Gornal V Wake Green Amateur (Division Three)

​Gornal were looking to cause an upset against promotion chasing Wake Green Amateur at the Wombourne leisure centre yesterday. They notably beat Castle Vale Town a few months ago and pushed Wake Green Amateur in the reverse fixture before losing 3-2 at the Holloway.    

Despite four straight losses coming into yesterday, they are a brilliant team to watch when it all clicks and can be a match for most teams in division three. Manager Matt Thompson has put together a competitive squad that can give teams a game on their day.   

Wake Green Amateur were one of the form teams in division three with nine consecutive wins under manager Scott Ward. The Solihull side have been building at this level over the last couple of seasons with consistent finishes of 5th (22/23) and 6th (23/24).

It’s shaping up to be an exciting end to the season for the supporters with Wake Green competing for a top two finish alongside challenging for the Birmingham Saturday Vase.

They have a better goal difference to Silhill in 2nd and a few games in hand to move level on points with them. There’s a crucial home game coming up against unbeaten Boldmere Falcons which could go a long way in deciding the promotion race.

They also play Coventry Phoenix on the 15th of March in the semi-finals of the Saturday Vase which is a good chance to get to the final where they will play either Hampton or Central Ajax.  

Starting line ups

The starting line-up for Gornal included Ashkon Larmour starting in goal and Raman Mohammed captaining the team from the right side of midfield. The formation looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Logan Muckley leading the line up front and being supported by Raman Mohammed and Theo Yiadom on the wings.

There were four changes from their league match against AFC Birmingham last weekend with Elias Myers coming into the team and playing at left back.

The starting line up for Wake Green Amateur included Joe Beale starting in goal and Dan Dineen captaining the team at centre back. The formation looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Ashley Smith playing up front and being supported by Damian Kelly and Harry Prew on the wings.

There were six changes from their cup match against Crown Coldfield Rangers last weekend with Jamal Ismail coming into the team and playing in holding midfield. 

​First Half

Gornal started the match well and took a surprise lead within the opening few minutes. Theo Yiadom made a brilliant run down the left-hand side where he beat a few players before getting into the box and squaring it for Jantay Wellington who finished into the right corner to make it 1-0. It was a brilliant move that showed what Gornal are capable of when it clicks in front of goal.

​Wake Green had a guilt edged chance to make it 1-1 a few minutes later when Josh Crampton found some space in the box before dragging his shot wide of the right-hand post.

Gornal were working hard off the ball to keep the visitors at bay inside the opening twenty minutes. Jaden Muckley was working hard to break up the play and offered quality on the ball to build attacks. Elia Myers also impressed from left back and was reading the danger well to stop Wake Green getting through on goal.

The visitors always posed an attacking threat thanks to the quality of players such as Ashley Smith who was doing well to hold up the play and bring players into the game.

There’s a lot of experience and leadership in the Wake Green squad which helped them settle into the match at 1-0 down. Dan Dineen was playing well at centre back and gave them that assurance off the ball.

The Solihull side were starting to build some momentum after 25 minutes and putting pressure on the Gornal goal.

A player who went under the radar for the visitors was Jamal Ismail who was working hard off the ball to win the midfield battle. He was constantly breaking up promising Gornal attacks and winning the ball back to give Wake Green a platform to build from.

The visitors found a crucial equaliser to make it 1-1 when he capitalised on a loose ball in the box before finishing into the right corner.  

Not long after Wake Green made it 2-1 thanks to an unfortunate mistake at the back from Gornal. Esley Liwala got caught playing on the ball and Josh Crampton was on hand to finish across Ashkon Lamour into the bottom left corner.  

​The goals kept coming for the visitors and they made it 3-1 thanks to a moment of quality. Ashley Smith received the ball before laying it off to Josh Crampton who produced a chipped finish into the top left corner.

Any hopes of a Gornal comeback were dashed near the end of the first half when Wake Green were given a penalty for a foul in the box. Damian Kelly stepped up and took a composed spot kick into the bottom right corner for 4-1.

The visitors were brilliant in the final twenty minutes of the first half and clinical in front of goal to have a three-goal lead going into the break.

Second Half

The visitors kept their form going at the start of the second half and found a fifth when Damian Kelly produced a quality finish into the bottom right corner to make it 5-1.

Gornal kept going throughout the second half and showed character to keep going in search of some positives to take from the match. They created some decent half chances in front of goal with the best one falling to substitute Ellias Ibrahim who put a header over the bar from a free kick into the box.

Logan Muckley also had some chances in and around the box which is something to build on. He made some good runs and looked a threat but couldn’t quite test Joe Beale in the Wake Green goal.  

​Damian Kelly impressed for the visitors throughout the second half and showed his quality in front of goal. He beat a few players down the right-hand side before squaring it to Josh Crampton who fired wide.

He scored a quickfire brace near the end of the second half to benefit the visitors’ goal difference which could prove pivotal in a close promotion race. The first goal involved a volley at the back post where he found the bottom left corner.

He cut inside before calmly finishing into the bottom right corner for the second goal to make it 7-1.   

Not long after the referee blew for the full-time whistle with Wake Green getting their tenth consecutive win in division three.  

Full Time

Wake Green showed their quality yesterday against Gornal and having that consistency in terms of performances and results can go a long way in non-league football.

Their upcoming fixtures include home games against Solihull Sporting and Boldmere Falcons over the next few weeks. There’s also an away semi final game against Coventry Phoenix in the Birmingham Saturday Vase in the middle of next month.

Gornal will feel disappointed with the result, but they came up against a quality side and caused them some problems in the opening half an hour.

There are still positives to take with the likes of Enoch Danso and Elias Myers impressing at the back. Jaden Muckley also has that quality from midfield to build attacks and Logan Muckley looks promising up front.

Their upcoming fixtures include Silhill (Away) and AFC Birmingham (Home) which is a good opportunity for the squad to test themselves against tough opposition.

FT score: Gornal 1-7 Wake Green Amateur

Man of the match: Damian Kelly (Wake Green Amateur)

Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League