AFC Coventry Rangers 2-1 Coventrians AFC Coventry Rangers continued their excellent home form with another win at the Coventry Technical Sporting club on Saturday. The result makes it nine wins from ten home matches for the hosts and leaves them in 4th. They have been one of the best teams at home in step seven over the last few seasons with just two losses from 25 matches. A good crowd of 80 supporters turned up at the weekend to watch AFC Coventry Rangers get the three points. Coventrians took a surprise lead in the first half through a deflected strike in the 17th minute to go into the HT break with a 1-0 advantage. AFC Coventry Rangers responded in the second half and managed to get two late goals in the final twenty minutes. An own goal and a late effort by Curtis Cutts sealed the win for the hosts. Coventrians competed well in this match which was encouraging. The main aim between now and May will be to stay in the division and finish above the bottom two. They currently have a four-point gap over Bolehall in 15th. Alcester Town 1-1 Birmingham United Alcester Town managed to get a draw against Birmingham United at Stratford Road on Saturday. This was a tight contest between two quality sides near the top and there was not much to separate them. The result makes it four games unbeaten for the Romans and continues Birmingham United’s good form with 13 points from their last six matches. The visitors managed to take the lead in the first half through prolific forward Urio Hijambazapo who has scored 12 goals in all competitions this season. Alcester responded in the second half and found an equaliser through an effort by Jake Wicketts to make it 1-1 at full time. It’s a good point for both teams who have had positives seasons in division two and are comfortably in the top five. Cadbury Athletic 3-1 Coventry Alvis Cadbury Athletic got a crucial win against Coventry Alvis at the Bournville Recreation ground at the weekend to avoid being dragged into a late season relegation battle. There’s now an eight-point gap between the Chocolate Men and the bottom two and a few more wins should be enough to stay up over the next month. An excellent crowd of 252 supporters turned up on Saturday to watch Cadbury get their third home win of the season. It was a brilliant occasion for Cadbury with £1,300 raised for Oly Yorke and his family on the day which took the total donations up to over £27,000. A brace from Daniel Martin-White and a solo effort from Nigel Hinkulow gave Cadbury the win. The visitors managed to score what turned out to be a consolation goal in the second half to make it 3-1 at full time. Coventry Alvis are having a solid season at step seven and are competing for a top half finish between now and the end of the season. Central Ajax 2-2 Knowle Central Ajax got a draw against league leaders Knowle at Ajax Park on Saturday for one of the standout results at step seven over the weekend. It’s an excellent result for the hosts who have adjusted to life in division two well since coming up from division three last season. Their now six points better off than the bottom two and will be looking for a few more wins to stay up over the next month. A good crowd of 60 supporters turned up to watch the entertaining draw in Warwickshire. Lewis Kuster scored early in the first half for the hosts before the Robins responded with a goal from Lewis Clarke to make it 1-1 at half time. Central Ajax goalkeeper Nathan Taylor produced a brilliant penalty save to keep it at 1-1 in the first half. The second half saw a lot of chances in front of goal and continued where the first half left off. Adam Taylor scored early on to make it 2-1 to Central Ajax before Knowle responded and found an equaliser through substitute George Seeley to make it 2-2 at full time. It’s a battling point away from home for Knowle and extends their unbeaten run to seven matches. They might have lost a bit of ground to Redditch Borough, but they have an opportunity to play them next weekend and put pressure on their remaining games in hand. The visitors also have a big match in the semi-finals of the LJ Challenge Cup on the 13th of April and play Central Ajax at home which could be brilliant based on this match. Hampton 2-1 Littleton Hampton got a momentum building win against relegation battlers Littleton to cement their position in the top half of the table. It’s all about getting on a run of form for the hosts in the build up to their LJ Challenge cup semi final against Fairfield Villa on the 13th of April. They have been strong at home throughout the season with seven wins from eleven matches. It’s Hampton’s 10th win of the season in division two and leaves them in 6th and only four points off the top five. The visitors took the lead early in the first half thanks to an effort by James Batchelor in the 12th minute. Hampton found an equaliser a couple of minutes later through a free kick that was delivered into the box to make it 1-1 at half time. The hosts managed to score through a corner on the hour mark to make it 2-1 and held on for the three points. The best chance for Littleton to get an equaliser in the second half fell to Ben Cowlishaw who rounded the keeper before having a shot go wide. It’s another match that Littleton competed well in which is encouraging. The Tonboys were reduced to ten men for large parts of it with Dan Cottrill being sent off in the first half. The visitors are not too far adrift of safety and only three points off Fairfield Villa in 14th. Round up feature written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League Bolehall were looking to build on their huge win against Central Ajax in mid-week with a result against Fairfield Villa at Rene Road yesterday afternoon. The Swifts are in a battle to stay at step seven for the remainder of the season and are looking to continue their home form to get them out of danger. They had won four out seven home games prior to yesterday. Fairfield were looking to get a result yesterday to create some distance between themselves and the bottom two. The Swans have done well in both the LJ cup and the Worcester Saturday Cup but have struggled in the league and were close to the relegation zone going into yesterday. A notable area where they struggled had been away with just one point from seven matches going into this match. The atmosphere around Rene Road was positive and relaxed prior to kick off and the weather held out for a huge relegation six pointer yesterday afternoon. Fairfield brought a commendable number of