Knowle V Alcester Town (Les James Challenge Cup)

​Knowle were looking to get a result yesterday afternoon at the Robins Nest to continue their recent impressive record in the Les James Challenge Cup. The Robins were going into this cup tie as the defending champions and were set up for a tough test against Alcester Town.   

A big strength of Knowle’s season so far had been their home form where they had lost just once from thirteen matches in both the league and LJ cup coming into this match.

Alcester Town have been excellent in MFL Division Two this season and are part of the current top five. The Romans are one of the standout teams in Division Two and their away form was encouraging for a potential upset yesterday with four wins from six league matches.

The atmosphere around the Robins Nest was friendly and welcoming with excellent clubhouse facilities and a nice set up. It’s a brilliant ground to visit for local groundhoppers across the West Midlands. It can be accessed by getting on either the 87 or 88 bus from Solihull Station, getting off at Lodge Road and walking down Hampton Road to the ground. 

​The programme on offer by the club was brilliant and informative. It provided information on Knowle and what their looking to achieve in the future such as plans for a new ground. It was well put together and provided a bit of background information on both clubs prior to kick off. 

Starting Line Ups

Knowle’s starting line up included Bobby Biddle starting in goal and Christian McArdle captaining the team from central defence. The formation looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Jay Rendell leading the line up front and being supported by Khalil Harrison and Jack Mullen on the wings.

There were four changes from the team that started against Fairfield Villa a few weeks ago with Joe Riddiford coming into the team and playing at left back.

The starting line up for Alcester Town featured Jordan Elder starting in goal and Ricardo Richards captaining the team up front. The formation appeared to be a 3-4-3 with a front two of Odane Barnes and Ricardo Richards being supported by Chris Dyson in the attacking midfield role.

There were four changes from the team that started against Redditch Borough last weekend with Tristan Roberts coming into the team and starting as part of a back three.     

First Half

Knowle started the match brightly and took the initiative in the early stages of the first half. The Robins were creating some good chances around the final third in the opening 30 minutes. Jack Mullen had a good opportunity at the far post with his header going just wide of the bar in the 7th minute.

Khalil Harrison also played an excellent ball over the top that found Jack Mullen who worked the ball well in the box before having a shot well saved by Jordan Elder in the 27th minute.

Knowle were threatening the Alcester goal with the only thing missing being that composure in the box to take the chances. None the less, the fact they were creating them was encouraging.   

To the visitor’s credit they were well organised off the ball in the first half and did well to limit the chances in front of goal. Alcester Town’s back three were doing an excellent job of tracking runners and blocking shots to get a foothold in the match. Anthony Miller and Tristan Roberts were reading the game well at the back and managing to cut out Knowle attacks.

The Romans also had a threat when going forward in the first half and used the ball effectively to cause Knowle some problems. Odane Barnes was excellent up front and managed to hold the ball up well to get Alcester further up the pitch.  

The match was evenly balanced in the first half with Knowle marginally shading it in terms of clear-cut chances.

A moment of genuine quality gave the Robins the lead in the 35th minute. An excellent defence splitting ball from midfield was played to Jay Rendell. He made an excellent run off the shoulder before accelerating into the box and finishing well into the top left corner to make it 1-0.

Knowle were on top at the end of the first half and were looking to get a second in the final few minutes. Alcester did a good job of seeing it out and went into half time only a goal down to set up an intriguing second half.      

Second Half

The second half started with a crucial moment in the match. Knowle managed to make it 2-0 early on which effectively sealed the cup tie.

Jay Rendell made a brilliant run at the defence and carried the ball into the final third before shooting into the bottom right corner in the 53rd minute. It was similar to the first goal, with the prolific forward still having a lot to do but making it look easy in front of goal.

From that moment on the hosts were in control for the rest of the second half. They were starting to play some good football with a lot of neat build up play in the final third.

Jack Mullen was standing out in the second half, and he played some brilliant balls to create space for the hosts. He had a good chance from the edge of the box to make it 3-0 in the 71st minute.  

To Alcester’s credit they did not give up throughout the match and kept on going despite the scoreline. It was more a case of Knowle playing well rather than Alcester having an off day.

The holding midfield of Knowle stood out in the second half with Dylon Bennett regularly winning the ball back and linking up the play well to start off attacks.

Knowle managed to get a third goal late on with substitute Joe Sinton scoring from a long-range effort from outside the box. The ball fell to him, and he finished well into the bottom left corner to make it 3-0.

The best chance for Alcester to get a consolation came late on when substitute Connor Perry-Holmes had a half chance from the edge of the box.

Knowle managed to see the rest of the match out to progress to the semi finals and be one match away from a return to the Bescot.    

Full Time

Knowle were brilliant in this match and played well throughout the 90 minutes against a good team. They have a lot of quality both on and off the ball and are a well-balanced team that are challenging for step six football. It was an encouraging performance yesterday by the Robins.

The backline had an underrated game and did well to keep the clean sheet. Lewis Clarke was excellent at the back and was regularly clearing the ball away from danger and cutting out promising Alcester attacks. Lewis Rainey was also good at right back and looked defensively solid.

Jay Rendell, Khalil Harrison and Jack Mullen were all brilliant up front and managed to create some good chances for the Robins. Having that quality on the ball could be the difference in tight matches between now and April in the title race for division two.

Alcester were ok in this match. They showed a lot of effort and endeavour throughout the afternoon and were undone by Knowle’s quality rather than any glaring mistakes at the back. The Romans have a lot of promising players throughout the team and there were signs of that quality yesterday despite the defeat.

Odane Barnes was good up front and managed to bring players into the game to provide Alcester with an attacking outlet. Daniel Sutton looked good from holding midfield and gave the team that composure on the ball when building attacks. Anthony Miller and Tristan Roberts also stood out at the back and were constantly blocking shots and clearing balls into the box.  

Overall, an enjoyable match yesterday at the Robins Nest and a good advert for step seven football.    

FT score: Knowle 3-0 Alcester Town

Man of the Match: Jay Rendell (Knowle)

Attendance: 79

Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League