BNJS V Gornal (Division Three)

​BNJS hosted Gornal yesterday evening at the Hadley Stadium in Smethwick looking for a result to kickstart their season in division three. It’s been a challenging start so far for the hosts with three consecutive losses coming into this one. Their best result so far was arguably the narrow loss to Castle Vale Town where they competed well before losing 3-2 to the Spitfires.

Gornal were also looking for a result to kickstart their season at step eight. The visitors had been prolific in front of goal coming into this one with eight goals scored from two matches in the league. Their main problem was at the back with 14 goals conceded against the likes of Feckenham and Continental Star where they lost 7-6 to the latter to open the season.

Hadley Stadium is a good ground for the level and the pitch looked brilliant. There’s a main stand which offers a good view of the action, and the atmosphere is welcoming and down to earth. It feels like an old school non-league ground with an athletics track around the pitch. There was a decent turnout of supporters for a mid-week match on a Wednesday evening.

The ground is accessible to get to by public transport and supporters can get on the 82 Platinum from Birmingham City Centre and get off at the Hadley Stadium stop. The bus stops right outside the ground and comes fairly regularly which makes it straightforward in terms of travelling. It’s well worth going to a match if you’ve got a free Saturday.      

​Starting Line Ups

The starting line up for BNJS included Henrique Da Silva starting in goal and Darryl Barnett captaining the team from central defence. The formation looked like a 3-4-3 with a front two of Nathan McBean and Alex Obi being supported by Roman Gayle in attacking midfield.

There were four changes from the team that started against Solihull Sporting at the weekend with Williams Oguntona coming into the team and playing as part of a back three.

The starting line up for Gornal featured Ashkon Larmour starting in goal and Raman Mohammed captaining the team from the left side of midfield. The formation appeared to be a 3-2-4-1 with Ben Stanley playing as the main striker up front and being supported by Jack Allen and Theo Boakye-Yiadom from attacking midfield.

There were four changes from the team that started against Feckenham at the weekend with Jaden Muckley coming into the team and playing on the right-hand side of midfield. 

First Half

Gornal got off to a brilliant start and took the game to BNJS early on to settle into the match. The visitors played a nice brand of possession football that was easy on the eye and looked to work the ball into the box. Ben Stanley was holding up the play well as the main striker and bringing players into the game to get Gornal up the pitch. He had a few half chances in the box in the opening stages.

​The visitors took the lead in the 18th minute when Prince Agyemang was free in the box. He took up a good position at the back post and finished well into the top right corner to make it 1-0.

A few minutes later it was 2-0 to Gornal when Ben Stanley linked up the play in the final third and got a shot off that was rebounded to Jack Allen who tapped the ball in. It was positive play from the visitors who were looking to commit players forward.

Gornal were passing the ball around well throughout the first half and they played a good style of football under manager Matt Thompson. Prince Agyemang was getting on the ball a lot from midfield and moved the ball well across the pitch to help set up attacks.

The chances for BNJS were fairly limited with the back three of Gornal looking solid at the back. Elias Myers stood out as part of a back three and was regularly making some good clearances to break up the player for the visitors.

The best chance for the hosts in the first half came when a long ball forward found Nathan McBean who made a good run off the shoulder to be through on goal with just the last man and the goalkeeper to beat. He went down near the edge of the box and the linesman decided not to give a foul.

A few minutes later Gornal went up the other end and scored to make it 3-0. A free flowing attacking move resulted in the ball being played down the right-hand side where Jaden Muckley was free in the box before finishing well to give the visitors a bit of daylight over BNJS in the 36th minute.

Roman Gayle was sent off at the end of the first half for a second yellow card following a challenge on Raman Mohammed that reduced BNJS to ten men.

Not long after the referee blew for half time with Gornal leading 3-0 at the break.

Second Half

Gornal continued where they left at the start of the second half with another goal to make it 4-0 after 49 minutes. Theo Boakye-Yiadom got into some space around the box and produced a quality finish into the top left corner to make it 4-0 and effectively seal the match.

BNJS had a guilt edged chance to reduce the deficit on the hour mark when an inviting ball was played to Alex Obi in the box who fired wide.

Despite the scoreline, the hosts had some threats they can build on for their upcoming matches and the effort was there throughout the ninety minutes. The pace of David Jawara stood out on the left-hand side where he beat a few players and Nathan McBean looked promising as the main striker up front and was holding it up well.

None the less, the visitors were in control and scored another goal in the second half when Raman Mohammed capitalised on a second ball from a corner delivered into the box and finished well into the bottom right corner to make it 5-0 with twenty minutes to go.

BNJS kept going despite being down to ten men with a few players going a bit under the radar. Randy Sarpong played well from holding midfield and gave the hosts that composure on the ball to build attacks. Williams Oguntona also looked good on the right-hand side of a back three.

There’s a lot of things to build on for BNJS despite this match getting away from them yesterday.

Gornal made it 6-0 late on when Jaden Muckley made a good run into the box before producing a composed finish. The visitors have that attacking quality in the final third with 14 goals scored from their last three league matches.

The most pleasing thing for Gornal was how good they looked at the back in this match. Ishtiaque Rashid impressed from defensive midfield and gave Gornal that stability throughout the match alongside getting on the ball and linking up the play well. He played in a rotating role between defence and midfield and acted as a defensive shield off the ball to limit the chances for BNJS.

The visitors saw the match out in the final stages to get their first three points of the season.

It was a brilliant team performance from Gornal and gives them something to build on for their upcoming matches against the likes of Solihull Sporting and Kenilworth Sporting.

BNJS had a tough day at the office but there’s signs of a good team if they can get it all to click. They will be looking to bounce back with upcoming matches against AFC Birmingham and Feckenham.           

FT score: BNJS 0-6 Gornal

Man of the Match: Jaden Muckley (Gornal)

Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League