Premier Division Lichfield City V Darlaston Town Overview Lichfield City and Darlaston Town meet at the Trade Tyre Community Stadium tomorrow afternoon for a place in step four. It’s a huge match for both teams who are 90 minutes away from being promoted from the MFL. Both Lichfield and Darlaston have been excellent this season and come into this match with some confidence. Lichfield beat Highgate United and Darlaston beat Stourport Swifts in the semi-finals last weekend. Lichfield City The big talking point for Lichfield is how their going to replace prolific forward Dan Smith who suffered an unfortunate injury in the semi-final. It was a shame as he was playing excellently before going down near the end of the first half. Demetri Brown came in for Lichfield’s top scorer and looked promising in the final third. It will be interesting to see how they get on and if they start Demetri Brown as the central striker. There would have been a few training sessions to adjust to the situation in preparation for the final. Jack Edwards and Liam Kirton have looked threatening on the wings and caused problems last weekend which is a huge positive. Jordan Clement stood out in midfield in the semi-final and is a key player for Lichfield in their push for promotion. He’s played in a number of roles this season and has been either a number ten or holding midfielder. Dominic Lewis also impressed from midfield in last Saturday’s play-off win against Highgate United. It’s been solid at the back for the Staffordshire side with Jamie Elkes playing well in central defence and clearing dangerous balls into the box. He’s been excellent and started 36 games for Lichfield. An underrated part of Lichfield’s success is James Beeson in goal who made a crucial save in the first half last weekend to not allow Highgate back into the match. He’s been ever present with 48 starts in all competitions for the hosts. Darlaston Town Darlaston go into the final with a lot of confidence and are one of the form teams in step five with eight consecutive wins going into this match. Dean Gil has done a brilliant job as manager, and they have clicked at the right time of the season to be a match away from promotion. The main concern going into the play offs was the injury to attacking player James Rowland. The Citizens coped well last weekend against Stourport Swifts and were able to create chances in the final third. The visitors have been clever in their recruitment this season with the signing of Tom Allsopp a huge positive in their play-off push. He’s emerged as one of the best keepers in the MFL over the last few months and will be going into the final with confidence following his success with Trooper FC in the FA Sunday cup final last weekend. Darlaston were coming off seven clean sheets going into the play offs, and they have an excellent defence. Alexander Foreshaw and Ben Podmore have impressed at the back throughout the season and helped the visitors settle into matches. Between them they’ve got 70 starts for Darlaston and been ever present at the back. There’s quality up front with Aaron Bishop causing a lot of problems in the final third. He’s got 21 goals this season in all competitions and will be looking to make an impact tomorrow. There’s also quality on the bench with Kieron Miller being used as a substitute of late and making an impact with his hold up play and how he brings players into the game. A key strength of the visitors has been the ability to soak up the pressure and play on the break. It’s going to be interesting to see how the final plays out tomorrow between two evenly matched teams. Division One OJM Black Country V Droitwich Spa Overview OJM Black Country and Droitwich Spa meet at the Triplex Sports Association in kings Norton tomorrow afternoon for a place in step five. It’s a crucial game for both teams who will be looking for promotion out of MFL Division One and are only 90 minutes away from play-off success. Both teams come into it with some confidence following their semi-finals wins last weekend. OJM sealed their place in the final with a clinical 2-0 win against Ingles with Droitwich Spa travelling to Allscott Heath and winning 3-1 to get to the final. OJM Black Country OJM have been brilliant to watch this season in division one and play an eye catching brand of football under manager Adam Younis and like to work the ball into the box to create opportunities. When they get into a passing rhythm and have got momentum it’s brilliant to watch for the neutral and OJM supporters and involves neat passing moves into the final third and building from the back. A key strength of OJM has been at the back with the best goals conceded record in division one with just 40 league goals conceded across the course of 38 matches. Callum Nimmo has impressed in central defence and reads the game well to take the pressure off OJM and help them settle into matches. He’s been ever present with 38 starts in all competitions. There’s quality in midfield with Liam Spink and Jordan Sangha playing well and linking up the play to build attacks. They both have that technical quality on the ball to start off attacks for OJM and have been key to their success this season. There’s a lot of attacking options up front with Taylor Homer impressing on the wing and Kosheen Sappelton looking good up front as the main striker. The most pleasing thing about OJM is having that composure in the box to take chances which has seen them near the top of the league. Droitwich Spa Droitwich have got experience in the play offs which could serve them well tomorrow afternoon. They just lost out in the division one play off final last season to Ashby Ivanhoe who went up to the UCL Premier North and that experience is huge going into this weekend. A lot of the squad from that final are still at Droitwich with the likes of James Lemon, Alex Dugmore and Cory Rudd providing that experience and leadership for the Saltmen. The visitors have been one of the standout teams at this level over the last few seasons and will be looking to get promoted to make it two promotions in three seasons. Connor Collins has been a key attacking threat up front with 24 goals in all competitions. The Saltmen have got a loyal and passionate following which will help them in this match and create a good atmosphere for the team. Momentum is huge in one off play off matches and if the visitors can get on a run of form, they could cause OJM numerous problems going forward. Similar to the play off final in the premier division, this is quite an even match between two quality teams who have been near the top of the table throughout the campaign. Preview feature written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League Congleton Town were looking to make it a league and cup double yesterday evening against Highgate United at the Bescot Stadium. It’s been an excellent season for the Bears in step five who won the MFL Premier with a total of 81 points and suffered only three league defeats all season. The main concern for the Cheshire side was if they might be a bit rusty with their last game being on the 16th of April. Highgate have also had a brilliant season at step five and