OJM were looking to build on the positives of the 1-1 mid-week draw against Cradley Town on Tuesday with a result against Stapenhill yesterday evening. The hosts have been one of the form teams in division one over the last month with 13 points from their last five matches to leave them in a strong position for the play offs. One of the main challenges for OJM is the schedule which has been hectic, and they had eight matches to play within the space of a few weeks going into yesterday. Stapenhill were comfortably in mid table going into this match and in no danger of relegation. It’s been a transitional season from the Swans and they changed their manager in the middle of the season with Mick Woods serving as there current manager. There’s been positives for the visitors over the last month such as the 2-2 home draw with Hinckley AFC. Their main issue has been away from home where they have struggled to pick up points to be higher up the table. 13 points from 16 matches is ok but could be better to be challenging for a top half position. Yesterday was a good test to see where the Swans are at against a play off chasing team. The atmosphere around the Trevor Brown Memorial Ground was relaxed and welcoming prior to kick off with both sets of supporters looking forward to the match. It was moved to Boldmere yesterday for a 6pm kick off which gave local supporters the opportunity of a double header of MFL Division One matches. Both teams brought a good number of supporters who added to the atmosphere and made for a good match. Starting Line Ups The starting line up for OJM featured Zach Biggs starting in goal and Callum Nimmo captaining the team from central defence. The formation appeared to be a 4-3-3 with Kosheen Sappelton playing up front and being supported by Zaqib Hussain and Taylor Homer on the wings. There were four changes from the team that played against Cradley Town on Tuesday with Taylor Homer coming into the team and playing on the right hand side of an attacking front three. Stapenhill’s starting line up included Paul Hollis starting in goal and Matt Roome captaining the team from central defence. The formation looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Ben Novis leading the line up front and being supported by Cameron Steele and Ashton Frost on the wings. There were two changes from the team that played against Nuneaton Griff on Easter Monday with Connor Richins coming into the team and playing in an attacking midfield role behind Ben Novis. First Half The opening twenty minutes of the match were fairly scrappy with OJM playing a possession based style and looking to break down a resolute Stapenhill defence which looked well organised. The visitors were looking to draw OJM on to them so they could break on the counterattack and make the most out of the available space to cause the hosts problems. There were not that many chances of note up until the 25th minute when Blake Kindred had a long range shot for OJM that hit the bar for the first real chance of the game. The visitors managed to take the lead slightly against the run of play near the end of the first half when Zach Biggs made a mistake playing out from the back and gifted the ball to Connor Richens on the edge of the box. He showed composure to make the most of the opportunity and produced a classy finish into the bottom right corner to make it 1-0 to Stapenhill in the 40th minute. To the visitor’s credit, they were playing well at the back throughout the first half with Harry Lansdowne having an impressive game and heading dangerous balls out of play for the Swans. The best chance for OJM near the end of the half came from Taylor Homer who did brilliantly to cut inside before having a shot well saved by Paul Hollis in the 44th minute. The visitors were doing well to limit the clear-cut chances and OJM were gradually committing more numbers forward as the half ended which set it up well for the second half. Second Half The second half followed a similar pattern to the first with Stapenhill playing slightly deeper and looking to keep their lead intact. The visitors had an early chance to make it 2-0 and involved a nice passing move where Ashton Frost played a good ball to Jake Meakin whose shot was well saved in the 52nd. OJM were getting more into it as the second half progressed and had a few chances to equalise on the hour mark. Taylor Homer had a good chance at the back post from a header that went wide before Jordan Sangha had a shot well saved by Paul Hollis. As the match went into the later stages it looked like Stapenhill might be getting a statement win against one of the form teams. Jake Meakin was having a solid game for the visitors and was regularly breaking up the play and looking a threat going forward. The defence looked organised enough to see out the match and put pressure on OJM to see if they could get something from it. OJM found an equaliser when it mattered to get back into the match and it was a moment of genuine quality from the hosts. A good ball was played to substitute Kofi Williams on the edge of the box who produced an excellent finish into the top left corner to make it 1-1 with five minutes to go. From there the hosts were pressing for the winner with Stapenhill settling for a point near the end of the match. A brilliant ball into the box by Jordan Sangha found Kosheen Sappleton at the back post whose header went wide. Similar to the match earlier in the day between Smethwick and Wednesfield, it looked like it was heading for a competitive draw before the hosts found a last-minute winner. They scored from a throw into the box which caught Stapenhill off guard and Adam Keough did well to get in between the defender and the goalkeeper before heading into the bottom left corner. It was an excellent finish to a brilliant match between two teams that put in a committed performance yesterday. Fair play to Stapenhill who put up a good fight against a strong OJM side that will be looking to get in the play offs over the next few weeks. The win leaves OJM in 5th with seven matches to play with three of those coming over the next week. Full Time OJM played well in this match and showed character and resiliency to get back into and not let it drift away. As good as the 6-0 win against Paget was last weekend, this result was hard earned and Stapenhill asked questions of OJM which they came through to get the three points. The result adds to their impressive record at home with only two losses from fourteen matches. Callum Nimmo was reliably good at the back and helped OJM settle into the match and get into a passing rhythm. He reads the game well and manages to take the pressure off the hosts. Jordan Sangha had an underrated match and really helped to move the ball along midfield and create chances for the hosts. Taylor Homer made the most out of being called up to the starting line up and looked an attacking threat throughout. It’s a good squad at OJM and it will be interesting to see how they get on over the next few weeks. Stapenhill will feel disappointed not to get something from this match as they looked like getting a draw until the final few minutes. The Swans were well set up and caused OJM problems both in the final third and defensively which made for an entertaining game. They played well and hopefully they can build on the positives of this performance in their remaining matches. FT score: OJM