Castle Vale Town were looking for a statement result against promotion chasing Wake Green Amateur yesterday afternoon. It’s been another good season for the Spitfires in division three and they were sitting in 7th going into this match. They had five consecutive wins earlier in the season and were looking to build on last weekend’s 3-3 draw with Meadow Park.   

Wake Green Amateur have been one of the most consistent teams in division three over the last few seasons with consecutive top six finishes over the last two years. The visitors were dark horses for a promotion push and had two games in hand over 2nd placed Silhill with an eight-point gap to make up.

A key strength of Wake Green Amateur this season has been their defensive record which is one of the best in the league with only 22 goals conceded from 14 matches going into this one.

​Storm Bert was causing havoc yesterday with a lot of non-league fixtures getting postponed across the non-league pyramid. This was one of the few matches that went ahead thanks to the 3G pitch and there’s a main stand at CV stadium to shield supporters from the rain. 

Starting line ups

The starting line up for Castle Vale Town included Joel Chadwick starting in goal and Jordan McKenzie captaining the team up front. The formation looked like a 3-5-2 with a front two of Tarus Zaman and Jordan McKenzie being supported by Will Case in attacking midfield.

There were two changes from their match against Meadow Park last weekend with Tarus Zaman coming back into the team.

Wake Green’s starting line up included Joe Beale starting in goal and Nathaniel Percival captaining the team on the wing. The formation looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Xavi Moore leading the line up front and being supported by Nathaniel Percival and Harry Prew on the wings.

There were four changes from their last league match against Meadow Park a few weeks back with Sam Lloyd coming into the team and playing in holding midfield alongside Farzam Taghavi. 

​First Half

The opening stages of the match were cagey with both teams working each other out and looking at where to find the space. Wake Green had an early chance when Nathaniel Percival found some space in the box before firing wide from a good position.

​A defensive mix up at the back by Castle Vale resulted in the opening goal in the 19th minute. The Spitfires were struggling to clear the ball away from danger and getting deeper in their own half before Joel Chadwick deflected a pass into the goal. It was unfortunate as they were moving the ball well in the early stages of the first half with Leadun Dunlevy building attacks from midfield.     

Wake Green gradually grew into the match as the first half went on and started to build some momentum in front of goal. Josh Crampton had a volley from the right side of the box go wide of the far post in the 20th minute.

The visitors were doing a good job off the ball to limit the space available to Castle Vale. Lewis Percival was reading the danger well at centre back and helping to clear the ball out of play.

Wake Green were on the front foot on the half hour mark and looking to make it 2-0 going into the half time break. They looked a threat in the final third and Xavi Moore was doing a good job of pressing high up the pitch to keep the pressure on Castle Vale when playing out from the back.

Harry Prew played a looping ball to Josh Crampton down the left-hand side who was through on goal before firing wide. Xavi Moore also put a header wide of the near post from a well worked corner routine.

There were some good last ditch defending by Luke Smith to keep Castle Vale in the match in the latter stages of the first half. He made an inspired run from centre back and beat a few players before running through on goal and getting a shot off that was saved by Joe Beale in the Wake Green goal.

The pressure from Wake Green eventually told and they made it 2-0 in the closing stages of the first half. A well delivered corner by Nathaniel Percival found Xavi Moore who was free at the front post. He made no mistake and headed into the top left corner for the visitors.

Not long after the referee blew for half time with Wake Green leading at the break.

Second Half

Castle Vale Town had an early chance to reduce the deficit in the early stages of the second half when Luke Smith found some space at the back post before putting his header wide from a corner.

The Spitfires were building some momentum on the hour mark with Josh Pitters and Idris Oyeniyi looking a threat down the wings and making things happen.

Wake Green stood up to the pressure well and looked organised defensively. Dan Dineen was reading the game well at centre back and heading the ball away from danger to cut out a lot of promising attacks. Ben Loose also defended well at right-back and was tough to beat to get crosses into the box.

The chances were limited throughout the second half with both teams cancelling each other out until the final ten minutes.