made the play offs in the premier division before losing out to Lichfield City in the semi finals last weekend. The Solihull club have been competing near the top of the table all season and have been competitive at this level down the years. Congleton knocked out league rivals Lichfield City and also beat Shifnal Town and Whitchurch Alport to reach the final. Highgate notably beat Division One champions Hinckley AFC on penalties alongside beating the likes of Tividale and Droitwich Spa to get to the final. The atmosphere prior to kick off was excellent with Congleton bringing a committed away following who made the trip down to Walsall. Highgate bought a fair number of supporters as well and the turnout for both MFL finals has been encouraging this week. Starting Line Ups The starting line up for Congleton Town included David Parton starting in goal and Darren Chadwick captaining the team from central defence. The formation looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Brian Barton leading the line up front and being supported by George Sankey and Max McCarthy on the wings. There were two changes from the team that started against Tividale in their last league match of the season with Daniel Needham coming back into the line-up and playing in the number ten role. Highgate United’s starting line up featured Reece Francis starting in goal and Nathan Pulisciano captaining the team from left back. The formation appeared to be a 4-2-3-1 with Ryan Harkin leading the line up front and being supported by Charlie Shaw and Corey Currithers on the wings. There were three changes from the team that started against Lichfield City in the play-off semi-final with Chris Cox coming into the team and playing in central defence alongside Aaron Brown. First Half The match got off to a good start and Congleton started on the front foot in the opening stages. Brian Barton made an excellent run into the box before passing to Peter Williams who scuffed his shot at Reece Francis in the Highgate goal. None the less, it was a statement of intent from the Bears and showed they were up for it straight away. Highgate responded with a quality move of their own with Ryan Harkin getting into a good position in the final third before laying the ball off to Corey Currithers who had a shot go over the bar. It suggested the final would be evenly balanced with Congleton having a degree of control over it but Highgate looking threatening on the break to cause problems. Congleton found another gear a few minutes after the half hour mark and managed to take the lead to make it 1-0. Peter Williams made a brilliant run down the left before playing a looping cross to the back post that found Max McCarthy who produced a clinical finish for the opening goal of the final. Highgate’s best chance to find an equaliser near the end of the first half came when Charlie Shaw had a shot well blocked by Darren Chadwick in the box to keep it at 1-0 to Congleton going into half time. Second Half Highgate had a decent chance to get an equaliser at the start of the second half when Josh O’Grady played an accurate ball into Aaron Brown who fired wide inside the box. Congleton responded and got a second goal a few minutes later to take control of the final. Peter Williams played a composed ball into the box that found Brian Barton who produced an excellent finish into the bottom left corner to make it 2-0. Highgate got a goal back when Ryan Harkin made an inspired run down the left before cutting inside and finishing low into the bottom right corner to make it 2-1. The Bears responded in the middle of the second half and Max McCarthy capitalised on a defensive mistake at the back from Highgate and accelerated with the ball into the box before finishing across Reece Francis to make it 3-1. This was crucial and effectively settled the match with 25 minutes to go. Congleton showed their class in the final stages of the match and scored two further goals with their fourth coming from substitute Daniel Cocks who was free in the box before finishing well. Fellow substitute Thomas Hampton made a good run off the ball for the fifth goal and produced a quality finish to wrap up the win. The Cheshire side saw the match out well in the final twenty minutes and it was a moment to celebrate for Bears fans at the final whistle. Full Time It’s been a great season for Congleton Town at step five and they’ve deservedly gone up to step four as league champions. To do the league and cup double at any level is an incredible achievement and the manner of the victory yesterday was top draw with the Chesire side putting in a professional performance to lift the league cup. The most pleasing thing about their performance yesterday was how clinical they were in front of goal. They were creating a good number of chances against a decent Highgate United defence and had that composure to settle the match in the second half. When Congleton were transferred to the MFL last summer from the Northwest Counties League they were up for the challenge and have impressed to be one of the standout teams at this level. The consistency of results and the huge attendances the Bears get has added to what’s been a memorable season for the club. In terms of the squad, a lot of players put in reliable performances yesterday with Peter Williams being excellent from holding midfield. Alongside helping the Bears settle into matches he’s got that quality on the ball to create chances and he’s been one of the standout midfielders in the premier division this season. Marco Fregapane also had an underrated match from right back and looked defensively solid and blocked balls into the box. Darren Chadwick was brilliant at the back and reads the game well from central defence. He made a huge block at the end of the first half and manages to take the pressure off Congleton defensively. Highgate competed well in this match despite the scoreline and just fell short to a team that are having a great season. It’s been an interesting week for the Gate, and they’ve tested themselves against the likes of Lichfield and Congleton. The main aim going into next season is building on the positives of what’s been a good season at step five. In both of the matches for Highgate over the last week, Ryan Harkin has looked dangerous on the ball and is a key attacking threat for the team. His hold up play and quality on the ball is excellent and he can make the difference in tight matches. The goal he scored early in the second half stood out in what was a memorable final yesterday. Overall, this was a brilliant final to watch and a good showcase for step five football. The day belonged to Congleton Town and the loyal following they’ve built up has been brilliant to see over the last few years. It was one of the atmospheres of the season alongside the play off semi-finals last weekend and it will be interesting to see how both teams get on next season. FT score: Congleton Town 5-1 Highgate United Man of the match: Peter Williams (Congleton Town) Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League |
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March 2024
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