Black Country 2-1 Stapenhill Man of the match: Taylor Homer (OJM Black Country) Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League Diamond Academy were looking to respond to the home defeat to Stourport Swifts last weekend with a result against Stafford Town yesterday morning. It’s a big week for the hosts who are due to play in the challenge bowl against Cadbury Athletic on Tuesday at the Erin Go Bragh based at Holly Lane Sport in Erdington. Stafford Town were looking to get back on track following a tough defeat at home to Leicester Football and Education Academy a few weeks back. Despite being bottom of the division, the visitors have not looked too bad and have impressed at home with five wins from thirteen matches at Evans Park. There main issue has been away from home where they are yet to win from nine matches going into yesterday. The weather was nice around Erdington yesterday morning with the sky being clear and sunny and the windy conditions not fully kicking in until the afternoon. There was a decent turnout of supporters and a commendable number of Stafford Town supporters who made the trip down to Holly Lane for the match. Starting Line Ups Diamond Academy’s starting line up included Issah Ibrahim starting in goal and Mohamed Osman captaining the team from the attacking right hand side. The formation appeared to be a 4-3-3 with Lamin Barrow leading the line up front and being supported by Khye Darlington from attacking midfield. Karoy Williams and Dominic Bennett started in central defence. There were three changes from the team that started against Stourport Swifts last weekend with Ngala Nelly Shey coming into the team and playing in holding midfield. The starting line up for Stafford Town featured Sam Pedley starting in goal and Ben Powell captaining the team from central defence. The formation looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Harley Oscar leading the line up front and being supported by Dan Rotherham and Alfie Mantle on the wings. There were six changes from the team that started against Leicester Football and Education Academy in the Challenge Bowl a few weeks back with Sam Scott coming into the team and playing in holding midfield. First Half The opening stages of the match were fairly scrappy with both teams settling into it and working each other out. Stafford Town started the stronger of the two teams and were looking to take the game to Diamond Academy early on and cause problems in the final third. The visitors scored from their first clear cut chance to take an early lead. It came from an excellent strike on the edge of the box from Sam Scott who found the right-hand corner in the 15th minute to make it 1-0. Stafford Town had the momentum for large spells of the first half following the goal and it took Diamond Academy a while to settle into the match. The visitors were causing a lot of problems down the wings and managed to get a second on the 25th minute. It came from an attacking move down the right-hand side where a good ball into the box found Dan Rotheram whose shot was well saved by Issah Ibrahim before the second ball fell to Harley Oscar who finished well to make it 2-0. Diamond came to life in the last fifteen minutes of the first half and managed to respond to the initial set back of going 2-0 down. It started when Lamin Barrow worked the ball well before having a half chance on the edge of the box for Diamond in the 33rd minute where he fired wide. The hosts showed character in the final few minutes to turn the match around. Mohamed Osman did well to anticipate a defensive mistake at the back by Stafford Town and finished over Sam Pedley to make it 2-1 in the 42nd minute. He then produced an excellent through ball to Lamin Barrow who produced a composed finish into the bottom left corner to make it 2-2 just before half time. The second goal was a moment of genuine quality on the ball by Diamond and arguably the highlight of the match yesterday. It was a brilliant way to comeback from the hosts who have had a tough season in the U21s division, but they showed plenty of character to get back into this match. Second Half The early stages of the second half continued in a similar pattern to how the first half finished with Diamond having some momentum in front of goal and searching for a third goal. Lamin Barrow worked the ball well into the box before having a shot well saved by Sam Pedley in the Stafford Town goal. The visitors had a few half chances to take the lead in the second half with the best of them falling to Sam Scott around the edge of the box where he fired wide. The second half was a bit cagier than the first with the chances in front of goal being more limited. Both teams were well organised off the ball and did well to keep it tight at the back. Dominic Bennett was reading the game well for Diamond Academy and managed to clear dangerous balls into the box for the hosts. Ben Powell was doing a fine job at the back for the visitors and was heading dangerous balls away to prevent chances in front of goal. There was a good chance for Diamond substitute Mustapha Touray in the middle of the second half which was well cleared by the defender to keep it at 2-2. Khye Darlington was sent off in the latter stages of the second half. He picked up a second yellow card for a late challenge which reduced Diamond to ten men to set up a nervy finish. None the less, the chances for Stafford Town were mainly limited to a few shots from distance. The best chance for Stafford Town came at the end when Issah Ibrahim made a mistake playing out from the back and let Sam Scott through on goal to score. The midfielder put his effort off target to see the match finish 2-2. Full Time Diamond Academy played well in this match and caused Stafford Town a few problems. The main positive is how they responded to the 2-0 setback early in the first half and came back to get something out of it. There was plenty of effort and endeavour yesterday from the hosts and they worked hard to get the draw. Ngala Nelly Shey had an underrated match from holding midfield and gave the team that composure on the ball to settle into the match. He also linked up the play well and broke it up effectively when defending off the ball. They might be disappointed with a draw but there’s positives to take for their upcoming matches over the next few weeks. Stafford Town played well and showed character to take the game to Diamond early on and battle for a point. They will feel disappointed not to get the win as they had a great chance at the end of the match to take home the three points. The main thing missing was that final ball to create chances in front of goal, but the effort was there. There was plenty of positives in terms of players stepping up and having good games. Alfie Wright had an underrated game from holding midfield and was linking up the play well and having that composure on the ball to build attacks. Dan Rotherham was also trying to make things happen on the right-hand side and was positive on the ball when going forward. Despite the result, there’s positives both teams can take from yesterday’s match. FT score: Diamond Academy 2-2 Stafford Town Man of the Match: Mohamed Osman (Diamond Academy) Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League |
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March 2024
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