MFL Weekend Round up

Premier Division

Atherstone Town 0-3 AFC Wulfrunians

AFC Wulfrunians picked up an excellent away win against Atherstone Town on Saturday to move further up the table. A notable crowd of 261 supporters turned up at Sheepy Road to see the Wulfs get their third away win of the season.

The Wulfs took the lead through an excellent finish by AJ Adamu in the 29th minute to make it 1-0. Tom Poole scored for the visitors in the 35th minute to make it 2-0 going into half time. A further goal in the second half by Brad Maslen-Jones in the 52nd minute sealed the win for the Wulfs who moved up to 7th in the table.

Despite the defeat, Atherstone Town are comfortably in mid table and are 13th in the table. The Adders have a bit of breathing space over the relegation places and are eight points clear of Dudley Town in 17th. Their home form has been a positive this season with only three losses from seven matches in the league.    

Both teams will be looking forward to the second round of the FA Vase this weekend and have interesting ties. Atherstone Town are away at Hallam of the Northern Counties East League on Saturday afternoon while AFC Wulfrunians host fellow MFL side Stourport Swifts at Castlecroft.     

Highgate United 3-1 Congleton Town

Highgate got an impressive win against an in-form Congleton Town at the Coppice on Saturday afternoon. The Gate were going a bit under the radar prior to this result but are now involved in a title race alongside the likes of Congleton and Lichfield City. The win makes it 12 points from their last five matches and puts them 2nd in the table.

An excellent crowd of 137 supporters turned up to the match on Saturday. Darren Chadwick opened the scoring for Congleton in the 19th minute to give the Bears an early lead. Highgate responded a few minutes later thanks to a goal from Aaron Brown who scored in the 20th minute to make it 1-1 going into half time.

Further goals in the second half from James Willock in the 62nd minute and Connor Mooney in the 90th minute gave Highgate United the three points against one of the standout teams in the league so far this season.

There was a notable away following for the Bears which was commendable given the challenging weather conditions throughout the weekend. Despite the defeat, Congleton are still top of the league and firmly in the title race.

Both teams are looking forward to the second round of the FA Vase this weekend and have interesting ties this Saturday. Highgate United have a home tie against United Counties League side Pinchbeck United while Congleton play Loughborough Students at Booth Street.      

Lichfield City 3-0 Romulus

Lichfield recorded an excellent win against Romulus at the Trade Tyre Community Stadium on Saturday to move further up the table. An excellent crowd of 128 supporters watched Lichfield get their fifth home win of the season to cement their position in the top three.

Dan Lomas opened the scoring for Lichfield early in the first half in the 10th minute to make it 1-0. Luke Childs scored early in the second half in the 53rd minute to make it 2-0 before Jack Edwards scored late on in the 85th minute to make it 3-0 and seal the win.

The hosts are unbeaten at home in the league so far this season. They also have the best defence in the league with only 15 goals conceded from 13 matches.  

Lichfield are in FA Vase action this weekend and travel to Newark and Sherwood United of the United Counties League in the second round on Saturday afternoon.    

Division One

Coton Green 1-2 Ingles

Ingles got an excellent win away at Coton Green on Saturday afternoon at New Mill Lane to continue their push for the play offs. The Leicester club have gone a bit under the radar but are now only three points off the play offs with two games in hand over OJM Black Country in 5th.

A crowd of 40 supporters turned up to watch Ingles get their third away win of the season. Cameron Smith opened the scoring for the visitors in the 25th minute to take a 1-0 lead going into half time.

Billy Blackshaw scored early in the second half in the 48th minute to make it 2-0 to Ingles before Corey Powell scored from the penalty spot for Coton Green to make it 2-1 in the 58th minute. The visitors did well to see the game out and defended resolutely to get the win against a team with a lot of quality on the ball.

Ingles currently have the second-best defence in the league with only 18 goals conceded from 14 matches. They have a home game against Shawbury United on Saturday who have played well over the last few weeks.

Despite the defeat, Coton Green have played ok these last few weeks. They are currently in 18th with 10 points from 16 matches and two points off AFC Bridgnorth in 17th.

Sutton United 2-4 Shawbury United

Shawbury United got an eye-catching win against Sutton United on Saturday afternoon at Coleshill Road to cement their position in mid table. The Shropshire club have played well over the last month and are now well clear of any relegation worries. They are 14th in the table with 18 points from 16 matches and eight points above the relegation places.

