MFL Weekend Preview (Play off finals)

Premier Division

Lichfield City V Darlaston Town

Overview  

Lichfield City and Darlaston Town meet at the Trade Tyre Community Stadium tomorrow afternoon for a place in step four. It’s a huge match for both teams who are 90 minutes away from being promoted from the MFL.

Both Lichfield and Darlaston have been excellent this season and come into this match with some confidence. Lichfield beat Highgate United and Darlaston beat Stourport Swifts in the semi-finals last weekend. 

Lichfield City  

The big talking point for Lichfield is how their going to replace prolific forward Dan Smith who suffered an unfortunate injury in the semi-final. It was a shame as he was playing excellently before going down near the end of the first half. Demetri Brown came in for Lichfield’s top scorer and looked promising in the final third.

It will be interesting to see how they get on and if they start Demetri Brown as the central striker. There would have been a few training sessions to adjust to the situation in preparation for the final. Jack Edwards and Liam Kirton have looked threatening on the wings and caused problems last weekend which is a huge positive. 

Jordan Clement stood out in midfield in the semi-final and is a key player for Lichfield in their push for promotion. He’s played in a number of roles this season and has been either a number ten or holding midfielder.  Dominic Lewis also impressed from midfield in last Saturday’s play-off win against Highgate United.

It’s been solid at the back for the Staffordshire side with Jamie Elkes playing well in central defence and clearing dangerous balls into the box. He’s been excellent and started 36 games for Lichfield.

An underrated part of Lichfield’s success is James Beeson in goal who made a crucial save in the first half last weekend to not allow Highgate back into the match.  He’s been ever present with 48 starts in all competitions for the hosts.

Darlaston Town

Darlaston go into the final with a lot of confidence and are one of the form teams in step five with eight consecutive wins going into this match. Dean Gil has done a brilliant job as manager, and they have clicked at the right time of the season to be a match away from promotion.

The main concern going into the play offs was the injury to attacking player James Rowland. The Citizens coped well last weekend against Stourport Swifts and were able to create chances in the final third.

The visitors have been clever in their recruitment this season with the signing of Tom Allsopp a huge positive in their play-off push. He’s emerged as one of the best keepers in the MFL over the last few months and will be going into the final with confidence following his success with Trooper FC in the FA Sunday cup final last weekend.

Darlaston were coming off seven clean sheets going into the play offs, and they have an excellent defence. Alexander Foreshaw and Ben Podmore have impressed at the back throughout the season and helped the visitors settle into matches. Between them they’ve got 70 starts for Darlaston and been ever present at the back.

There’s quality up front with Aaron Bishop causing a lot of problems in the final third. He’s got 21 goals this season in all competitions and will be looking to make an impact tomorrow.

There’s also quality on the bench with Kieron Miller being used as a substitute of late and making an impact with his hold up play and how he brings players into the game.

A key strength of the visitors has been the ability to soak up the pressure and play on the break. It’s going to be interesting to see how the final plays out tomorrow between two evenly matched teams.             

Division One

OJM Black Country V Droitwich Spa

Overview

OJM Black Country and Droitwich Spa meet at the Triplex Sports Association in kings Norton tomorrow afternoon for a place in step five. It’s a crucial game for both teams who will be looking for promotion out of MFL Division One and are only 90 minutes away from play-off success. Both teams come into it with some confidence following their semi-finals wins last weekend.

OJM sealed their place in the final with a clinical 2-0 win against Ingles with Droitwich Spa travelling to Allscott Heath and winning 3-1 to get to the final.

OJM Black Country

OJM have been brilliant to watch this season in division one and play an eye catching brand of football under manager Adam Younis and like to work the ball into the box to create opportunities. When they get into a passing rhythm and have got momentum it’s brilliant to watch for the neutral and OJM supporters and involves neat passing moves into the final third and building from the back.

A key strength of OJM has been at the back with the best goals conceded record in division one with just 40 league goals conceded across the course of 38 matches. Callum Nimmo has impressed in central defence and reads the game well to take the pressure off OJM and help them settle into matches. He’s been ever present with 38 starts in all competitions.

There’s quality in midfield with Liam Spink and Jordan Sangha playing well and linking up the play to build attacks. They both have that technical quality on the ball to start off attacks for OJM and have been key to their success this season.   

There’s a lot of attacking options up front with Taylor Homer impressing on the wing and Kosheen Sappelton looking good up front as the main striker. The most pleasing thing about OJM is having that composure in the box to take chances which has seen them near the top of the league. 

Droitwich Spa

Droitwich have got experience in the play offs which could serve them well tomorrow afternoon. They just lost out in the division one play off final last season to Ashby Ivanhoe who went up to the UCL Premier North and that experience is huge going into this weekend.

A lot of the squad from that final are still at Droitwich with the likes of James Lemon, Alex Dugmore and Cory Rudd providing that experience and leadership for the Saltmen. The visitors have been one of the standout teams at this level over the last few seasons and will be looking to get promoted to make it two promotions in three seasons. 

Connor Collins has been a key attacking threat up front with 24 goals in all competitions.

The Saltmen have got a loyal and passionate following which will help them in this match and create a good atmosphere for the team. Momentum is huge in one off play off matches and if the visitors can get on a run of form, they could cause OJM numerous problems going forward.   

Similar to the play off final in the premier division, this is quite an even match between two quality teams who have been near the top of the table throughout the campaign.       

Preview feature written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League