Jamal Ismail came on for Wake Green in the middle of the second half and did a good job of tracking back from holding midfield to break up the play.

The best chance for Castle Vale came late on when Jordan McKenzie found some space from a second ball into the box before firing straight at Joe Beale.

The Spitfires had a few half chances in front of goal yesterday and on a different day could have got a point from this match.

Joel Chadwick got caught playing out from the back in stoppage time with Josh Crampton running through on goal and finishing well into the bottom right corner to make it 3-0.

Not long after the referee blew for the full-time whistle with Wake Green continuing their unbeaten away record in division three.

Upcoming Fixtures

Castle Vale Town have a run of home fixtures coming up over the next month with three of their next four matches taking place at CV Stadium. They play Gornal (Home) next weekend before matches against Leamington Hibernian (Home), Gornal (Away) and Continental Star (Home).

The Spitfires are well worth checking out for supporters across the Birmingham area and play a good brand of attacking football. Having a 3G pitch helps them beat the weather at this time of year.

Wake Green Amateur are a team in form in division three with three consecutive wins. The Solihull side will be looking to challenge for that second promotion spot in the coming months against the likes of Silhill and Kenilworth Sporting in a competitive division.

Their upcoming fixtures include AFC Birmingham (Home), Solihull Sporting (Away) and BNJS (Home). Similar to Castle Vale, the visitors are well worth checking out for supporters in and around the Solihull area and play a positive brand of football.                          

FT score: Castle Vale Town 0-3 Wake Green Amateur

Man of the Match: Xavi Moore (Wake Green Amateur)

Attendance: 50

Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League 

​Stone Old Alleynians were looking to continue their impressive start to the season with a win against AFC Wulfrunians yesterday. The Staffordshire side had been one of the surprise teams in the premier division so far and were sitting in 5th with eight wins and three draws from 15 matches. A key part of their success was their home form with five wins from six matches.   

AFC Wulfrunians are building something under new manager John Griffiths who had a lot of success at Wednesfield last season in MFL Division One where he guided them to a 6th place finish. The visitors had grown into the season and were going a bit under the radar prior to yesterday with two consecutive wins in the league.

The atmosphere at the Lyme Valley Stadium was friendly and welcoming with the facilities impressive for the level. There was an inviting clubhouse and despite some showers earlier in the day the pitch looked brilliant. The programme on offer was good value for money and included a history of both sides along with an update on Stone’s season so far.

It’s an accessible ground to visit by public transport. Supporters can get on the 101 bus from Stafford to Hanley before getting off near the Orange Tree stop for a 17-minute walk to the stadium. It’s well worth a visit for groundhoppers across the Staffordshire area and there’s a bit of character to the Lyme Valley Stadium to make it stand out. 

​Starting line ups

The starting line up for Stone Old Alleynians included Raajan Gill starting in goal and Matt Thomas captaining the team from centre back. The formation looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Harry Minshall leading the line up front and being supported by Sam Bowater and Oliver Griffiths down the wings.

There were two changes from their match against Brocton last weekend with Harry Minshall coming into the team and replacing Jack Tomlinson up front.

AFC Wulfrunians’ starting line up included Sam Arnold starting in goal and Jake Lloyd captaining the team from holding midfield. The formation looked like a 4-4-2 (Diamond) with a front two of Freddie Cockerell and Ashani Pryce up front being supported by Jake Webb from attacking midfield.

There were four changes from their match against Wolverhampton Casuals last weekend with Zack Kourouyianni coming into the team and playing at centre back alongside Brad Lawley. 

​First Half

Stone Old Alleynians started the match positively and almost took the lead in the opening few minutes when Oliver Griffiths found some space on the left of the box before having a shot well saved by Sam Arnold.

AFC Wulfrunians managed to see out the early pressure from Stone and were able to settle into the match thanks to the defending of Jake Lloyd in holding midfield who was doing well to break up the play. He acted as a defensive shield for the back four and was regularly closing down the space.  

