Fairfield Villa V Knowle (Les James Challenge Cup, Final)

​Fairfield were looking to build on their confidence building win in the final of the Worcester Saturday Cup at the weekend with a statement result against Knowle. It’s been a difficult season for the Swans who are bottom of division two and seven points adrift of safety with four matches to go. None the less, they have been good in cup competitions this season and to get to the final of the LJ cup is a brilliant achievement.

Knowle were looking to make it consecutive wins of the LJ Challenge Cup at the Bescot yesterday evening. The Robins have been one of the standout teams in step seven and have been excellent in division two despite probably missing out on the title to Redditch Borough. They beat Hampton in last year’s final and were looking to get a momentum building win to set themselves up for next season.

Fairfield beat the likes of Hampton and Littleton to reach the final with Knowle beating teams such as Alcester Town and Central Ajax to get to the Bescot. 

Yesterday was a brilliant occasion to celebrate step seven football across the West Midlands and having the Les James Challenge Cup final at the Bescot adds to the atmosphere and showcases the league to a wider audience. It felt like a big match with both teams bringing a commendable number of supporters who made the trip up to Walsall. 

​Starting Line Ups

The starting line up for Fairfield Villa included Ben Maxwell starting in goal and Lewis Cosgrove captaining the team from central defence. The formation looked like a 4-5-1 with Samson Omotayo playing up front and being supported by Darren Green and McKenzie Hine on the wings. 

There were six changes from the team that started against Alcester Town a few weeks ago with Jeson Dinanga coming back into the team and playing in midfield.

Knowle’s starting line up featured Craig Johnson starting in goal and George Seeley captaining the team from holding midfield. The formation appeared to be a 4-3-3 with Tom Craine playing up front and being supported by Nathan Corry and Owain Taylor on the wings.

There were two changes from the team that started against Redditch Borough at the weekend with Cody Mullan 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 out where to find the space. Out of the two, Knowle started the better and took the lead in the 11th minute with their first real clear-cut chance of the match. Nathan Corry made an excellent run down the left before squaring the ball to Tom Craine who produced a composed finish into the bottom right corner to make it 1-0 to the Robins.

Knowle were in control of the match in the opening half an hour and limited Fairfield’s momentum in front of goal. The first chance of note for the Swans came in the 29th minute when Ryan Moulton did well to work the ball near the edge of the box before having a shot go narrowly wide of the right-hand post.  

​Fairfield gradually grew into the match as it went on and started to gather some momentum in the final 15 minutes of the first half. They managed to find an equaliser on the half hour mark when Darren Green cut inside down the left before producing an excellent finish that went into the bottom right corner to make it 1-1 going into half time. 

Second Half

The opening stages of the second half were quite cagey with not many clear-cut chances in front of goal. It was testament to how well Fairfield were set up off the ball that they limited the opportunities for Knowle and were in with a shout of causing an upset going into the final half an hour of the match.

There were a few half chances for Fairfield to take the lead when an excellent corner found Lewis Cosgrove at the back post who headed over the bar and Josh Gilmour took a shot from the edge of the box.

Knowle managed to restore their lead in the middle of the second half thanks to a well worked set piece. A free kick delivered into the box caused havoc for Fairfield defensively with Knowle committing a lot of players forward and looking to find a way through. A ball was played across the box and resulted in an unfortunate own goal by Edward Quilty who diverted it into his own net.

It was a shame from a Fairfield point of view as they were genuinely in the match up to that point and causing Knowle some problems going forward. Knowle had an excellent chance to make it 3-1 following their second goal when George Seeley had a shot go wide of the right-hand post.

Alex Knight was sent off for Fairfield in the final stages of the match due to a late challenge and reduced the Swans to ten men which was a huge mountain to climb against a resolute Knowle defence.

Knowle produced a genuine moment of quality to settle the match in the final ten minutes when Nathan Corry beat the offside trap before finishing across Ben Maxwell into the bottom left corner to seal the win for the Robins. From there they managed to see out the match comfortably to make it back-to-back LJ Challenge Cup wins.  

​Full Time

This match was a brilliant advert for step seven football and was entertaining to watch for the neutral. Both teams showed plenty of effort and endeavour which made for a captivating final in front of a notable attendance of 266 at the Bescot yesterday evening.

Fairfield did themselves proud in this match and competed admirably against one of the standout teams at this level over the last few seasons. The most pleasing thing about their performance was how they responded to the early set back of going a goal down and how they made a match of it going into the second half.

Despite the unfortunate own goal, Edward Quilty had an excellent game at left back and looked defensively solid at the back. He was reading the game well and making some crucial blocks to keep Fairfield in the match. Samson Omotayo was excellent as the lone striker and caused Knowle problems defensively and helped Fairfield get up the pitch to build attacks.

Knowle put in a professional performance to get the result and win the LJ Challenge Cup. The Robins produced the quality when it mattered in yesterday’s final and had to work hard for the win against a determined Fairfield side.

​Nathan Corry was the real difference maker in the final for Knowle and settled what was a tight match. He’s got that burst of pace and quality on the ball to create space and cause problems.           

Callum Scott had an underrated match from right back and was reading the game well at the back. He managed to break up promising Fairfield attacks and not allow dangerous balls into the box. Christian McArdle also played well at the back from central defence and was making some big clearances to prevent chances in front of goal.

Overall, it was an excellent occasion yesterday with both teams putting in spirited performances in front of an excellent crowd who contributed to the atmosphere at the Bescot. Knowle can use the win as a building block in challenging for the league next season and Fairfield can use their performance as a cause for optimism in what’s been a challenging season in the league.   

FT score: Fairfield Villa 1-3 Knowle

Man of the match: Nathan Corry (Knowle)

Attendance: 266 

Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League