​Earlswood Town V Coventry Alvis

Earlswood have struggled recently in the league with four points from their last six matches. The Earls are in 7th with 17 points from 11 matches and well clear of any relegation worries. The squad could do with a result over the next few weeks to get back on track and aim for a top half finish come the end of the season.

Their home record has been ok at the Pavilions with just two losses from five matches. The club is coming off a 6-0 loss at AFC Coventry Rangers last weekend in the Birmingham Saturday Vase and could do with a win tomorrow to give the squad a bit of confidence.

Dan Elwell departing the club to join Knowle is a big loss up front with six goals scored in the league.  On a positive, the signing of Tommy Black from Balsall and Berkswell might help tighten up the defence over the next few weeks. He impressed at the Hornets in division three and is an astute signing by Earlswood.           

Coventry Alvis have been good in MFL Division Two and are comfortably in mid table. The Tankmen are in 8th with 16 points from 12 matches. Their away form has been good with three wins from six matches in the league. Their coming off a win in the Birmingham Saturday Vase last weekend where they beat Tipton Town on penalties.

The visitors have struggled in the league recently with three consecutive losses. Similar to Earlswood, they could do with a result to restore a bit of confidence and aim for a top half finish come the end of the season. 

Hampton V Coventrians

Hampton have been good in MFL Division Two this season and have competed well in a tough division. The Solihull club are in 6th with 19 points from 11 matches and are back playing at Field Lane following the clubhouse fire earlier in the season. Their recent league form is good with 9 points from their last five matches.

Their home record has been excellent with three wins from four matches in division two. Ciaran Lawless is a player to watch with eight goals from 11 league matches.

Coventrians have grown into the season since coming up from division three. Following a bit of a slow start, they have picked up 11 points from their last six matches to climb into mid table. The visitors are in 11th with 13 points from 11 matches. It’s been an excellent turnaround to move clear of the relegation zone. They are now five points clear of Lane Head in 15th.

The club’s main problem has been their away form with just one win from seven matches. Romano Graham is a player to watch who has impressed with four goals from 10 matches.         

Lane Head V Cadbury Athletic

Lane Head have had a tough season in MFL Division Two. None the less, they have played well over the last few weeks to give themselves a chance of staying up. Their currently in 15th with 8 points from 12 matches. One of the positives is having three games in hand over Inkberrow in 14th who have 10 points.

Their home form is going to have to improve to stay up with just one win from six matches. Goalscoring at home has also been an issue with just six goals scored compared to 12 on the road. Joshua Lewis a player to watch for the hosts who has stood out with seven goals from 11 matches.     

The Walsall club enter a crucial stretch in the league with games against Coventrians (Away), Inkberrow (Home) and Littleton (Away) over the next month.

Cadbury have played well this season and are comfortably in mid table. The Chocolate men are in 10th with 14 points from 12 matches.  Their away form has been good with three wins from seven matches. They also have a bit of breathing room over the relegation places with a six-point gap over Lane Head in 15th.

Their standout result away from home this season is the 3-0 away win at Redditch Borough in October. Callum Devlin has impressed up front with eight goals from nine league matches.     

Redditch Borough V Bolehall Swifts

Redditch Borough have played well in MFL Division Two and are near the top of the table. The hosts are in 4th with 26 points from 11 matches and have been excellent at home with five wins from six matches. The Borough have 13 points from their last six matches and are competing for the title alongside the likes of Knowle in division two.

James Ward is a player to watch for Redditch who has 10 goals from nine league matches.

Bolehall have had a challenging season in MFL Division Two and are involved in a battle to stay in the league. The Swifts are in 13th with 10 points from 12 matches and two points clear of the relegation places.

The two main issues for the Tamworth based club this season has been goalscoring and their away record. The Swifts have struggled up front with 13 goals scored and the retirement of David Yonwin up front is a bit of a blow. They also have just one point from six matches on the road and could do with the odd win away.

None the less, it’s going to be a tough test tomorrow at Redditch. The win against Solihull Sporting last weekend in the Birmingham Vase will hopefully give the squad a bit of confidence.      

Birmingham United V Knowle (Kick off Saturday, 3pm)

Birmingham United have done well in MFL Division Two this season and are near the top of the table. The Redditch based club are in 2nd with 29 points from 16 matches and play Knowle this weekend in a top of the table clash at the Trico Stadium.

The majority of the club’s matches have been away from home so far with 12 matches on the road to just four at home.

The hosts have 12 points from their last six matches and their home record is ok with two wins from four matches. Connor Doyle is a player to watch who has impressed since joining from Earlswood Town and scored a brace in the 5-1 win against Inkberrow a few weeks back.  

