MFL Weekend Round Up (Division Three)

​AFC Birmingham 2-1 Gornal

AFC Birmingham got a crucial win against Gornal at the weekend to keep in touch with the automatic promotion race in division three. There only three points off Feckenham in 2nd and have a similar goal difference to Northfield in 3rd who are two points better off. They will have to rely on teams dropping points but it’s not out of the question.

Goals from Drew Ricketts and Ashley Brown was enough for AFC Birmingham’s 8th home win of the season. It was a battling result on Saturday against a good Gornal side and they did well to get through this match and pick up the three points. A decent crowd of 25 supporters turned up to watch it at Illey Lane.

They have a huge home game against Silhill this evening which could be pivotal for their promotion hopes. If they can win tonight, it would put them in 3rd and level on points with Feckenham who have a better goal difference. They have a good chance of putting pressure on the teams above them with the way the fixtures have been scheduled.

Gornal competed well on Saturday against one of the top teams in division three and were close to getting a result. It’s been a positive week for the visitors with the away win at Meadow Park and pushing AFC Birmingham close.    

AFC Solihull 2-0 Meadow Park

AFC Solihull made it consecutive wins in the league with a result against Meadow Park at Leafield Athletic. It keeps their eleven-point lead at the top intact with three matches to go and they have shown consistency throughout to lead the way in division three. They have only lost four out of 29 matches in the league which is an excellent achievement.

Goals in each half by Dylan Daniels and Jahvan Howell was enough for their 12th home win of the season which has been a fortress at both Tudor Grange Leisure Centre and Leafield Athletic.

It’s been a tough month for Meadow Park with seven consecutive defeats in the league.

Balsall and Berkswell 1-2 Northfield Town

Northfield got a crucial win at Lavendar Hall Lane to keep on pace with Feckenham in 2nd. The result makes it four consecutive wins for the visitors and leaves them only a point off Feckenham with a game in hand over the Millers. They have a big match away at DSC United on Wednesday which would put them in 2nd with a win. 

It’s Northfield’s 12th away win of the season and continues their excellent record on the road with 29 points from 39 available. A goal in each half settled a tight match. Tommy Black scored what turned out to be a consolation goal for Balsall in the second half in a battling performance against one of the top teams at this level.

It’s been a positive week for the Hornets with home wins against Leamington Hibernian and Meadow Park. They were close to getting something from this match and competed well. There away at Leamington Hibernian on Tuesday night and looking to continue their good form with 13 points from their last six games.

Birmingham Tigers 2-2 Castle Vale Town

Birmingham Tigers managed to hold top six side Castle Vale Town to a draw on Saturday at the Hadley Stadium to get their third point of the season. It’s a brilliant result for the hosts and arguably one of the highlights of the league campaign.

Castle Vale Town have been one of the form teams away from home with nine wins and three draws from fifteen matches, so Birmingham Tigers did well to hold them to a draw and get something out of this match.

If they can build on this, they might pick up some more points over the next few weeks against Wake Green and Balsall and Berkswell.

It was a tough day at the office for the visitors, but they have had a good season at this level regardless and are looking to secure a top six place. It’s going to be tight, and there currently two points better off than Wake Green in 7th who have a game in hand over the Spitfires. 

Silhill 8-1 Leamington Hibernian

Silhill got an excellent home win against Leamington Hibernian at Sharmans Cross over the weekend. The Solihull side have been strong at home throughout the season with ten wins and two draws from fourteen matches and it’s been a fortress in the league. There comfortably in the top six and will be looking to build on this with matches against AFC Birmingham (away) and Solihull Sporting (home) over the next week.

A good crowd of 40 supporters turned up to watch Silhill’s 17th league win of the season at the weekend.

It was a team effort in front of goal for the hosts which was highlighted by Kamal Richardson scoring a hat-trick. Further goals by Brandon Williams, John Baker, Lewis Williams and substitutes Mohammed Ali and Todd Bonehill sealed off a resounding win for Silhill. They have been one of the form teams in the league with five wins from their last six matches.

It was a tough day at the office for Leamington Hibernian and it will be interesting to see how they respond in the next week with upcoming matches against Balsall and Berkswell and Meadow Park.

Solihull Sporting 2-3 Wake Green Amateur

Wake Green got a crucial win against Solihull Sporting to chase down a top six finish. It’s an excellent result for the visitors and leaves them only two points off Castle Vale Town with a game in hand. There on an excellent run of form with four consecutive wins in division three.

A brace from Xavier Moore and a solo effort from Harry Prew gave the visitors their 8th away win of the season. Wake Green have grown into the season and gradually climbed up the table as it’s gone on. They have a good run of fixtures to finish in the top six over the next few weeks.

Solihull Sporting battled well in this match and are having a good season regardless of the result. They took the lead twice thanks to efforts from Erique Manuel and Tyler Ahmed. There comfortably in mid table and building for the future to challenge next season.

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