MFL Weekend Preview (Premier Division)

AFC Wulfrunians V Atherstone Town

AFC Wulfrunians will be looking for a result tomorrow afternoon at Castlecroft to finish the season strongly and boost their chances of a top half finish. It’s been a transitional season for the Wulfs at step five with the appointment of Carl Abbott in the Autumn.

There’s been positives with players such as Bradley Maslen-Jones stepping up and there building for the future.
They will be looking to build on the positives of the 1-0 win at Whitchurch Alport last weekend with a good performance against Atherstone Town in their final home game of the 23/24 season.

Atherstone Town will be looking to build on the 1-0 mid-week win against Bewdley Town with a result against AFC Wulfrunians. It’s been a challenging month for the Adders with four points from their last six matches. None the less, when looking at the bigger picture there’s positives for the visitors who were one of the form teams at the turn of the new year.

There similar to AFC Wulfrunians and are in the top half of the table. It’s been a transitional season, but they appointed Mitch Thomson as their new manager in December. He did a brilliant job to get them competing for the play offs and the future is looking bright for the Adders.

Lewis Collins has looked good in front of goal and has six goals in all competitions.       

Darlaston Town V Whitchurch Alport

Darlaston have been excellent over the last week and will be looking to keep their good run going against Whitchurch Alport tomorrow afternoon. The Citizens have hit a good spell at exactly the right time of the season with five consecutive wins coming into this match. A crucial part of their success has been making the Paycare Stadium a fortress with twelve wins from sixteen matches.

Their results over the last week have strengthen their play off hopes with crucial wins against Stourport Swifts, Lichfield City and Highgate United. There now five points better off than Highgate United in 6th with two matches to go.

The most impressive thing about there run is keeping five consecutive clean sheets since the 5-4 loss against Romulus at CV Stadium. Tom Allsopp has been excellent since joining from Chelmsley Town and is arguably one of the best keepers in the league.

It’s been a transitional season for Whitchurch Alport who appointed Adam Shillcock as their new manager in the autumn. There’s definitely been positives for the Shropshire side such as the excellent run in the FA Vase and there on a good run of form with 12 points from their last six matches.

Tom Messham is a player to watch for the visitors who impressed in the away wins against Wolverhampton Casuals and Uttoxeter Town. He has seven goals in all competitions.        

Dudley Town V Congleton Town

Dudley Town will be looking for a statement result against league champions Congleton Town tomorrow afternoon at the Guardian Warehousing Arena. The Robins have been excellent since the turn of the New Year and have gradually got better as the season has gone on to be a top half team.

One of the main positives has been their home form with seven wins and five draws from 16 matches which has helped them build some momentum in the premier division. They will be looking to build on the 3-1 away win against Stone Old Alleynians last weekend and test themselves against the Bears.

Harry Crook has been excellent for Dudley over the last two seasons with a combined total of 43 goals for the Robins from 57 matches.

Congleton Town won the premier division in mid-week with Lichfield losing away at Darlaston Town. It’s been an excellent campaign for the Bears who have adjusted to the MFL premier division well and have shown consistency throughout to gain promotion to step four. There will be a trophy presentation for the visitors tomorrow in what will be a memorable day for Bears supporters.      

The visitors are on an incredible run of 17 matches unbeaten and coming off five consecutive wins going into this match. It’s been excellent in front of goal with 21 goals from their last three matches. An underrated aspect of their success is their defence with five clean sheets from their last seven matches.

Daniel Needham has been one of their key attacking threats with 26 goals in all competitions.    

Highgate United V Wolverhampton Casuals

Highgate will be looking to respond to the 4-0 loss at Darlaston Town yesterday evening with a result against Wolverhampton Casuals at the Coppice tomorrow afternoon. There in a good position to get in the play offs and are a point off Stourport Swifts in 5th and have a game in hand.

The Gate will be looking to build on the positives of the standout win against Lichfield City on Tuesday and continue their good home form for a huge result. They have been excellent at the Coppice with eleven wins from 16 matches to have a chance of getting in the play offs.

There’s quality in the squad with Ryan Harkin having a reliably good season up front with 18 goals in all competitions.

Wolverhampton Casuals will be looking to cause a shock against play off chasing Highgate tomorrow afternoon to have a crucial say in the race for the top five. The Cassies are on a tough run of form with three consecutive losses and will be looking for a response in their remaining three matches.

It’s been a solid campaign from the visitors who have consolidated at step five and been competitive against a range of teams. One of the highlights of the last few months was the 3-2 home win against Studley.    