​The Wulfs looked organised both on and off the ball and took the lead in the 13th minute thanks to a moment of quality. Ashanti Pryce beat a few players down the right-hand side before squaring it to Jake Webb who produced a quality finish into the top left corner to make it 1-0.    

There was an injury to Brad Lawley following the goal with Joe Prosser filling in at centre back for the rest of the match.

Stone were defending well throughout the first half with Luke Askey reading the danger well and managing to clear the ball away from the box. There’s quality on the ball with Sam Bowater looking a threat down the right-hand side and Tom Thorley linking up the play from holding midfield.

They were building some momentum in the middle of the first half and threatening from set pieces.  

Stone found the breakthrough and were given a penalty when a foul on Luke Askey resulted in a spot kick following a second ball into the box from a corner. Matt Thomas stepped up and took a composed penalty into the bottom left corner to make it 1-1 after 26 minutes.

​AFC Wulfrunians had a good chance to retake the lead when Jay Holdcroft had a free kick from the edge of the box go over the bar. Ashanti Pryce also looked a threat for the visitors and was making things happen in the final third.  

Stone stepped up to the pressure from AFC Wulfrunians well in the closing stages of the first half with Matt Thomas putting in some good blocks and Josh Goodwin doing well to break up the play from holding midfield.

It was an even first half with both teams offering a threat and looking well organised defensively.       

Second Half

The visitors started the second half brightly and managed to take the lead when a good cross into the box found Curtis Cocking at the back post who headed into the bottom right corner to make it 2-1.

The chances in front of goal were more limited in the second half with Stone having more of the ball and looking to break down a resolute AFC Wulfrunians defence. The visitors were looking to sit back and catch Stone out on the break thanks to the pace of Ashanti Pryce and Freddie Cockerell.

Zack Kourouyianni was reading the game well at centre back and managed to clear the danger for AFC Wulfrunians. He impressed for Tividale last season and looks a good signing by the visitors.  

Joe Prosser also filled in admirably following the injury to Brad Lawley and was managing to win the ball back throughout the second half.

Stone had some late chances to find an equaliser when Josh Sedgley got into a promising position on the edge of the box before firing wide of the left-hand post.

AFC Wulfrunians almost scored a few minutes later when a counterattack saw substitute Timmy Oyanda bend a curling shot over the right-hand post in the 79th minute.

The visitors were reduced to ten men in the closing stages of the second half when Craig Tuckley was sent off for kicking the ball away with ten minutes to go.

Stone were applying the pressure and committing players forward in search of the equaliser throughout the final few minutes and deep into stoppage time. The best chance fell to Josh Goodwin who was free in the box following a good ball from Harry Minshall. His shot was instinctively saved by Sam Arnold who managed to push it away from goal.

Not long after the referee blew for the full-time whistle with AFC Wulfrunians getting a momentum building win.

Full Time

Stone played well yesterday and were close to getting something from this match. The only thing missing was that final ball into the box to trouble the AFC Wulfrunians defence, but the effort was there, and they showed character to keep going in the second half.

They looked well organised defensively with both Luke Askey and Matt Thomas impressing at centre back and giving Stone a foothold in the match. There’s also an attacking threat thanks to Sam Bowater and substitute Kacper Mikulski on the wings. 

Their upcoming league fixtures include Atherstone Town (Home) on the 30th of November before playing Studley (Away) and Uttoxeter (Home) at the start of December.

AFC Wulfrunians were impressive in this match and took the game to Stone Old Alleynians. They stepped up well to the pressure from Stone with Jake Lloyd having a brilliant game from holding midfield and helping to protect the back four. Zack Kourouyianni also played well at centre back and looks a good addition to the squad.

Their upcoming league fixtures include 1874 Northwich (Away), Uttoxeter Town (Home) and OJM Black Country (Away).         

FT score: Stone Old Alleynians 1-2 AFC Wulfrunians

Man of the match: Jake Lloyd (AFC Wulfrunians)

Attendance: 65

Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League