play some good football with a lot of neat build up play in the final third. Jack Mullen was standing out in the second half, and he played some brilliant balls to create space for the hosts. He had a good chance from the edge of the box to make it 3-0 in the 71st minute. To Alcester’s credit they did not give up throughout the match and kept on going despite the scoreline. It was more a case of Knowle playing well rather than Alcester having an off day. The holding midfield of Knowle stood out in the second half with Dylon Bennett regularly winning the ball back and linking up the play well to start off attacks. Knowle managed to get a third goal late on with substitute Joe Sinton scoring from a long-range effort from outside the box. The ball fell to him, and he finished well into the bottom left corner to make it 3-0. The best chance for Alcester to get a consolation came late on when substitute Connor Perry-Holmes had a half chance from the edge of the box. Knowle managed to see the rest of the match out to progress to the semi finals and be one match away from a return to the Bescot. Full Time Knowle were brilliant in this match and played well throughout the 90 minutes against a good team. They have a lot of quality both on and off the ball and are a well-balanced team that are challenging for step six football. It was an encouraging performance yesterday by the Robins. The backline had an underrated game and did well to keep the clean sheet. Lewis Clarke was excellent at the back and was regularly clearing the ball away from danger and cutting out promising Alcester attacks. Lewis Rainey was also good at right back and looked defensively solid. Jay Rendell, Khalil Harrison and Jack Mullen were all brilliant up front and managed to create some good chances for the Robins. Having that quality on the ball could be the difference in tight matches between now and April in the title race for division two. Alcester were ok in this match. They showed a lot of effort and endeavour throughout the afternoon and were undone by Knowle’s quality rather than any glaring mistakes at the back. The Romans have a lot of promising players throughout the team and there were signs of that quality yesterday despite the defeat. Odane Barnes was good up front and managed to bring players into the game to provide Alcester with an attacking outlet. Daniel Sutton looked good from holding midfield and gave the team that composure on the ball when building attacks. Anthony Miller and Tristan Roberts also stood out at the back and were constantly blocking shots and clearing balls into the box. Overall, an enjoyable match yesterday at the Robins Nest and a good advert for step seven football. FT score: Knowle 3-0 Alcester Town Man of the Match: Jay Rendell (Knowle) Attendance: 79 Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League
Les James Challenge Cup (Quarter Finals) Central Ajax V Earlswood Town Central Ajax host Earlswood Town at Ajax Park tomorrow in what should be a tight match in the LJ Challenge Cup. Both teams are comfortably in mid table in division two and are capable of going far in this competition. Central Ajax are coming into this match in good form and notably beat Lane Head away from home 2-1 last weekend. Their 11 points above the relegation places and have two games in hand over Littleton in 15th. Their home record in the league has been good so far with just two losses from eight matches. They have beaten AFC Solihull (Away) and BNJS (Home) to reach this stage of the competition. Shaye Eden is their main attacking threat who scored a brace last weekend. Earlswood Town are in the top half of the table coming into this match and it’s a good opportunity to go on a cup run. The Earls are in 8th and similar to Central Ajax, have a 11-point gap between the relegation places. They have played well away from home this season and notably drew 1-1 against Knowle at the Robins Nest a few weeks back. They have four wins and three draws from nine matches on the road. The visitors have beat Lane Head (Home) and DSC United (Home) to reach this stage of the competition. Louis Bridges is a player to watch for Earlswood who can make things happen in the final third. Fairfield Villa V Littleton Fairfield have been playing well over the last few weeks and have a lot to play for in the remaining few months of the season. The Swans are battling to stay in the division with a five-point gap over the relegation places and are also involved in the LJ Challenge Cup and the Worcester Saturday Cup. They beat Gornal (Home) and Coventrians (Home) to reach this stage of the competition. Their home form has been their main strength this season with four wins and three draws in the league. They also notably drew with Knowle 1-1 a few weeks back. Samson Omotayo is a player to watch for the Swans who has that quality in the final third to create chances. Littleton are currently battling to stay in the division between now and the end of the season. Their in 15th and four points off safety. The main positive is that they have five games in hand over Inkberrow in 14th and are not too far cut adrift of staying up. Similar to Fairfield, the visitors are involved in a lot of competitions and are still in the Worcester Saturday cup. Their away form has not been too bad given their league position with two wins from five matches. They go into this match as marginal underdogs based on Fairfield’s home form but are capable of getting a result. Hampton V Birmingham United Hampton host Birmingham United in a huge match at Field Lane tomorrow. Both teams are capable of going on a run in the Les James Challenge Cup and are comfortably in the top half of the table. The hosts are in 7th with 23 points and have played well in a competitive division. Their home form at both New Mill Lane and Field Lane has been a positive with four wins and one draw from eight matches. They notably drew 1-1 with AFC Coventry Rangers last weekend which suggests it’s going to be a tough test for Birmingham United tomorrow. They have beat Balsall and Berkswell (Away) and Northfield Town (Home) to reach this stage of the competition. Birmingham United have been good in division two and have been competing near the top of the league. The visitors are in 2nd with 39 points and have been one of the standout teams in the league. The division title might be a stretch too far with the amount of games played so the Les James Challenge Cup feels like a good opportunity to make a statement at this level. Their away form has been a strength throughout the season with seven wins from 12 matches. They have beaten AFC Coventry Rangers (Home) and Meadow Park (Away) to reach this stage of the competition. The visitors are also coming into this match in a good run of form with nine points from their last four league matches. Another strength of Birmingham United has been their smart recruitment with the club signing a lot of quality players to challenge at this level. Connor Doyle is a player to watch who can makes things happen from midfield who signed from Earlswood Town. Urio Hijambazapo is another player to watch who is clinical in the box and joined from Lane Head where he scored 8 goals for them earlier this season. Knowle V Alcester Town Knowle host Alcester Town at the Robins Nest tomorrow in a huge match in the Les James Challenge Cup. The Robins are the defending champions and come up against one of the standout teams in the division for a place in the semi-finals. Their home form has been a strength this season with eight wins from eleven matches and their currently top of the league with 46 points. Redditch Borough are their nearest challenger in 3rd with 38 points and five games in hand. None the less, the Robins have to play them home and away in the league so it’s all to play for. It’s an exciting final few months of the season for Knowle supporters who will be hoping of step six football. The LJ challenge cup would be a nice bonus and if they can achieve both it would be a great season for the club. The Robins have beaten Feckenham (Home) and Leamington Hibernian (Home) to reach this stage of the competition. George Seeley is a player to watch who has that quality on the ball to make things happen in the final third. Alcester have been brilliant in division two and are challenging for both the league and the LJ Challenge cup. Out of the two, the LJ Cup is the more realistic and the Romans are more than capable of winning it come the end of the season. Their currently 5th in the league with an 18-point gap to make up over Knowle with six games in hand. Their away form has been a strength with four wins from six matches on the road. They also notably beat Knowle away on the opening day of the season so an upset could happen tomorrow. They got a walkover against Redditch Borough and beat Continental Star (Home) to reach this stage of the competition. James Ward is a player to watch for the visitors who is a key threat in the final third at this level. He has 15 goals in all competitions and played for Redditch Borough earlier this season. All Les James Challenge Cup matches kick off at 2:15pm on Saturday. Preview feature written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League |
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March 2024
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