An excellent crowd of 154 supporters turned up to watch Shawbury get their third away win of the season. Shawbury’s recent away form has been impressive with 10 points from five matches in the league.

Sutton United took the lead early in the first half from a corner with Joe Gildea scoring from a header to make it 1-0. Shawbury equalised through Reece Jacobs in the 11th minute to make it 1-1. The visitors took the lead through Jack Howse to make it 2-1 before a goal at the back post from David Howells made it 3-1 to Shawbury Untied going into half time.

A goal early in the second half by Brandon Price made it 4-1 to Shawbury before a late goal for Joe Gildea for Sutton United made the final score 4-2 to the visitors.  Despite the defeat, Sutton are still in a good position in the league and are in 9th with 22 points from 16 matches.  

Smethwick Rangers 0-2 OJM Black Country

OJM Black Country got a crucial away win at CV Stadium against Smethwick Rangers on Friday evening to continue their push for the play offs.

Goals from Kofi Williams and Ethan Muckley gave the visitors the three points against Smethwick. They are currently in 5th with 28 points from 16 matches and have the best defensive record in the league with only 16 goals conceded.

Smethwick are involved in a relegation battle, and it’s been a challenging season for the club so far. The club are bottom of the division in 20th with 9 points from 15 matches. One of the positives is that they are only three points from safety and have a long period of the season left to find a bit of form to have a chance of staying up.

Division Two

Birmingham United 1-4 Redditch Borough

Redditch Borough recorded an excellent away win against Birmingham United at The Valley on Saturday afternoon to cement their position near the top of the table. The visitors are 3rd in the table with 26 points from 11 matches and have one of the best defences in the league with 13 goals conceded.

Birmingham United opened the scoring early in the first half through Ellis Vaux before Redditch Borough equalised through Dan Morris to make it 1-1. Dean Fisher made it 2-1 to the visitors before further goals from Kedeiah Warren-Paul and Jimmy Ward gave Redditch Borough the three points.

Birmingham United’s next match is against Inkberrow on Saturday while Redditch Borough take on Knowle at home with both matches kicking off at 2pm.       

Knowle 7-0 Inkberrow

Knowle got an excellent win at home against Inkberrow at the Robins Nest on Saturday to continue their excellent form in the league. The Robins are currently top of the league with 34 points from 13 matches and seven points clear of Alcester Town in 2nd.

A brilliant crowd of 75 supporters turned up to watch Knowle get their sixth home win of the season. The win was capped of with braces by Tom Craine and Jay Rendell who have both been excellent this season in division two. Further goals from Toby Scott, Lewis Clarke and Adam Bourn made the full time score 7-0 to Knowle and another clean sheet.

The Robins have the best attack in the league with 45 goals scored and the best defensive record with just 6 goals conceded to be one of the standout teams in division two this season.    

Division Three

Continental Star 0-4 Silhill

Silhill continued their excellent form in division three with a convincing 4-0 away win at Continental Star. The visitors have been one of the standout teams in the division this season and are now only three points off AFC Solihull in 2nd. Silhill are currently 3rd with 27 points from 11 matches.

A brace from Gilad Grant and further goals from Adam Hemming and Alieu Jabang gave the visitors the three points at the Holford Drive Community Sports Hub in Perry Barr. The visitors have won eight consecutive matches and are on an unbeaten run that stretches back to beating Birmingham Tigers on the 2nd September.

Their next match is at home against Feckenham this Saturday. Continental Star are at home against Balsall and Berkswell on Saturday. They have a decent record at home with three draws so far despite struggling in the league.

Feckenham 4-1 Solihull Sporting

Feckenham got a good home win against Solihull Sporting on Saturday at Mill Lane. The Worcester club are in 4th with 23 points from 11 matches and have been excellent since joining the MFL in the summer from division two of the Hellenic Football League.

A brace by Josh Bowen and further goals from Jason Ramsay and substitute William Skelton gave the Millers the three points to climb up the table. Tyler Ahmed got a consolation goal for the visitors who are comfortably in mid table.

The win continues Feckenham’s impressive home record. It’s now five wins from seven matches with a total of 31 goals scored at Mill Lane so far this season. Similar to Silhill, they have been one of the standout teams this season and a welcome addition to an expanded division three.   

Round up feature written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League