Lichfield City V Studley

Lichfield will be looking to finish the season strongly in preparation for the play offs. The hosts have been excellent at step five and have finished 2nd in the premier division with one match to go. To go unbeaten at the Trade Tyre Community Stadium with one home match to go is an excellent achievement.

There home form has been one of the stories of the season in the MFL with twelve wins and four draws from sixteen matches. The run also includes just 10 goals conceded at the back which is brilliant.  

They will be looking to respond to the 2-0 away loss to Highgate United on Tuesday with a result against play off chasing Studley.

Daniel Smith has been excellent in front of goal with 33 goals in all competitions.

Studley are in a strong position to make the play offs going into their final match of the season. The Bees are six points better off than Highgate United in 6th who have two games in hand. None the less, the visitors have a superior goal difference to Highgate and will be looking to get a result tomorrow to challenge for a top three finish.

There on a good run of form with three consecutive wins and have only conceded 4 goals from their last six matches.

Zach Guinan has been excellent as their main striker with 17 goals in all competitions.  

Northwich Victoria V Bewdley Town

Northwich Victoria will be looking to build some momentum tomorrow with a result against Bewdley Town. It’s been a transitional season from the Vics who are building under new manager Matt Barnes and looking to finish the season strongly. They will be looking to build on the positives of the 2-1 away win at Romulus last weekend and take it into this match.

Samual Connor Unwin has been their main attacking threat with 15 goals in all competitions.

Bewdley are playing for pride for the remainder of the season and will be looking to get some positives from their remaining four matches in step five. They will be looking to rebuild in step six next season, and it’s been a challenging season with 4 points from 30 matches.

Romulus V Uttoxeter Town

Romulus will be looking to finish the season strongly over their remaining two matches against Uttoxeter Town and Wolverhampton Casuals and respond to the 2-1 loss against Northwich Victoria last weekend. It’s been a transitional season for the Roms who are building under manager Neil Tooth and looking to challenge in the future.

There’s been some positives for the hosts this campaign with youth players stepping up and making an impact on the first team. Fin Douglas and Mason Stevens have played well since coming into the squad and made things happen in the final third.

Isai Marselia has looked promising as the main striker up front and has nine goals in all competitions for the Roms.

It’s been a brilliant season for Uttoxeter under Phil Adams, and they have made progress at step five. The visitors have achieved their highest league position in their history and have mainly been competitive throughout the campaign which is the main positive. 

They have struggled for form over the last month with five points from their last six matches but when looking at the bigger picture the future is bright for Uttoxeter. It will be interesting to see how they get on next season at this level.    

Tividale V Shifnal Town

Tividale will be looking to continue their four-match unbeaten run against Shifnal Town at the Beeches tomorrow afternoon. The hosts have not been too bad throughout April so far with just two goals conceded at the back from four matches. Despite their league position, they have looked competitive throughout the season and have quality on the ball with Ryan Snape impressing up front.

They will be looking to finish the season strongly over their remaining two matches. One of their main issues has been goals with 38 scored from 32 matches which is somewhat surprising based on the players in the squad such as winger Ewan Edwards.

None the less, there’s been positive this season such as the notable run in the FA Vase.

Shifnal will be looking for a result tomorrow to boost their chances of a top half finish. The Shropshire club are two points off AFC Wulfrunians in 9th with three matches remaining.

There on a decent run of form with two consecutive wins against Dudley Town and Wolverhampton Casuals.

There’s quality up front with the likes of Joe Ellis Cuff and Dominic Dell impressing in step five this season.   

Stone Old Alleynians V Stourport Swifts (Kick off at 6pm and taking place at Evans Park)

Stone Old Alleynians will be looking for a statement result against play off chasing Stourport Swifts tomorrow afternoon at Evans Park. This match has been moved to the home of Stafford Town for an evening kick off and is a huge match in the play-off race. The hosts are on a decent run of form over the last month and have been tough to beat with just one loss from their last six matches.

There’s quality in the squad with Sam Wilson a key attacking threat for the Staffordshire side with 10 goals in all competitions.

Stourport will be looking to build on the 1-0 away win at Atherstone Town last weekend with a crucial result against Stone Old Alleynians tomorrow. The Swifts are a point better off than Highgate United in 6th with two matches to go. It’s going to be a nervy ending to the season for the visitors who might have to rely on a few results elsewhere.

Benjamin Tilbury has played well as their main striker up front and has 16 goals in all competitions.  

Preview feature written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League