Knowle have been one of the standout teams in step seven of the national league pyramid this season. The Robins are top of the league with 34 points from 13 matches and have the best defence in division two with just six goals conceded.

The visitors were excellent last season and finished in 3rd with 65 points from 30 matches. At this stage last season they had 23 points from 12 matches. This shows how far the club has come.

The strike partnership of Jay Rendell and Tom Crane has stood out for the visitors with 19 goals scored in the league so far. 

Overall, it’s been impressive by the Solihull club. It’s just a case of keeping the standards high and being consistent to win the division come the end of the season.       

All matches kick off on Saturday at 2pm except where noted.

Preview feature written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League

​Congleton Town 2-0 Romulus

Congleton continued their brilliant form at Booth Street with a huge win against Romulus on Saturday afternoon. An excellent crowd of 550 supporters turned up to watch the Bears open a crucial six-point gap at the top of the table.

Carl Dickinson opened the scoring for the hosts in the 26th minute to take a 1-0 lead going into halftime. Max McCarthy made it 2-0 early in the second half and scored in the 61st minute to seal the three points. The win makes it seven wins from seven matches at home in the league for Congleton.

The Cheshire club have been one of the standout teams in step five so far this season. They play Lincoln United away in the third round of the FA Vase on the 2nd December before a crucial stretch in the league between the 16th December to the 6th January where they play five matches.  

Despite the loss, Romulus are still in the play off hunt and are only three points off Darlaston Town in 5th. The Roms are next in league action away at Darlaston Town on the 2nd December and have plenty of the season left to narrow the gap. They are currently in 8th with 21 points from 15 matches.     

Darlaston Town 3-2 Dudley Town

A last-minute penalty from James Rowland gave Darlaston Town the win against Dudley Town in front an excellent crowd of 220 supporters at the Paycare Stadium. The win keeps the citizens in the mix for the play offs, and their currently in 5th with 24 points from 13 matches.

The match was eventful and involved a lot of quality from both teams to make for a thrilling contest. James Rowland scored in the middle of the first half to give Darlaston the lead and capitalised on a Rivel Mardenborough shot that was blocked to make it 1-0.

The Robins found an equaliser later in the first half from a quality free kick routine. Harry Crook took it and found Connor Archer who scored from a header to make it 1-1.

Darlaston managed to re-take the lead a few minutes later with Aaron Bishop beating his man and finishing well from 18 yards out. Harry Crook was fouled for a penalty for Dudley in the second half. Dan Danks was on hand to convert the penalty to make it 2-2.

An unfortunate handball by Lewis Mitchell late on gave Darlaston a penalty which was well taken by James Rowland to give the Citizens the three points. To compound matters for the Robins, Lewis Mitchell was also sent off by receiving a second yellow card for the handball. 

The result was tough on Dudley Town who competed well and showed a lot of character in the second half to get back into the match. Despite being in 17th with five points from 13 matches, Dudley are capable of staying up and have been a bit unlucky in a few of their matches so far.         

Stourport Swifts 1-1 Lichfield City

Stourport continued their unbeaten record at home with a 1-1 draw against an in-form Lichfield City at Walshes Meadow. A notable crowd of 157 supporters turned up on Saturday to watch two play off chasing teams battle it out in a tight contest.

Benjamin Tilbury gave the swifts the lead in the middle of the second half and scored in the 65th minute. Stourport were close to sealing an impressive win against Lichfield before the visitors responded through a late goal in the 90th minute. Full back Lewi Burnside got into a good position at the back post before finishing well to make it 1-1 at full time.

The result makes it nine games unbeaten for Lichfield and underlines why they have been so good in the division this season. The visitors are in 2nd with 29 points from 14 matches and have two games in hand over Congleton.

Stourport are just outside the play offs. The Swifts are in 7th with 23 points from 13 matches. It’s been a really good season so far from the Worcestershire club in both the league and the FA Vase. Their through to the third round and play Eastwood Community away from home.         

Uttoxeter Town 1-0 AFC Wulfrunians

Uttoxeter got a brilliant win against AFC Wulfrunians at the Oldfield Sports Ground to continue their recent run of form in the league. Tom Thorley scored late on in the 88th minute to give the Staffordshire side the three points and continue their push for the play offs.

They have picked up 10 points from their last six matches and are currently on a run of three consecutive wins. The club have gone a bit under the radar within the division but are in 6th with 24 points from 14 matches and level on points with Darlaston in 5th. A key part of their success has been their home record with just one loss from seven matches.

Despite the loss, AFC Wulfrunians are not out of the play-off chase and only four points off Darlaston in 5th. The Wulfs are 10th with 20 points from 16 matches and have shown moments of quality this season.    

Round up feature written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League