Atherstone Town V Darlaston Town (Premier Division)

​Atherstone were looking for a result yesterday afternoon to keep their play off push on track. It’s been a brilliant few months for the Adders with an uptick in form since the appointment of Mitch Thomson in December. They were one of the form teams going into this match with four consecutive wins to leave them only three points off the play offs.

Darlaston were also looking for a result to aid their play off chances. The Citizens have been consistent throughout the season with only five losses from 23 matches to leave them only a point off the top five going into yesterday. They were also in a good run of form with ten points from their last five matches prior to this one.

Both clubs have made strides in the MFL over the last few years. They were both promoted from Division One back in the 21-22 season and are now challenging for the play offs at step five which is encouraging.       

Sheepy Road is a brilliant ground to visit for casuals groundhoppers across the West Midlands. It’s full of character and has a good atmosphere with the supporters being close to the pitch. It can be accessed by getting on the 65-bus route from either Tamworth or Nuneaton and getting off at the Sheepy Road stop for a two-minute walk to the ground. 

​Starting Line Ups

Atherstone’s starting line up included Finn Osborn starting in goal and Ryan Quinn captaining the team from midfield. The formation appeared to be a 5-3-2 with a front two of Lewis Collins and Jamie Spiers being supported by Gabe Webster in the attacking midfield role.

There were four changes from the team that started against Whitchurch in mid-week with Jack Wells coming into the team and playing as part of a back three alongside Jacob Shilton and Callum Rudd.

The starting line up for Darlaston featured Tom Allsopp starting in goal and Alexander Foreshaw captaining the team from central defence. The formation looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Kieron Miller playing up front and being supported by Rivel Mardenborough and Aaron Bishop on the wings.

There were two changes from the team that started against Shifnal Town a few weeks back with Rivel Mardenborough coming into the team and playing on the right wing. 

First Half

Atherstone started the match brightly in the opening 20 minutes and took the game to Darlaston Town. The front two of Lewis Collins and Jamie Spiers were impressing and causing the Darlaston backline problems. Lewis Collins had a good chance in the first few minutes at the near post which was a sign of things to come.

The Adders managed to take the lead a few moments later with Lewis Collins making a brilliant run into the box and producing a composed finish into the bottom left corner to make it 1-0.  

Darlaston had a few half chances to get back into the match in the opening stages of the first half following the goal with the best chance falling to Aaron Bishop who had a shot hit the cross bar for the visitors.

Atherstone were playing a possession-based style in the first half and looking to work the ball down the channels and into the box to cause Darlaston problems. Having a front two was a positive tactical set up with the movement off the ball creating space to build attacks. The visitors were mainly playing on the counterattack in the opening half hour and gradually grew into the match as it went on.

Following a neat passage of play by Atherstone the ball fell to Gabe Webster on the edge of the box who worked the ball into a shooting position before having a shot well saved by Tom Allsopp in the Darlaston goal. This was arguably the best chance the Adders had to make it 2-0 before a sending off changed the complexion of the game.

Callum Rudd was sent off in the 35th minute for a high tackle on Aaron Bishop near the halfway line which reduced Atherstone to ten men for the rest of the match. It was a shame for the hosts as they were building a run of momentum and playing well up to that point. To their credit they managed to see the first half out to go into the break 1-0 up.

Second Half

Darlaston took advantage of the man advantage early in the second half and found an equaliser to make it 1-1. Rivel Mardenborough got into a good pocket of space down the right and accelerated with the ball before squaring it to Aaron Bishop who scored into the bottom left corner.

The pattern of the second half was the opposite of the opening 45 minutes with Darlaston playing an effective possession style looking to break down a resolute Atherstone Town defence. The hosts were mainly playing on the counterattack and looking to play off the shoulder.

Even though Darlaston had a degree of control over the match, Atherstone still looked dangerous on the counterattack and were causing the visitors a number of problems. Lewis Collins was holding up the ball well and bringing players into the game to build attacks in front of goal. Jamie Spiers also did well and provided the team with an attacking impetus in the final third.

The Adders managed to make it 2-1 in the middle of the second half and Jamie Spiers headed the ball into the net following an excellent ball into the box. It was a brilliant response to conceding the equaliser. The hosts kept on going despite the situation which was a real positive yesterday.

Darlaston Town managed to show character of their own to going a goal down and found an equaliser a few minutes later to make it 2-2. They worked the ball well down the right-hand side and put the ball into the box at pace which was put into the net by Jacob Shilton for an own goal.

It was unfortunate on Atherstone but to Darlaston’s credit they were passing the ball well and finding the space in the second half. Ryan Winwood was excellent from holding midfield and regularly picked out passes to cause Atherstone problems alongside having a sense of composure on the ball to build attacks.    

The visitors had the best chance to win it late on. They worked the ball into the box before Jake Pearson had a shot on goal well blocked by Jacob Shilton to go the wrong side of the post.    

Atherstone managed to see the match out to get a valuable point against one of their rivals for the play offs. Jacob Shilton and Jack Wells did well at the back following the red card for Callum Rudd and stepped up to the Darlaston pressure in the second half and dealt with it well.

Full Time

Atherstone played well yesterday and were ultimately undone by an unfortunate sending off rather than any defensive lapses. They will feel slightly disappointed with the draw, but it shows how far they’ve come. A point against play off chasing Darlaston is a good result with eleven men so to be close to getting the three points with ten men is encouraging for the Adders.  

The front two really stood out yesterday and how they linked up the play to give Atherstone an attacking outlet in the final third. Lewis Collins and Jamie Spiers were good up front and were getting into some good positions in the box which was promising.

Darlaston were good in this match and put in a reliable performance to get something out of it. There’s quality throughout the team and one area that can go under the radar is the backline which came to the rescue yesterday against Atherstone. Alexander Foreshaw and Ben Podmore were brilliant at the back and regularly cleared balls away to give the visitors a foothold in the match.

Rivel Mardenborough also looked threatening down the right and stood out in the second half for the visitors going forward. Having that quality on the ball could be key in tight matches down the stretch.      

FT score: Atherstone Town 2-2 Darlaston Town

Man of the Match: Jamie Spiers (Atherstone Town)

Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League