Castle Vale Town V Gornal (Division Three)

​Castle Vale Town were looking for a result yesterday to cement their position in the top six with three matches to go. It’s been an excellent campaign from the Spitfires who have been competing near the top of the table in division three. They were in 5th with 50 points going into their match against Gornal and were looking to build on their 0-0 draw against local rivals Boldmere Falcons at the weekend.

It's been an encouraging first season competing in step eight for Gornal. Despite their league position of 15th, they have not been too bad this season and have caused a few shocks along the way such as beating Balsall and Berkswell and Leamington Hibernian at home. Their main issue has been away with one point from nine matches going into yesterday.  

The atmosphere around CV stadium prior to kick off was friendly and relaxed with both sets of supporters looking forward to the match. There was an excellent attendance of 95 supporters which was commendable given the late stage of the season. Overall, it feels like Castle Vale Town are going in the right direction with a good amount of local community interest in the club which is a huge positive. 

​Starting Line Ups

The starting line-up for Castle Vale Town included 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 Taurus Zaman being supported by Owen Reynolds in the attacking midfield role.

There were five changes from the team that started against Boldmere Falcons on Saturday with William Case coming into the team and playing on the left of a midfield four.

Gornal’s starting line up featured Tyler Beach starting in goal and captaining the team. The formation looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Raman Mohammed leading the line up front and being supported by Theophilus Yiadom and Jaden Muckley on the wings.

There were three changes from the team that started against Wake Green Amateur on Saturday with Yusuf Wahab coming into the team and playing in central defence alongside Enoch Danso. 

​First Half

The opening 15 minutes of the match were fairly scrappy, and it took a while for the match to get going with both teams settling into it. The conditions were well suited for a passing based style yesterday and both teams were looking to play through the opposition which was easy on the eye and contributed to a free-flowing match.

Castle Vale Town started the match the sharper of the two teams and were looking to take the game to the visitors in the opening stages of the first half. The Spitfires were boosted by a good atmosphere from the main stand at CV stadium which helped them build some momentum in front of goal in search of the opener.  

Jordan McKenzie had a few good chances to open the scoring for Castle Vale Town in the opening 25 minutes. He had a shot well saved by Tyler Beach in the 13th minute alongside having a shot go over the bar from a promising position in the box in the 24th minute.        

The best clear-cut chance for the Spitfires came in the 33rd minute when Owen Reynolds was free in the box and had an excellent chance to score. His shot was instinctively saved by Tyler Beach to keep it goalless and allow the visitors a way of building into the match.

To Gornal’s credit they dug in throughout the first half and dealt with a lot of the Castle Vale Town pressure well. They took the lead on the counterattack in the 41st minute and played quick and incisive football to make it 1-0. A good ball was played down the left which found Theophilus Yiadom who accelerated with the ball into the box before squaring it to Jaden Muckley who finished well.

The momentum was with Gornal for the last 15 minutes of the first half and they were in the ascendancy and looking to make it 2-0 going into half time. They had a chance from a passing move that was similar to the first goal with Theophilus Yiadom getting into the box and crossing the ball to Jaden Muckley who fired wide in the 45th minute.

​Second Half

The visitors had a good chance at the start of the second half to make it 2-0 with Jaden Muckley playing a good ball to Devante Warner who fired wide from a good position in the 46th minute. The tactical set up of Gornal was causing Castle Vale Town a few problems and they were looking to make things happen out on the wings.  

A defensive mix up at the back allowed Jordan McKenzie to go through on goal where he was one on one with Tyler Beach. The prolific forward produced a composed finish into the bottom left corner to make it 1-1 in the 49th minute and get the Spitfires back into it.  

The match was evenly balanced at 1-1 with Castle Vale Town showing promise in front of goal and Gornal looking dangerous on the counterattack. Jaden Muckley was excellent out on the right wing for the visitors and was a real attacking threat going forward. Alongside looking to beat his man he also played some brilliant balls into the box for the visitors.

Castle Vale Town took the lead through a moment of quality to make it 2-1 in the 68th minute. A good ball into the box found Joshua Pitters in the box who produced an excellent flick on to set up Tarus Zaman who finished well into the right corner. It was a composed finish and underlined why Castle Vale Town are having such a good season with that quality in front of goal standing out.

The final twenty minutes of the match were nervy with Castle Town looking to see the match out and Gornal searching for an equaliser and building some pressure in front of goal. The best chance for Gornal came when substitute Elias Ibrahim cut inside before firing wide in the 80th minute.

Castle Vale Town did well to stand up to the Gornal pressure throughout the second half. Luke Evans made a good tactical substitution with Leadun Dunlevy coming on and solidifying the midfield. He did an excellent job of tracking back and shielded the defence well to limit the chances in front.

The Spitfires made it 3-1 late on to settle the match and the goal came from a well worked corner into the box in the 90th minute. A well delivered ball into the centre of the box found substitute Abdoullah Kchikech who headed past Tyler Beach.

It was a well-earned result for Castle Vale Town yesterday and their 7th home win of the season.

Full Time

Castle Vale Town played well yesterday, and the main positive was how they were creating chances in front of goal with Jordan McKenzie getting into some excellent positions around the box. They also did well to see the match out against a dangerous Gornal team who looked capable of getting an equaliser in the second half.

Luke Smith was reliably good at the back and regularly cleared the ball out of danger. Daniel Wyatt also had an underrated game and dealt with the attacking threats of Jaden Muckley and Salifu Jabbi well on the left of the defence.

Gornal played well yesterday and looked a lot better than their league position would suggest. There were signs of quality both on and off the ball with a lot of players standing out and putting in a good performance. Yusuf Wahab had an underrated game at the back and made some key blocks and headers to keep them in the game.

The refereeing team also had a good game and went a bit under the radar. Katrina Pritchard did a good job as the main referee and kept the match flowing throughout the afternoon.     

Overall, it was an entertaining match yesterday at CV stadium and a good advert for division three.           

FT score: Castle Vale Town 3-1 Gornal

Attendance: 95

Man of the Match: Daniel Wyatt (Castle Vale Town)  

Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League