supporters who made the trip up to Tamworth for the match. The pitch looked in good condition and the weather was mainly windy with the odd bit of rain throughout the afternoon. The ground is an excellent location for casual groundhoppers to visit across the West Midlands and is accessible to get to by public transport. Supporters can get the number 5 from Victoria Road interchange in Tamworth Town Centre and get off at Ferrers Road. It’s only a five-minute walk to the ground and well worth a visit with an excellent view of the pitch and an eye-catching main stand. Starting Line Ups Bolehall’s starting line up included Greg Lewis starting in goal and Lewis Miller captaining the team from central defence. The formation appeared to be a 4-2-3-1 with Toby Hulland leading the line up front and being supported by Oscar Jackson and Jordan Hunt on the wings. There was only one change from the team that started against Central Ajax in mid-week with Toby Hulland coming into the line up and playing as the main striker. Fairfield’s starting line up featured Ben Maxwell starting in goal and Lewis Cosgrove captaining the team from central defence. The formation looked like a 5-3-2 with a front two of Shadai Mbi and Darren Green being supported by Jeson Dinanga in the number ten role. There were three changes from the team that played against Bolehall Swifts a few weeks ago with Ryan Moulton coming into the line up and playing in holding midfield. First Half The opening fifteen minutes were mainly scrappy with both teams settling into the match and working out where to find the space. Out of the two, Fairfield started the brighter and were looking to make things happen in the final third early on. Their best chance to take the lead in the early stages fell to Jeson Dinanga who had a good strike from the edge of the box hit the far post. It was a warning sign to Bolehall and a statement of intent from the visitors in the opening 15 minutes. The visitors made their early pressure count in the middle of the first half and were rewarded with a penalty when Lewis Miller got the wrong side of Darren Green before fouling him in the box for a spot kick. It was a clever run off the ball from Darren Green who created the space to leave the Bolehall defence stretched. Finlay Gaynor took a composed penalty into the bottom left corner to make it 1-0 to Fairfield on the 26th minute. To Bolehall’s credit they responded to the goal excellently and showed a lot of character and resiliency to get back into the match at the end of the first half. The Swifts were struggling to create notable chances in front of goal in the opening half an hour and were mostly reduced to half chances from around the box. This changed in the last ten minutes and Bolehall started to look a threat in the final third. The hosts had an excellent ten-minute spell and were linking up the play well and taking the game to Fairfield. Their first clear cut chance came following an excellent passing move which resulted in Jordan Hunt having an effort go wide in the box on the 43rd minute. It was a quality move from Bolehall and involved a lot of intricate passing through the thirds. Bolehall managed to find an equaliser near the end of the half to make it 1-1. An excellent ball into the box by Louie Barrett found Connor Thompson who headed the ball in at the near post for the equaliser. It was a clever move from Bolehall and came from a second ball from a corner routine. Second Half Bolehall continued the momentum they had at the end of the first half and built on it to take the lead early on. Oscar Jackson managed to steal the ball high up the pitch and accelerated into the box before squaring it to Toby Hulland who finished well into the bottom left corner. Both of the goals yesterday showed that the Swifts have quality on the ball despite their league position which is encouraging. Fairfield had a good chance to get an equaliser a few minutes later with Darren Green having an effort from the edge of the box go wide. The match was fairly even throughout the opening 15 minutes of the second half and both teams were having moments in front of goal. Bolehall had an excellent chance to make it 3-1 with Reece Beacon having a shot go over the bar following a second ball into the box from a corner. The final half an hour was cagey with Bolehall looking to see the match out and Fairfield pushing for an equaliser, and it made for an entertaining but nervy finish to the match. The best chance for an equaliser came from substitute McKenzie Hine who had a shot well saved by Greg Lewis in the Swifts goal in the 72nd minute. To the host’s credit they dug in for the remaining half an hour and managed to see it out for a huge three points. It puts them level on points with Fairfield and with a game in hand over the Swans. Full time It was a team effort from Bolehall yesterday which was the most pleasing thing about the result for the Tamworth club. They looked resolute off the ball to limit the Fairfield chances and showed quality on the ball to create key chances and score goals. There was a lot of effort and character on show yesterday from the hosts in their bid to stay up. Reece Beacon was brilliant at the back for the Swifts and read the game well from defence. He made some crucial interceptions and clearances to prevent Fairfield getting through on goal. Another player who stood out was Scott Goodby who was excellent from holding midfield. He offered that composure on the ball to help Bolehall settle into the match and was linking up the play well. Fairfield were decent in this match despite the result and were looking to make things happen in front of goal. Most of the time it was just that final ball that was missing rather than any lack of effort. It speaks to the strength of the league as both teams showed flashes of quality yesterday despite their league positions. Edward Quilty looked good at the back and was making some big clearances as part of a back three. Ryan Moulton played well from holding midfield and was linking up the play well to help the visitors get into the match. Shadai Mbi also looked promising up front and was making things happen in the final third. Overall, it’s not a lost cause for Fairfield and their more than capable of staying up. FT score: Bolehall Swifts 2-1 Fairfield Villa Man of the match: Reece Beacon (Bolehall Swifts) Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League |
MFLThe official news channel of the Midland Football League (founded 2014) Archives
February 2025
Categories |