Castle Vale Town V Boldmere Falcons (Division Three)

​Castle Vale Town were looking for a result yesterday afternoon to cement their position in the top six. The Spitfires have been one of the stories of division three this season. The hosts have managed to turnaround what was a difficult campaign last time around to be competing near the top of the table this year.

Boldmere Falcons are currently transitioning to a new coaching set up with Jordan Lengthorn being appointed as their new manager in early December. It’s all about building for next season for the Falcons and the 2-2 draw with Silhill last weekend was an encouraging result for the visitors.

The atmosphere around CV Stadium was mainly friendly and relaxed prior to kick off with both sets of supporters looking forward to the match. A lot of the matches around the MFL were postponed yesterday due to the challenging weather conditions and the 4G pitch came to good use to get the match on.

The ground is accessible to get to by public transport. It can be visited by taking the 67 bus from Priory Queensway and stopping at St Athan Croft in Castle Vale where it’s only a short walk to the stadium. One of the main positives of the set up at CV stadium is the view of the pitch which is excellent from the main stand.               

​Starting Line Ups

The Starting line up for Castle Vale Town featured Alex Bowen starting in goal and Jordan McKenzie captaining the team up front. The formation appeared to be a 3-4-3 with a front two of Jordan McKenzie and Tarus Zaman being supported by Leadun Dunlevy further back.

There was one change from the team that started against DSC United last weekend with Daniel Wyatt coming into the team and playing in central defence as part of a back three.   

Boldmere Falcons’ starting line up included Jimmy Griffiths starting in goal and Alex Spencer captaining the team from central defence. The formation looked like a 3-4-3 with a front two of Ryan McFadden and Dale Huckfield being supported by Mouhamadou Kandiaye further back.

There was one change from the team that started against Silhill last weekend with Ross Clarke coming into the team and playing in midfield. 

​First Half

The opening fifteen minutes were eventful and involved a lot of chances in front of goal for both teams in what was an open match. Jordan McKenzie had an early chance for Castle Vale where he beat his man before accelerating into the box and having a shot go over the bar in the 7th minute.

Tarus Zaman also had a good chance where he got into a good position in the box before having a shot well saved by Jimmy Griffiths in the 10th minute.

Dale Huckfield looked a threat for Boldmere and was getting into some promising positions around the box in the opening 15 minutes.

The match settled down for 25 minutes in the first half with both teams looking well organised off the ball and doing well to limit the chances in front of goal. Ryan Day was excellent for Boldmere Falcons at the back and stood out in the first half with the amount of clearances he made to take the pressure off the visitors.

The Falcons had the best chances of the first half to take the lead late on. Ryan McFadden had a good chance before firing wide in the 40th minute. The best chance came to Marvelous Omoregie who fired wide following a good ball into the box from Jarrell Kirnon in the 43rd minute.

Both teams looked promising on the ball with the only thing missing being the final ball to unlock the defence.     

Second Half

The second half was an excellent watch for the neutral and involved a lot of attacking action in front of goal. A lot of local derby matches tend to be tight with both teams cancelling each other out and resulting in a scrappy match. This was not the case with this match, and it really came to life in the second half.

Castle Vale Town managed to take the lead early in the second half in the 50th minute. A good ball into the box found Tarus Zaman who produced an excellent finish into the bottom left corner to give the Spitfires the lead. The movement off the ball and the anticipation in the box made the goal with Tarus Zaman continuing his recent run of form and showing composure in the box to make it 1-0.

Boldmere Falcons showed a lot of character to get back in it a few moments later. A counter attacking move of genuine quality gave the visitors an equaliser to make it 1-1 in the 57th minute. Marvelous Omoregie made an inspired run down the left where he beat his man before shooting past Alex Bowen into the far corner of the net.

The equaliser also reflected the balance of play with not much separating the two teams.  

Leadun Dunlevy was fouled in the box following a corner which resulted in a Castle Vale penalty. Jordan Evans took the resulting spot kick and finished well into the bottom left corner to make it 2-1 in the 67th minute.

The visitors showed a lot of resiliency to get back into it in the last twenty minutes. The Falcons were passing the ball around well throughout midfield and were looking dangerous in the final third in the later stages of the second half.

Substitute Christopher Uwabor was excellent in the second half for Boldmere since coming off the bench and was regularly building attacks from midfield just behind the strikers. He played an excellent ball to Ryan McFadden in the box who finished well into the bottom right corner to make it 2-2 in the 70th minute.

This was a match decided by fine margins and both teams had the chances to win it in the final stages.

Boldmere Falcons had an excellent chance to take the lead when Christopher Uwabor's header struck the post from a corner. A few minutes later, a moment of quality decided the match. Idris Oyeniyi made an excellent run down the left and cut inside before unleashing an excellent shot that went into the bottom left corner to give Castle Vale Town the three points.

Not long after, the referee blew for the full-time whistle with the Spitfires getting their 4th home win of the season.         

Full Time

This was an excellent match yesterday and a brilliant advert for division three.

Both teams like to get the ball forward and play a positive brand of attacking football. The quality on the ball stood out yesterday with a lot of good passing moves which made it an engaging watch.

Boldmere Falcons will feel disappointed not to get something from this match. They played well throughout the 90 minutes and were mainly undone by moments of quality from Castle Vale Town rather than anything they did wrong. The effort and character was certainly there by the Falcons yesterday who looked up for the derby.

It was a good team performance from the visitors against the Spitfires. Shaun Reid had an underrated game from midfield and was linking up the play well for the Falcons so they could get a foothold in the match, especially in the first half. Marvelous Omoregie was excellent on the left and made things happen on the wings.

Castle Vale Town were excellent in this match and produced the quality when it mattered to get the win. Luke Smith was reliably good at the back and read the game well in central defence to reduce the chances for the visitors. Leadun Dunlevy was also linking up the play well from attacking midfield and gave the team some momentum when building attacks.

Daniel Wyatt also had an underrated game at the back and made some crucial last-ditch tackles to stop the Falcons getting through on goal.  

Overall, it was a classic derby match yesterday from division three.       

FT score: Castle Vale Town 3-2 Boldmere Falcons

Man of the Match: Idris Oyeniyi (Castle Vale Town)

Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League