Cadbury Athletic V Boldmere Falcons (Division Two)

​Cadbury Athletic were looking to start the season with a result against newly promoted Boldmere Falcons yesterday. The Chocolate men appointed Dean Guest as their new manager over the summer and moved to Birmingham Moseley Rugby club as their new home ground.

The new Cadbury manager was previously at Hampton and did a brilliant job with them last season. Key players such as defender Jason Albini and midfielder James Mudie have made the move to Cadbury over the last few months. The Solihull side notably secured 5th in division two last season and memorably won the LJ cup against Knowle.

There are also players in the squad who have been with Cadbury over numerous years such as goalkeeper Fraser Oliver, defender Stuart Cooke and Striker Wade Malley who will be looking to impress the new management team this season.  

The new look squad will be looking to challenge at the top end of division two and it’s an exciting time for the club and its supporters.       

It’s also a new dawn at Boldmere Falcons who have been building momentum since the appointment of Jordan Lengthorn as manager. The visitors impressively won division three last season with 76 points and won 25 of their 28 matches to secure promotion to step seven.

There’s a lot of continuity with key players from last season’s squad committing to the club for the challenge of division two. Winger Mouhamadou Kandiaye scored 39 goals last season and will be looking to make the step up in 25/26. Midfielder Shaun Reid and defender Ben Rea have also committed for the new season alongside striker Liam Draper.

It feels like the club is going on an upward trajectory following a couple of challenging seasons prior to last season.  

​Starting line ups

The starting line-up for Cadbury Athletic included Fraser Oliver starting in goal and Stuart Cooke captaining the team at left back. The formation looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Wade Malley leading the line up front and being supported by Luke Benham and Darren Green on the wings.

The starting line up for Boldmere Falcons included Remi James starting in goal and Ben Rea captaining the team at centre back. The formation looked like a 4-1-4-1 with Liam Draper playing up front and being supported by Tyler Wilson and Kyle Lawrence on the wings. 

​First Half

Boldmere started the first half on the front foot and took the game to Cadbury Athletic inside the opening twenty minutes. They were positive on the ball and looked to work the ball down the channels and take players on. The visitors were rewarded when a rebounded shot fell to Tyler Wilson at the back post who produced a composed finish to make it 1-0 early on.

​Cadbury responded well to the setback and threatened from a few corners delivered into the box. They looked dangerous at the back post with Luke Benham not quite connecting with an in-swinging ball which allowed Boldmere to clear the danger.

Wade Malley also looked a threat up front for Cadbury throughout the first half and made some well timed runs off the shoulder to stretch the play. He found some space in the final third before having a looping shot go over the bar on 25 minutes.  

Boldmere were unfazed by the attacking quality of Cadbury and stuck to their principles throughout the first half. Mouhamadou Kandiaye was looking a threat down the left-hand side and helped Boldmere get up the pitch. The visitors were creating chances in front of goal and could have made it 2-0 when Tyler Wilson had a shot which hit the left-hand post on the half hour mark.   

They were well organised off the ball and did a good job of stifling the attacking quality of Cadbury for large spells of the first half. Sean Graver was reading the danger well at the back and stood up to the Cadbury pressure. Owoluohuo Odibu also had a brilliant game from holding midfield and was linking up the play to give Boldmere that out ball. He also helped break up the play.  

Boldmere had another chance to make it 2-0 near the end of the first half when Kyle Lawrence found some space in the box before putting a shot wide with Liam Draper inches away from sending it goalwards.

The visitors settled into the match in the first half and were causing Cadbury problems in and out of possession. They took a surprise 1-0 lead going into the break.

Second half

Cadbury stepped it up in the second half and had a sustained fifteen-minute spell of momentum to trouble the Boldmere goal. They looked a bit more organised and resolute at the back compared to the first half with Jason Albini playing well at centre back and helping the Chocolate men build some pressure in front of goal.

The midfield looked a bit more solid as well with Jack McGinn finding pockets of space to start off attacks. Alex Considine was also helping to shield the back four and did a lot of hard work off the ball to stop Boldmere scoring on the break.

Boldmere stood up to the challenge with Ben Rea having an impressive game at the back and helping to clear the ball away from danger.

There was an unfortunate injury to Sean Graver in the second half which saw Ryan Day moved to centre back and substitute Barry Healey bought on to play in midfield.

The Chocolate men were pressing for an equaliser in the second half and almost found it when James Mudie created some space in the box before having a shot well saved by Remi James at the near post.

Cadbury found the breakthrough on the hour mark and were awarded a penalty when Ryan Day got the wrong side of Jack McGinn and bought him down in the box. Wade Malley stepped up and produced a composed spot kick that found the bottom left corner to make it 1-1.

They pushed on following the equaliser and started to have a control of the match in the middle of the second half.

Shaun Reid struggled to clear a long ball and James Mudie capitalised by winning the ball high up the pitch. He ran into the box before producing a quality finish into the top left corner for 2-1.

Just as it looked like Cadbury were going to see the match out for a huge three points, an unfortunate error at the back allowed Boldmere back into it. A mix up between goalkeeper Fraser Oliver and defender Ashley Maddocks resulted in the latter heading the ball into his own net for 2-2.

The final twenty minutes of the match was evenly matched at 2-2 with both sides looking a threat in front of goal and causing problems in the box. The only thing lacking was that final ball into the box. Cadbury were sending players forward into the box and Boldmere always looked dangerous on the break thanks to the pace of Mouhamadou Kandiaye.

Neither side were able to find a winner and the match finished 2-2 with both sides taking home a point to start the season.

Upcoming fixtures

Cadbury showed character to take home a point in the second half and will be looking to build on yesterday’s match against Lane Head (Wednesday, Away) and Hampton (Saturday, Home) over the next week.

Boldmere were impressive yesterday and will be looking to build on this result with upcoming away matches against Bolehall Swifts (Wednesday) and AFC Solihull (Saturday) over the coming week.               

FT score: Cadbury Athletic 2-2 Boldmere Sports and Social Falcons

Man of the match: Mouhamadou Kandiaye (Boldmere Falcons)

Attendance: 434

Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League