MFL Weekend Round Up (Division Two)

​AFC Coventry Rangers 2-1 Coventrians

AFC Coventry Rangers continued their excellent home form with another win at the Coventry Technical Sporting club on Saturday. The result makes it nine wins from ten home matches for the hosts and leaves them in 4th. They have been one of the best teams at home in step seven over the last few seasons with just two losses from 25 matches.

A good crowd of 80 supporters turned up at the weekend to watch AFC Coventry Rangers get the three points. Coventrians took a surprise lead in the first half through a deflected strike in the 17th minute to go into the HT break with a 1-0 advantage.

AFC Coventry Rangers responded in the second half and managed to get two late goals in the final twenty minutes. An own goal and a late effort by Curtis Cutts sealed the win for the hosts.

Coventrians competed well in this match which was encouraging. The main aim between now and May will be to stay in the division and finish above the bottom two. They currently have a four-point gap over Bolehall in 15th.   

Alcester Town 1-1 Birmingham United

Alcester Town managed to get a draw against Birmingham United at Stratford Road on Saturday. This was a tight contest between two quality sides near the top and there was not much to separate them. The result makes it four games unbeaten for the Romans and continues Birmingham United’s good form with 13 points from their last six matches.

The visitors managed to take the lead in the first half through prolific forward Urio Hijambazapo who has scored 12 goals in all competitions this season. Alcester responded in the second half and found an equaliser through an effort by Jake Wicketts to make it 1-1 at full time.

It’s a good point for both teams who have had positives seasons in division two and are comfortably in the top five.    

Cadbury Athletic 3-1 Coventry Alvis

Cadbury Athletic got a crucial win against Coventry Alvis at the Bournville Recreation ground at the weekend to avoid being dragged into a late season relegation battle. There’s now an eight-point gap between the Chocolate Men and the bottom two and a few more wins should be enough to stay up over the next month.

An excellent crowd of 252 supporters turned up on Saturday to watch Cadbury get their third home win of the season. It was a brilliant occasion for Cadbury with £1,300 raised for Oly Yorke and his family on the day which took the total donations up to over £27,000.

A brace from Daniel Martin-White and a solo effort from Nigel Hinkulow gave Cadbury the win. The visitors managed to score what turned out to be a consolation goal in the second half to make it 3-1 at full time.

Coventry Alvis are having a solid season at step seven and are competing for a top half finish between now and the end of the season.      

Central Ajax 2-2 Knowle

Central Ajax got a draw against league leaders Knowle at Ajax Park on Saturday for one of the standout results at step seven over the weekend. It’s an excellent result for the hosts who have adjusted to life in division two well since coming up from division three last season. Their now six points better off than the bottom two and will be looking for a few more wins to stay up over the next month.

A good crowd of 60 supporters turned up to watch the entertaining draw in Warwickshire. Lewis Kuster scored early in the first half for the hosts before the Robins responded with a goal from Lewis Clarke to make it 1-1 at half time. Central Ajax goalkeeper Nathan Taylor produced a brilliant penalty save to keep it at 1-1 in the first half.

The second half saw a lot of chances in front of goal and continued where the first half left off. Adam Taylor scored early on to make it 2-1 to Central Ajax before Knowle responded and found an equaliser through substitute George Seeley to make it 2-2 at full time.

It’s a battling point away from home for Knowle and extends their unbeaten run to seven matches. They might have lost a bit of ground to Redditch Borough, but they have an opportunity to play them next weekend and put pressure on their remaining games in hand.  

The visitors also have a big match in the semi-finals of the LJ Challenge Cup on the 13th of April and play Central Ajax at home which could be brilliant based on this match.

Hampton 2-1 Littleton

Hampton got a momentum building win against relegation battlers Littleton to cement their position in the top half of the table. It’s all about getting on a run of form for the hosts in the build up to their LJ Challenge cup semi final against Fairfield Villa on the 13th of April. They have been strong at home throughout the season with seven wins from eleven matches.

It’s Hampton’s 10th win of the season in division two and leaves them in 6th and only four points off the top five.

The visitors took the lead early in the first half thanks to an effort by James Batchelor in the 12th minute. Hampton found an equaliser a couple of minutes later through a free kick that was delivered into the box to make it 1-1 at half time. The hosts managed to score through a corner on the hour mark to make it 2-1 and held on for the three points.

The best chance for Littleton to get an equaliser in the second half fell to Ben Cowlishaw who rounded the keeper before having a shot go wide.

It’s another match that Littleton competed well in which is encouraging. The Tonboys were reduced to ten men for large parts of it with Dan Cottrill being sent off in the first half. 

The visitors are not too far adrift of safety and only three points off Fairfield Villa in 14th. 

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