MFL Weekend Round up (Division One)

Cradley Town 10-0 AFC Bridgnorth

​Cradley Town got a brilliant win at home against AFC Bridgnorth on Saturday to cement their position in the play off places. The Hammers have been outstanding at Beeches View Avenue this season and continued their fine form with an eye-catching result in front of a notable crowd of 94 supporters.

The hosts were excellent in the first half and were linking up well in the final third to take a 6-0 lead going into the half time break. Jordan Crump scored the first goal to make it 1-0 before further goals from Cameron Milne and Josh Marsden made it 3-0 in the opening 20 minutes. Jordan Crump scored again to make it 4-0 before a brace at the end of the half from Brad Ward made it 6-0.

The second half started with Jordan Crump completing his hat trick to make it 7-0 before an unfortunate own goal made it 8-0. Further goals later in the half from substitutes Elliott Palmer and Chris Bladen made it 10-0 to the Hammers at full time.

It was a tough day at the office for AFC Bridgnorth against one of the form teams in the league. Cradley are unbeaten from their last nine league games with six wins and three draws to climb up to 3rd in the table and five points above Stapenhill in 6th. 

AFC Bridgnorth have got a big match against Coventry Copsewood this Saturday at Crown Meadow while Cradley are at home to play off rival Stapenhill at the weekend.

Heather St John’s 3-1 Wednesfield

Heather St John’s continued their impressive form at St John’s Park to climb up the table and be a contender for the play off places. The Leicester club have now won five of their eight home matches in the league and are only a point off the play offs. A good crowd of 88 supporters turned up to watch them beat Wednesfield on Saturday and get a crucial win to make it 12 points from their last six matches in the league.  

Prolific forward Kyle Jardine opened the scoring for Heather St John’s in the 13th minute before Jake Finnerty made it 2-0 in the 24th minute. Tony Agnello got a goal back for Wednesfield to make it 2-1 before Kyle Jardine scored late on in the 85th minute to give the Saints the three points and move up to 7th in the table.

The Saints have a big game at the weekend against Bilston Town at Queen Street whilst Wednesfield are at home to Paget Rangers at the Cottage Ground.

OJM Black Country 2-2 Allscott Heath

OJM Black Country and Allscott Heath played out an entertaining 2-2 draw at the Triplex Sports Association in Kings Norton. The two play-off chasing teams showed plenty of quality in this match watched by a crowd of 38 supporters.

Allscott Heath opened the scoring through Aaron Williams from a corner before Jordan Sangha equalised for the hosts to make it 1-1. Taylor Homer scored for OJM just before half time to make it 2-1 going into the second half. The visitors managed to find an equaliser late on through Thomas Fallon who scored from a long throw in that went into the box to give the Shropshire club a big point away from home.

It was a battling performance from the visitors and their now four points above Stapenhill in 6th and competing for the play offs. It was a tough result to take for OJM having led for so long, but it could be a valuable point come the end of the season.  

OJM’s next match is against Smethwick Rangers at Castle Vale Stadium on Friday evening with Allscott Heath at home to Nuneaton Griff on Saturday and looking to continue their fine form at home with five wins from seven matches so far.

Paget Rangers 2-5 Hinckley AFC

Hinckley produced an excellent performance at Coles Lane to beat Paget Rangers and move to a point off Droitwich Spa at the top of the table. The win for the Leicester club was capped off with a hat trick for Tom Weale who scored a first half brace and another goal in the second half in the 88th minute to give Hinckley the three points. Brady Middleton continued his fine form for the season with a goal in the 36th minute and Matt Dawson also got on the scoresheet with a goal in the 71st minute.

Paget managed to get a few goals and showed moments of quality against a tough team. Tobias Marshal scored in the first half for the Bears and Johnathon Millenchip scored from the penalty spot in the second half for Paget to get their second goal.

The Bears battled and showed a lot of effort and endeavour but just came up short against a clinical team in front of goal. One of the positives for Paget is that they are only two points from safety and there’s a long way to go before the season wraps up.  

Hinckley travel to Pride Park to take on Wolverhampton SC on Saturday while Paget are away at Wednesfield on the same day.    

Shawbury United 3-5 Stapenhill

Stapenhill got an impressive win at the Shrewsbury Town Community pitch on Saturday against Shawbury United to move level on points with OJM Black Country in 5th. The Swans are currently in 6th due to goal difference but right in the mix for the play off places. The visitors from Burton produced an excellent performance to get the three points with the quality coming off the bench standing out in this win.

Sam Birks scored for the visitors in the 8th minute to make it 1-0 before Shawbury scored a quick double thanks to goals from Jack Howse and Brendon Price to make it 2-1. Stapenhill managed to find an equaliser through Connor Richins to make it 2-2 before a goal from Reece Jacobs made it 3-2 to Shawbury going into the half time break.

Stapenhill substitute Ben Novis scored late on to make it 3-3 before fellow substitute George Teeney scored a crucial brace late on to give the Swans a crucial win away from home.

Shawbury travel to Coleshill Road to take on Sutton United on Saturday while Stapenhill face a huge match away at Cradley Town.   

Smethwick Rangers 0-2 Sutton United

Sutton United got an excellent win against Smethwick Rangers at Castle Vale Stadium on Saturday to continue their impressive run of form in the league. The visitors are now only three points off the play offs and have picked up 17 points from their last eight league matches. A crowd of 45 supporters turned up on Saturday to see Sutton get their third away win of the season.

Prolific forward Joe Gildea scored a brace thanks to two goals from the penalty spot to seal the win. The visitors have got a bit of momentum in the league and are at home to Shawbury United at Coleshill Road on Saturday.  

Smethwick have got another home game on Friday evening against OJM Black Country. They are only three points from safety, and it only takes a few results to climb up the table.  

Wolverhampton Sporting Community 1-2 Bilston Town

Bilston Town got a quality away win against Wolverhampton SC on Saturday to build some momentum in the league. A good crowd of 96 supporters turned up to watch the Steelmen get the three points and move up to 12th in the table. One of the positives for the visitors is having two games in hand over the sides above them and their only six points off the play off positions.

Jack Arnold managed to get a goal for Wolverhampton SC in the first half and Bilston also got a goal in the first half to make it 1-1 going into half time. The Steelmen managed to find a winner in the second half to get their third away win of the season.

Pride Park is a tough place to go for teams around the league with just three losses from nine matches for Wolves SC. This is a positive result for Bilston and something they can build on for their upcoming games.

Wolverhampton SC are at home to Hinckley on Saturday while Bilston are at home to Heather St John’s.     

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